The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.
At least once a game, I find myself thinking that “pho” really ought to be a valid Scrabble word. After all, “sushi” is legal. So is “carbonara.” Ditto “paella.” And in my town, the noodle houses that specialize in this traditional Vietnamese soup can be found sometimes two or three to a block, at least as numerous as sushi restaurants and easily outnumbering those serving Italian or Spanish fare. In other words, pho is a legitimate part of our multi-ethnic American culinary lexicon.
In fact, pho is so easy to come by around here that it never crossed my mind that I could or should make it at home. Thanks to Jaden and this month’s Daring Cooks challenge, I now know I can have her delicious, quick version of pho ga (chicken pho) on the table in less time than it takes to go get some at Pho Quyen Noodle House. Throw in the crispy chocolate wontons (with green tea ice cream) for dessert and I’m still ahead of the game, time-wise.
(That is, of course, assuming that I ignore Jaden’s instruction that the tails should be pinched off the two cups of bean sprouts that are one of pho’s important garnishes. That’s, what, about 1,843 sprouts? Call me a bad Daring Cook if you must, but if we’re talking that kind of time, I’ll just go straight to Viet Nam for my pho, thank you very much.)
