pho

my suzanne is a really awesome cook. she has made this soup for me in the past so a while back while we were on vacation i got her to teach me how to make it. it looks a little complicated, but as long as you prepare everything before cooking, you should be good to go!

she made pork for the meat-eaters, and tofu for me.

this recipe serves 4 - dinner sized portions!

ingredients:

2 c broth
2 c water
1/4 onion
1 T 5-spice
juice of 1/3 lime
1 T tamari
fish sauce (optionial)
garlic and chili sauce to your liking

3 c veggies (broccoli, carotts, peppers, whatever you like!)
2 c baby bok choy (3 heads) or spinach or bean sprouts

3/4 lb tofu/pork/whatever you like in thin slices

4 squares (1/2 package) rice noodles

sauce:

2 T tamari
1 T sesame oil
1 t chili paste/sambal olek
1 clove garlic
1 t fish sauce (optional)
1 T honey

garnish:

1/2 c chopped peanuts
1/2 c chopped basil
1/2 c thinly sliced green onions
soy sauce/tamari
chili garlic/sambal olek
lime slices

to make:

prep everything - cut up veggies into matchsticks, mix sauce ingredients together, chop meat/tofu and add to sauce, have garnishes ready to go!

pour broth, water, onion, 5-spice, lime, tamari, fish sauce, garlic and hot sauce into a big pot. bring to boil.

in a separate pot, boil water for rice noodles. cook them until they are tender then drain.

in a pan, fry tofu/meat and sauce. you want them a little browned. (*disclaimer* if you are cooking with meat, i assume you know how to not poison yourself!!)

once your broth pot is boiling, add the chopped veggies. you want them to boil for about 10-15 minutes, until they are just a bit tender, but still have some crisp. once this is achieved, remove from heat, and add bok choy/spinach/sprouts.

once everything is cooked, put your bowls together. spoon about 2 c broth into a bowl, and top with a heap of noodles

and meat/tofu

finally, garnish as desired!

SO TASTY!