Making traditional pho broth can take days... so I cheat mightily to get this recipe down to a more manageable time frame AND add more veggies than would be traditional because, well, it's healthier. Oh, and I pull the Japanese trick of adding a whisked egg to the soup at the end to add some richness :)
Ingredients:
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
3 cups water
1 cup dry sherry
1 package bonito flake, approx. 4 oz. (available in bulk in Asian markets)
2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 tbsp. chili/garlic paste
1 tbsp. minced ginger
2 tsp. ground corinader
2 star anise cloves
2 tsp. ground white pepper
2 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. sea salt
1 1/2 lbs. of pork butt, VERY thinly sliced (have your butcher do it)
1 1/2 cups of chopped spring onion or leeks
2 cups of fresh carrots, thinly sliced
1 whole Napa cabbage, cored and shredded
2 cups of chopped rapini (i.e. broccoli rabe)
1 cup chopped shitake mushrooms
1 cup chopped Tokyo turnips or other soft turnip
1 large package (20 - 24oz.) of thin rice noodles (Vietnamese vermicelli)
10 large eggs
Directions:
Prepare the rice noodles according to package directions, shocking with water at the end to chill.
In a large stock pot, combine chicken broth, water, sherry, and all spices and condiments. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 - 20 minutes to allow the flavors to fully combine. Remove the star anise cloves with a slotted spoon before continuing.
Add the pork butt and onion. Simmer covered for 15 minutes. Add the carrots, mushrooms, and turnips. Raise heat to return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Add the cabbage and rapini, return to boil, then reduce heat to simmer again covered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
Place approx. 1 cup of cooked noodles into the bottom of a bowl. Ladle in 1 1/2 cups of the soup mixture. Crack an egg into a separate small bowl and whisk with chopsticks then pour into the hot soup bowl. Mix the egg into the soup with chopsticks thoroughly before eating (this will cook the egg).
Makes approx. 10 servings.
