Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Pho

pho
pho
One night years ago when I first moved back to Cleveland I needed a bowl of pho. The blue-eyed boy, who later became my husband, thought I had a stutter as I repeatedly said, “lets get some pho, pho, you know pho.” We walked into a local place that only serves only pho to have our entrance blocked by the waiter. The four table restaurant “only served pho” he explained and we would be smart to turn around and go to the fusion place across the street. When we explained that we had in fact attended the restaurant for its pho, he then wanted to know our credentials, “When have Yo you had pho? Where have you had pho? Why have you had pho?”

When the pho arrived, the owner/ waiter pointed to the plate of raw add-ons saying, “change the pho once, twice, three times, four times but not five.” He then looked on standing against the swinging door that separated the small kitchen and the spare white dining room. As I added 2 jalapeno slices, cilantro, bean sprouts and 2 squeezes of lime to my pho, I felt a smile on my watchers face. Apparently I had passed the test.

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With two little ones, it has been much harder to run across town when the desire for pho pops up, so I was glad to learn to make pho at home. The recipe is a breeze and really lovely, though if you have a small family assume you will be able to freeze half the soup for a deep winter treat. Thanks to Jaden Hair of Steamy Kitchen.  Her book, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook, is to be released soon.

We also made the dessert wonton part of the challenge. I made homemade white chocolate, pink peppercorn and raspberry icecream. After churning, I put them in the wontons and then froze them. Quick fry and voila.

friedwontons

(And, if you are there with your calculator, I made this a month ago not during Eat on 30 week.)

22 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Your Pho looks so delightful and that wonton dessert is really pretty!

Cheers,

Rosa

high over happy said...

I can't believe you made pho! It looks so good. You Daring Cooks are certainly intimidating :)

Chibog in Chief said...

Holy Cow!! your Daring Kitchen entries are both beautiful and delicious!! I really wanted to join this challenge but I ran out of time :-)..if there is a winner it's your entries!! and the raspberry wonton looks amazing!!

hailskitchen said...

Thanks for posting this! I love pho and am missing it now that I have moved to a town with very few ethnic restaurants. It is the best comfort food. I'll be sure to check it out once the challenge it over. :)

~~louise~~ said...

I must get out more. I've never had the pleasure of a poh encounter. I do believe it's high time I remedy the situation. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention.

~~louise~~ said...

Uh oh...I think I spelled it wrong. I really need to seek this dish out for sure now.

Amy I. said...

Gorgeous photos, and I love your story about the pho restaurant!

grace said...

i've never tried pho, although i've seen it all over blogland. it appears to be a lovely dish (yet i'm completely distracted by the dessert wonton...). :)

Kitchen Butterfly said...

Yummy Pho...but the wonton icecreams sound absolutely delish. I've never tried Ice cream pockets!

Lauren said...

Wonderful job! Your pho looks stunning, and the dessert wontons sound absolutely delicious =D.

Margie said...

Your pho looks beautiful and I love that lotus bowl! Great story about your pho credentials. And the fried ice cream -- inspired!

shaz said...

White chocolate, pink peppercorn and raspberry ice-cream sounds divine. Love the pho photos.

Heather B said...

Love your pictures! Your pho looks amazing. Great job this month!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I love Pho. Looks so good.

Cynthia said...

Pho is something I can eat every single day!

Ravenous Couple said...

great job on the pho! what a great Vietnamese meal with spring rolls too!

lisaiscooking said...

Your pho is beautiful! I'm inspired to make it at home now. Great looking dessert too.

Lisa said...

Your Beef Pho and PHOtographs are absolutely stunning and mouth waterng! Nicely done!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Such wonderful photographs! In Sydney we used to get beef sliced finely just for pho - you don't see that here, sadly.

Dharm said...

Oh yes!! That Pho looks really good!!

maybelles mom said...

thanks all. Foodcat, we actually get that sliced meat too but I prefer to slice my own.

Peter M said...

I love Pho, I could eat it every day but I don't want to get sick of it.