Capitol Hill Blue Forums Misc. Topics Food, Drink and Cooking Another "general" food thread

I was on a kick last weekend - specifically, a soup kick; even more specifically, a pho kick - beef from the Vietnamese place in my neighborhood.

Their broth is so good I considered getting a large glass jar and just asking them to fill it every few days - the flavors of pho are complex enough I thought I'd never figure it out.

But on the Splendid Table radio show today, they gave a general recipe (ingredients, no amounts) - broth, onion, garlic, star anise and cinnamon (roasted together), and a bit of fish sauce, and one more that I'll have to get from the podcast - white something, I can't read my writing!

All this by way of asking if any of you have ever made pho, and if so, would you share your recipe?

No I've never made Pho.
I do know a trick for the very clear broths the orientals are able to make. Once the ingredients are in the stockpot, boil slowly and never ever stir. The ingredients will form a "raft" on top of the broth and this raft must never be disturbed during the cooking time. When the broth is done use a Chinese spider skimmer or a stainless steel skimmer to carefully remove the raft then strain the broth through cheesecloth.

Spider Skimmer


Stainless steel skimmer

I think I may try making this in the next few days; I planned on making vegetable broth anyway, might as well use it for a base.

If you make soups, broths, or boil any meat or beans, a stainless steel skimmer is probably more useful than even a ladle.

Since this is a "general" thread, I had some canned chicken noodle soup, and, despite all the salt and chemicals they put in it, I found out how to make it taste really good. Just add some collards! I imagine that spinach and other greens would also work. One morning a few weeks ago, I was going to have some collards mixed with rice and black eyed peas for breakfast, when I spotted some canned chicken noodle soup on the shelf. So I thought, why not? and tried it. It's wonderful! Almost reminds me of one of my favorite soups which you make with chicken broth, the shredded chicken that you used to make the broth, small meatballs, and spinach.

Collards, rice, Black eyed peas and chicken soup for breakfast?
Being a single guy, Joe, I eat stuff almost that weird but I wait until at least 11 o'clock so I can wash it down with a beer.

I made some pretty wonderful chicken noodle soup a couple of weekends ago, using low sodium chicken broth and whole wheat egg noodles that I had left over.

Joe...If you have a Costco in the area, look for Pacific Natural Foods free-range, organic chicken broth. $9.99 for a 6-pack of 1-qt. boxes. (That's a deal!)

Makes an excellent soup base. I also use it in Asian recipes. If no Costco, you can probably get it in a health food store or the organic section of the supermarket. If you don't use the whole quart, freeze the rest in portion-size containers.

Joe, I won't laugh at your breakfast collards, because lately I've been having spinach and kale for breakfast myself.

It really isn't a bad way to start the day - but I've been late to work a few times, having to pull over to catch falling pianos, or race up construction sites to stop babies about to fall off girders.

I fights to the finish, you know!

Can't wait for my kale to start growing again! I love it for breakfast, stir fried in olive oil with garlic. Don't care much for collards though, but I'll eat them occasionally just to be polite.

Afterwards, less than polite. My, do they release some fumes. Worse than cabbage, and cabbage is bad.