[Cook] Pho Bo Beef

I bought this app called The Photo Cookbook on iPad ($4.99). There were 80 recipes with detailed photos on each and every step. All the recipes are quite easy and fast to make. The photo of each ingredients and all the steps help a lot. The first recipe I tried from this app was Pho Bo Beef. I never thought I could make pho at home. Turned out it wasn't as hard as I thought.


Pho Bo Beef

Because of copyright, I won't post the full recipe here. But I'll describe what I did. First I cooked the rice noodle and topped each bowl with some thinly sliced beef. Then sprinkle A LOT of chopped green onion on top.




Then pour boiling stock over it. The hot soup should cook the beef.



Then add some bean sprout, cilantro, and red chili if you want some heat. Done! So simple, right?

So how did it taste? When I was cooking, I realized I forgot to buy one of the key ingredient for the stock, fish sauce. So I just did it without. Also I used half beef stock and half chicken stock since those were what I had at home. Without the fish sauce, the stock wasn't salty enough. We had to add some soy sauce and salt to the bowl to give the stock some flavor. Also the beef didn't cook all the way. I sliced sirloin steak at home, and couldn't get it thin enough. I think next time I'll just buy the sliced beef for hot pot. So the first night wasn't that great.

The next day I tried to use up the leftover for lunch. This time I added salt to the stock as I heat it up. I also added the beef to the stock to cook it directly on the stove. With the right amount of seasoning and cooked beef, Pho Bo Beef turned really good the next day. Also I think leaving the garlic and ginger in the stock overnight also gave the soup more flavor.

I was really surprise at how easy it is to make pho at home. Next time I should try to make my own beef stock. I think it would taste even better that way. Oh and I'll remember to add fish sauce next time.

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