Pho and my friend, the pressure cooker.
Posted on 2006.04.22 at 08:04
Pho (pronounced to rhyme not with dough, but with duh) is one of the glories of Vietnamese cuisine. A beefy broth, with notes of onion, ginger, and sweet spices. Chunks of meltingly tender beef shank, cooked with the broth. Paper thin slices of sirloin, cooked gently in the hot souup. Toothsome rice noodles, with a subtle chewy bite, all topped with fresh crunchy bean sprouts and a confetti of herbs and finished with a squirt of tangy fresh lime juice.
Simulteneously light and fresh and deep and rich, pho is great all year round, if only you have the time. The broth that is its foundation takes at least 8 hours to cook. Unless you have some help, that is, in the form of your trusty pressure cooker.
If you're anything like me, you recall those old monster pressure cookers that looked like refugees from a moonshiner's still. They had a bouncing hissing valve on top that was meant to prevent explosions, but which failed to instill confidence in it's protective power. Happily, new pressure cookers are nothing like as scary. No more bouncing hissing valves--now you just twist the lid to lock, bring the cooker up to temp, and you should be cooking away with nary a hiss and no fear of explosion. And even better, the pressure cooker reduces the time to make stock from 8 hours to about 45 minutes. You can even have pho from scratch for a weeknight dinner, and that's a great thing.
Pho Bo
Makes 3 qt of broth, enough for 6 - 8 large bowls of pho
The Broth
2 lbs beef shank, cut in slices as for osso bucco
2 lbs chicken wings, backs, and necks and/or 2 lbs beef bones for stock
1 large yellow onion, quartered, skin still on
1 2 in piece of fresh ginger
3 star anise pods
3 whole cloves
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
1/4 c fish sauce (to taste, really, but 1/4 cup is a good starting point)
Toast the ginger and onion in a dry skillet until they are browned on all sides. Toast the spices in the skillet until they are fragrant. Put all broth ingredients except the fish sauce into the pressure cooker and add 3 quarts of water. Follow the instructions for the pressure cooker and cook the broth 35 minutes.
Strain the vegetables, spices, bones, and meat from the broth and skim off the fat. The flavor of the broth improves and the fat is easier to remove if you strain the broth and then put it in the fridge overnight. The fat rises to the top and solidifies, making it easier to remove.
Remove the meat from the beef shanks and set aside. Add the fish sauce to the broth and taste for seasoning.
The Garnishes
6 oz dried rice noodles
1/2 lb sirloin steak, sliced paper thin against the grain (putting the meat in the freezer for 15-20 min before slicing makes it easier to cut)
fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil, and mint
fresh mung bean sprouts
lime wedges
Soak the rice noodles in hot water for 20 minutes, until pliable. Then cook the noodles in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, until they are al dente.
Divide the noodles among your soup bowls, and top with the sirloin and reserved beef shank meat. Ladle hot broth into the bowls. Top with bean sprouts and herbs, and serve with lime wedges.
Simulteneously light and fresh and deep and rich, pho is great all year round, if only you have the time. The broth that is its foundation takes at least 8 hours to cook. Unless you have some help, that is, in the form of your trusty pressure cooker.
If you're anything like me, you recall those old monster pressure cookers that looked like refugees from a moonshiner's still. They had a bouncing hissing valve on top that was meant to prevent explosions, but which failed to instill confidence in it's protective power. Happily, new pressure cookers are nothing like as scary. No more bouncing hissing valves--now you just twist the lid to lock, bring the cooker up to temp, and you should be cooking away with nary a hiss and no fear of explosion. And even better, the pressure cooker reduces the time to make stock from 8 hours to about 45 minutes. You can even have pho from scratch for a weeknight dinner, and that's a great thing.
Pho Bo
Makes 3 qt of broth, enough for 6 - 8 large bowls of pho
The Broth
2 lbs beef shank, cut in slices as for osso bucco
2 lbs chicken wings, backs, and necks and/or 2 lbs beef bones for stock
1 large yellow onion, quartered, skin still on
1 2 in piece of fresh ginger
3 star anise pods
3 whole cloves
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
1/4 c fish sauce (to taste, really, but 1/4 cup is a good starting point)
Toast the ginger and onion in a dry skillet until they are browned on all sides. Toast the spices in the skillet until they are fragrant. Put all broth ingredients except the fish sauce into the pressure cooker and add 3 quarts of water. Follow the instructions for the pressure cooker and cook the broth 35 minutes.
Strain the vegetables, spices, bones, and meat from the broth and skim off the fat. The flavor of the broth improves and the fat is easier to remove if you strain the broth and then put it in the fridge overnight. The fat rises to the top and solidifies, making it easier to remove.
Remove the meat from the beef shanks and set aside. Add the fish sauce to the broth and taste for seasoning.
The Garnishes
6 oz dried rice noodles
1/2 lb sirloin steak, sliced paper thin against the grain (putting the meat in the freezer for 15-20 min before slicing makes it easier to cut)
fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil, and mint
fresh mung bean sprouts
lime wedges
Soak the rice noodles in hot water for 20 minutes, until pliable. Then cook the noodles in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, until they are al dente.
Divide the noodles among your soup bowls, and top with the sirloin and reserved beef shank meat. Ladle hot broth into the bowls. Top with bean sprouts and herbs, and serve with lime wedges.
