Just about every culture has their own comfort soups for cold winter nights, whether it be roasted red bell pepper soup with grilled cheese, soon du bu chigae (spicy korean tofu soup), niu rou mien (spicy beef noodle soup), or hu tieu nam vang (cambodian pho.) They are soups that speak to the heart and warm your belly.
Living and cooking out in Hill Country, TX, T and I have often had to exercise our creativity because we lack so many of the precious ingredients that these ethnic soups require. As a result, we have come up with some pretty funky, as well as some very tasty concoctions. 'Pho-Ko' is one of our more successful creations and here's how we did it.......
Let me start by telling you what PHO is. PHO (pronounced fuh) is a noodle soup with a light, clear broth made with either beef, chicken or pork and infused with aromatic spices. It is topped off with various cuts of beef, chicken and or seafood. Its garnishes may include: fresh bean sprouts, lime, cilantro, basil, red onions, jalapenos and, of course, sriracha and hoisin sauce.
BO KHO is the opposite. It is a dark, hearty curried beef stew with onions, potatoes, and carrots. Most often it is eaten with toasted French bread but you can also have it with rice and noodles.
With that being said here is our recipe for PHO-KO:
Things you will need:
1 6qt pot
1 smaller pot (cooking fresh noodles)
deep sieve
cheese cloth or mesh tea steeper
ladle
4 bowls
4 sets of chopsticks
4 spoons
Ingredients for broth:
1 tsp of corn oil
1 whole small white onion or 1/2 large white onion
2 star anise pods
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp of whole black or white peppercorn
1 tsp of cloves
1 stick of cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp Madras curry powder
1/2 tsp of salt + 1 tbs for seasoning bones
1 1/2 tbsp of sugar
1 tbsp of bo kho paste
2 1/2 lbs of beef knuckle bones or meatless beef shanks
ground white/black pepper
water to cover bones (3 quarts)
2-3 qts of water to cook noodles
other ingredients:
2 pkgs of fresh rice noodles
beef meatballs with tendons (cut in half)
brisket (thinly sliced)
1. Heat the pot on medium high and drizzle the bottom with corn oil. Season both sides of beef knuckle bones with salt.
2. Roast the bones in the pot on both sides until brown. Place the onions and the garlic cloves in the pot and caramelize them in the beef fat.
3. Remove the bones and drain the pot of any excess fats. Put the bones back into the pot.
4. Place the star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaves and peppercorn in the cheese cloth or tea steeper and drop it into the pot.
4. Pour water into pot until it covers the bones. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 3 hours until meat is tender.
5. Turn up the heat to medium high and add the sugar, salt, curry, bo kho paste and meatballs, bring to a boil.
6. Boil the water for second pot and take one pkg of fresh rice noodles and divide them equally enough for 4 servings.
7. Using the sieve, cook the noodles until al dente.
8. Place the cooked noodles into a bowl, then add the brisket, red onions, bean sprouts or whatever garnishes fancies you
9. Ladle in broth to cover noodles and you're ready to eat
Ingredients for garnishes:
red onion or shallots(thinly sliced)
bean sprouts
green onions
cilantro
lime
jalapenos
basil
fish sauce
mint leaves
Bon appetit!!
Tada! Wasn't that easy?
