Jessica’s Shortcut Pho

Description

My friend Jessica has for years taunted me with her recipe for ‘shortcut pho,’ so called because of her love for cheap ingredients. A proper pho takes days to make, mostly because of the traditional French approach to making beef stock.

Ingredients

  • 2 quarts beef stock
  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • ½ bunch cilantro, stems discarded
  • 1 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 2 ounces lemongrass paste
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon garam masala
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 pinch ground white pepper, or to taste
  • 1 pound T-bone steak, sliced lengthwise into 1 1/2-inch strips
  • 1 pound shelled shrimp
  • 1 pound dried rice noodles
  • 1 pound bean sprouts, or to taste
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Combine beef stock
  2. chicken stock
  3. lime juice
  4. onion
  5. cilantro
  6. basil
  7. lemongrass paste
  8. red pepper flakes
  9. cumin
  10. garam masala
  11. ginger
  12. and white pepper in a stockpot. Add steak and shrimp; simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  13. While soup is cooking
  14. prepare noodles about 30 minutes into the process. Bring a separate pot of water to a boil and add noodles. Boil until tender yet firm to the bite
  15. about 6 minutes. Drain
  16. rinse
  17. and add to the soup. Stir in bean sprouts and season with salt.

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 45 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins

Servings: 8

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