Quick Pho

This recipe is adapted from a more traditional version found at the Steamy Kitchen blog.

0.5 lbs Flank Steak

1 yellow onion

0.5 lbs of ginger root

6 cups of lower sodium beef broth

1 cup of water

0.25 of a cup of fish sauce

120 g of wide rice noodles

1 cinnamon stick

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp fennel seeds

3 star anise

1 cardamom pod or 1 tsp ground cardamom

6 cloves

2 heads of baby bok choy

Mung bean sprouts

Fresh mint

Fresh basil

Fresh cilantro

1 lime

2 chili peppers

Sriracha hot sauce

Hoisin sauce

Serves 3

1. Soak the rice noodles in room temperature water
2. Halve the onion and ginger root then char by broiling for 15 minutes or use a torch if you have it
3. Add water, fish sauce and beef broth to a large sauce pan
4. Add spices, ginger root, and onion to the broth
5. Bring the broth to a boil for 30 minutes
6. Strain the broth through a mesh strainer to remove ginger, onions, and herbs
7. Thinly slice the flank steak perpendicular to the grain. It helps to partially freeze the meat for slicing.
8. Cut up the bok choy and rinse
9. Slice chili peppers
10. Arrange the garnishes; bok choy, mint, basil, cilantro, sprouts, lime, and chili peppers on a large plate


11. Once the noodles are soft and flexible, add any combination of garnishes, noodles, and meat to a bowl
12. Bring the broth back to boiling then ladle 2 cups of broth to the bowl.
13. Add Sriracha and Hoisin sauce to taste
14. The beef and noodles should be allowed to cook for 2 - 3 minutes in the bowl

I made this recipe with 4 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of beef broth because that is what I had on hand. The broth was not on par with what you would expect from a traditional Vietnamese restaurant but considering this is a reduced sodium and calorie version, I am pretty happy with it. Using all beef stock would likely help address this some. This is was my first time adding bok choy to a dish and feel it went well with this recipe. I might try adding some non-traditional vegetables and substitute chicken for beef next time to take this a step further.