It was my dad that first introduced us to the Vietnamese/ Chinese food restaurant on the corner. We went often before his death, we still visit the restaurant often, and I always think of him while we’re there. When we first went, none of us had never had Pho or Bun before, so I would order a Chinese combination plate and it was always very good. But one cold wet evening there I ordered Pho.
Pho pronounced fa, is a rice noodle and meat soup, lots of good clear broth and long noodles. Sometimes they use dumplings instead of meat, and our soup was served with raw vegetables: soy sprouts, fresh basil and jalepenos that you add to the soup when it’s served to you, and it’s sooooo good!!
This weekend turned rainy and cold, and of course I was craving Pho. We didn’t have rice noodles or soy sprouts, but we did have chicken stock, spaghetti noodles and fresh cabbage, green onions. mushrooms and basil, so I made Faux Pho (fa).
Into a medium sized pot I poured and heated the 32 oz box of chicken stock and added a grind of pepper, dashes of ginger, garlic and two dashes of onion powder. When my stock began to boil I added two large sliced mushrooms, 1 cup roughly shredded cabbage and half of a 13.25 oz box of noodles. I let everything boil together, stirring occasionally for 11 minutes and then removed the pot from the heat.
It was done, so we topped our bowls off with chopped green onions and fresh basil. A little soy sauce and crushed red pepper was my choice and mum had soy sauce and more black pepper with hers.
Everything went into one pot, so it was all cooking time, very little prep work, low in fat and high in fresh veggies. This recipe was enough for two big bowls for mum and I, so you could probably just double it for a family of four.
Our Faux Pho (fa) turned out better then I expected and it was delicious! We enjoyed every drop and of course there was slurping involved! I hope you and your family enjoy it too!
Happy eating friends!
Marianne
NEW PAIR OF WINGS 