There's NO business like PHO business!

Ok full disclaimer - YES, I know that the correct pronunciation is "fuh". Yes, I do always pronounce it "fuh" and not "fo", but last night we had a Tony Awards viewing party and the spelling worked out when it came time to name my dish with a Broadway theme!

Pho is the most delicious Vietnamese soup you will EVER eat. There are many varieties but the final result is ALWAYS delicious. In order to make true authentic pho, you need to have a lot of time and patience on your hands. It takes over twenty fours hours, but I'll tell you two things;

1. It's WORTH the time!

2. It's NOT as difficult as you would think!

Pho is typically just served with the broth, noodles, and meat (if you choose) in a bowl. The broth alone has more flavor than you could imagine, but it is served with a tray of optional add-ins for more flavor such as cilantro, basil, sprouts, limes, jalapeños, and an assortment of hot sauces such as Sriracha and Sambal Oelek. Hoisin sauce and bean paste are also great if you want less heat. The meat is paper thin and placed on top of the noodles raw, and then the boiling liquid cooks the meat on contact.

The secret to the broth is to start with good bones. My grocery store had fresh beef bones so that is what I used but you can also use pork neck bones. In order to get a clear broth, step one is to blanche them in boiling water for about 45 minutes, then discard the liquid, wash the bones, and place them on a sheet pan. This will eliminate the foam and provide a clear broth.

Step two is to roast the rinsed bones at a high temperature along with onions, garlic, and ginger for another 45 minutes. By this time, the house smelled insanely good.

Step three is to toast the spices while the bones are roasting. I used star anise, cloves, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds. Once they were toasted, I added them to a stock pot along with the bones, onions, garlic, ginger, and water.

Step four is to bring it to a boil and then allow it to simmer for at least nine hours and up to twenty four hours. Obviously, turn the heat off and refrigerate overnight if you are not finished cooking and then you can continue the next morning. (I blanched and roasted the bones on Saturday night, and then toasted the spices and finished the stock starting early Sunday morning so that it could cook all day and be ready by Sunday night.)

While the pho was simmering and making everyone in the house drool from hunger, I decided to make Spicy Asian Shrimp Tacos while we waited.

I started by marinating the shrimp in sesame oil, Sriracha, sambal, Korean pepper flakes, soy sauce, ponzu, garlic, ginger, and scallions. While that sat, I made a simple Asian slaw to cool down the heat from the shrimp. The dressing is black vinegar, olive oil, soy sauce, ponzu sauce, sesame oil, and a touch of honey.

The shrimp only take a few minutes to cook and I blistered some corn tortillas in a dry pan while the shrimp cooked.

To build the tacos, I started by adding shrimp to the tortilla shells.

I topped with slaw...

...and then I finished with a drizzle of Sriracha, Japanese mayo, scallions, cilantro, and toasted sesame seeds.

All they needed then was a wedge of lime and they were ready to eat. These are AMAZING. I'd order these over and over again in a restaurant.

Now it's time to start planning next weekend's menu. Have a great week and thanks as always for reading!