Nikala is a lovely and beautiful woman who lives in my building and has become a very good friend of mine. Lucky for her boyfriend, Oliver, she is also a great cook! Amazing!
She and I made the boys dinner tonight and decided on Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). It is a delicious and healthy treat and has a very different flavor than most of the dishes that I normally make. The authentic version is much more time consuming; our version can be whipped up with ingredients from your own fridge and the local grocery store... we are not apologizing - it was delicious!
Ingredients:
5 large chicken breasts
8 cups of chicken broth
4 cups of water
2 basil stalks
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 handful of cilantro
3 cinnamon sticks
3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp grated ginger
1) Place all of these ingredients in a large stock pot, bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer for 1 hour. The basil, cilantro and cinnamon can be placed in a spice bag or cheesecloth - or just tossed into the pot.
2) In the mean time prepare garnish.
Garnish:
Torn basil
Torn cilantro
2 limes (cut into slices)
Sriracha hot pepper sauce
Bean sprouts
Fish sauce
3) Once the soup has simmered for (roughly) an hour. Remove basil, cinnamon sticks, cilantro. Then tear the chicken breasts with a fork into bite size pieces.
4) Cook 1/2 package of brown rice vermicelli in boiling water for approximately 2 minutes.
5) Arrange the garnish on the table and ENJOY!
The noodles are first placed in the bowl, the broth and chicken chunks are ladled atop, and then garnishes can be added. The beauty of this soup is that each person can build their dish in a way that suits their taste-buds.
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