You’ll know we don’t have a fancy built in refrigerator when I tell you that ours serves as a constantly rotating photo gallery. I don’t mind a bit. The kitchen is my favorite place to be, and it might as well include a collection of pictures featuring happy memories with family, and friends. Mostly the photos are constantly changing, but a few get to stick around, like a trip to remember, an event that was special, or the rare family shot that actually contains both me and my husband. Really, most of the “keepers” are of my son and me. The other day, while changing photos, I noticed that while my look of absolute adoration for my son never changes, as photo history progressed, he was sort of looking at me like – well – maybe I wasn’t terribly bright! Could we’ve reached that stage I hoped we could avoid, where my kid thinks he’s smarter than me? Mind you in saying this, I’m not counting anything involving technology where youth reigns supreme. Instead I’m referring to important things like history, culture, cleverness, and, of course, food.
Yesterday morning I mentioned that if everyone could be home for dinner I would make Pho, one of our very favorite soups with an Asian inspired flavor. Well bless my heart, I mispronounced the word Pho in my slightly Southern accent making it sound more like Foo, as in “Little Bunny Foo Foo,” than pronouncing it like the French sounding “faux” which is, indeed, correct. Take note that the look of absolute pity, combined with scathing contempt, your own child can send your way is a scary thing. I registered that look, and tried to pretend my pronunciation was intentional by singing a few verses of “Little Bunny Foo Foo.” This did not go well. First of all, it’s an established fact that I cannot sing. Secondly, and I should have had more sense, it is not in any way cool or clever to sing “Little Bunny Foo Foo”. Ever.
The truth is, that though I may have lost a little respect initially, this soup saved the day. It was warm, comforting, a little sophisticated, when pronounced correctly, and definitely delicious. Plus there’s steak in it – what’s not to love. Even I went back for seconds. It just may be my favorite soup. Make this yummy Pho for dinner; just try to avoid my “Faux Pas”. (smiley face)
Lemongrass - Easy to Grow
Pho Steak Soup with Noodles (Printable Recipe)
Ingredients
1 lemongrass stalk, in fresh produce (or lemongrass paste – see
photo!)
1 Tbsp Asian sesame oil
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 small jalapeno, seeds removed, chopped (or ½ tsp red pepper flakes)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
8 cups chicken or beef broth
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
1 whole star anise (spice aisle)
1 cinnamon stick
10 -12 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 pounds dried flat rice noodles or linguini
1 lb. sirloin steak (about 1 inch thick)
3 cups coarsely chopped spinach
Optional: 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
Lime wedges for serving
Directions
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat both oils over medium heat.
Add lemongrass, garlic, jalapeno, and ginger to lightly brown, about 5 minutes. (if using lemon grass paste wait to add with broth)
Pour in broth, add fish sauce, star anise, and cinnamon stick.
Let soup simmer for about 20 minutes. Either strain or using a spoon, remove solid ingredients from the pot.
Add tomatoes and green onions to the soup to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, cook noodles in a separate pot according to package instructions.
Heat a tsp of vegetable oil in a large skillet over high heat. (or spray with cooking spray)
Season steak with salt and pepper and sear on both sides to rare. (It cooks more in the hot broth – it’s true even though at first my family didn’t believe me and had over-cooked steak)
Remove steak to cutting board to rest for a couple of minutes, then slice thinly.
Add spinach to the soup for the last minute of cooking.
Add noodles.
To serve: Put steak in soup bowls, cover with hot broth and noodles. If desired, top with a few mint leaves and a squeeze of lime juice. Yum!
Waiting for Soup
