Summer 2011. I was sick with the colds, nose plugged up, and about to sing on the weekend. Not a big fan of good old chicken noodle soup but desperate for something warm and brothy, I called up an Asian restaurant in town and ordered Pho. They’re near the Asian store we frequent and they have this giant sign out front that says, “Pho bowl – 6.99″. Good deal. On the pocket and on the sinuses. Cleared me up good. When I downed the last drop of broth, my soul was warmed.
Colder days are here. Who doesn’t want a steaming tasty bowl of broth with all kinds of good deliciousness in it? Better yet, how about a tasty meal assembled in the crock pot (slow-cooker) in the morning and waiting to warm you up when you get home from work? Or, as has become our weekly tradition, put it in the crock pot on Saturday evening and have a bowl of fantastic soup lunch after church. Yeah, it’s that good and simple – that bowl of Vietnamese Pho.
Crock pot. I love mine. It was a wedding gift from two of my Hubby’s former colleague during his his engineering days. That was nine years ago. My wonderfully reliable crock pot really lives up to its other moniker – slow cooker. If a meat recipe called for 9 hours on low, guaranteed my slow cooker will cook it in 12 hours. As for cooking the broth for my pho, I discovered that letting it cook for an extra 3 hours (15 hours total) actually develops a deeper, richer flavor. Patience is a virtue, so they say.
No, I’ve never been to Vietnam, nor do I have a Vietnamese friend who made authentic pho for my tasting. My only reference to the flavor I’ve developed in my recipe is that of the Asian restaurant’s take-out pho. Nonetheless, I quite like my homemade pho bowl and hope you will too.
When I said ‘my recipe,’ I really mean a fusion type, inspired by two rockin’ blogs’ recipes: Wandering Chopsticks and Steamy Kitchen. Aren’t those blog names intriguing? Not to mention their sizzling array of recipes with mouth-watering photos – don’t say I didn’t warn you if you find yourself at the Asian store within an hour of browsing through their site.
Here is my version of this delectable bowl o’ soup:
Crock Pot Pho
Serves 4-6
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cardamom pods
- 5 star anise pods
- 12 cloves
- 2 tsps whole coriander seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
Where to find these? Your regular grocery stores should carry them.
fresh beef bones from the Asian store
See that floaty stuff? Bone scum. You don't want that in your broth.
Toasting your spices and charring the aromatics adds another layer of flavor to your broth.
Clove-studded onion - it's pho-sion forward. Get it? The star-shaped spice, bottom left, is star anise and the green pod next to it is cardamom. Both should be available at any Asian store.
So happy together!
Rufina is a Philippine brand but any brand fish sauce will do just fine.
When ready to eat:
- Set out 4 bowls on counter. Distribute lime wedges, Thai basil, cilantro, and thinly sliced onions evenly in bowls.
lime wedges, thinly sliced onions, and jalapeno slices
- If using beef meat balls, bring a sauce pan to boil; add beef balls and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and distribute evenly in bowls.
- Ladle a couple scoops of broth and strain into a sauce pan and bring to boil. Add thinly sliced meat and boil for a minute. Distribute meat in the bowls. You may also add the broth used to cook the meat during this time.
thinly sliced steak meat
- Cook pho noodles according to package directions. Dried noodles usually come with indecipherable characters, unless you can read Chinese or Vietnamese characters. When I used dried noodles, I cooked them in boiling water for 2 minutes. If using fresh pho noodles (found in the refrigerated section of the Asian store), simply swirl your noodles in hot boiling water for a few seconds then lift to add to bowls.
Clockwise from right: plate of garnishes (thai basil, cilantro, lime, jalapeno), steak meat, and fresh pho noodles
- Ladle and strain more hot broth into bowls. Be generous!
- Add hoisin and sriracha sauce to taste. Enjoy!
A few notes:
- Broth. Oxtail and beef marrow are expensive. No point making homemade food in an effort to save money if you end up spending $15 on your broth alone. My local Asian store carried beef bones for $1.08 a pound. That’s a steal of a deal, compared to $4.30 per pound of oxtail or beef marrow. Usually, a whole bone weighs anywhere between 3-5 pounds and they cut it for me too, a very good convenience I’m grateful for. Imagine me whacking at a whole cow’s bone in my kitchen without a good whacking tool or a sturdy butcher’s block! Ha!
- Spices. There are some exotic spices called for in the recipe that I’m convinced cannot be replaced by ground versions or substitutes. If you live in a metropolitan area, finding the spices for pho bowl is not a problem even at your local grocery store, but it could add up to a hefty sum. Better to buy the spices in bulk at an Asian store, perhaps even places like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. If you live in a not so metropolitan area, hunt for small Asian/Indian/Mediterranean shops, often tucked in the most inconspicuous places. They should carry most, if not all of the spices used in this recipe. The initial cost of spices could be pricey but once you’re stocked, you won’t have to buy anymore for at least a couple months.
- Crock pot. You should know how your slow cooker works. A new one should cook the broth to a tasty finish in the amount of time recommended by the recipe. Mine cooks the broth to a better flavor between 12 and 15 hours. As for size, consider using one no smaller than 6.5 quarts.
- To Toast Or Not To Toast. If you have time and prefer a deeper layer of flavor this step adds to your broth, do toast the spices and char the ginger and onions. But if you’re short on time and just want to put things together fast, you may skip the toasting and charring. Your broth will still come out quite flavorful.
- Topping (or Filling or Garnishes). You can be as creative as you want to be on this one. My usual go-to’s include thin sweet onion slices, thai basil, cilantro, lime wedges, jalapeno slices, very thinly sliced steak meat, pho noodles, sriracha (hot chili paste), and hoisin sauce. Some other options to consider are sliced beef meat balls, scallions, and bean sprouts. A friend mentioned adding whatever meat she has on hand to the broth. You may also skip the meat and go with an all-veggie bowl. For crunch, add some steamed baby bok choy or simply boil it in the broth for a minute before adding all the other garnishes. Be creative!
- Meat. Special mention on this because of our experience. My Hubby is a huge steak fan so that is our preferred meat for our pho bowls. Both recipes mention to add the meat to the piping hot broth, which should sufficiently cook the thinly sliced steak meat. However, both my Husband and our friend-guest for lunch one day were concerned that the meat may not be cooked to doneness. So to eliminate that concern the next time I made pho, I ladled some of the broth into a saucepan and brought that to a boil, added the meat slices, and let it cook for a minute. The meat was perfectly cooked, not overdone, and for some reason (which I’m sure somewhere lies an explanation) the one-minute cooking brought out the beef flavor of the steak more. Not only was my Hubby able to enjoy his pho bowl worry-free, he also liked the more beefy flavor of the steak. It’s a win-win for us.
The keys to achieving thinly sliced meat is to have a really sharp knife, a stable cutting board, and a slightly frozen meat.
- Pho Noodles. Steamy Kitchen and Wandering Chopsticks both provide sufficient information on what to look for. I personally prefer the fresh noodles because it’s less fuss and time to prepare.
- Heat. Be careful adding sriracha sauce or jalapeno slices to your bowl if you’re not so keen on super-spicy foods. If you want a mild spice level, skip the jalapeno altogether and add just a drop of sriracha and go from there. If you LOVE spicy hot pho bowl, drop 2-3 jalapeno slices, ribs and seeds included, and add a couple drops of sriracha sauce. Be sure to have plenty of kleenex or napkins nearby.
From my kitchen to yours! (Never mind the mess I've created in the background. Ha!)
