Hello my friends!!! Oh how I've missed you. I sincerely apologize for being a bit of a weenie lately, last month was a real "b" (I'm sure you can guess what that letter b stands for). To make a long story short, the month in Dayton was not exactly relaxing, and I had no time to do any of the things that I planned on doing (blog, cook, sew, make jewelry, etc). Nope, it was never ending work. And the worst part was all of the crap that I had to see. Literally. I worked with a gastroenterologist. I can handle gross stuff - I want to touch people's eyes for a living - but last month was just icky.
Okay, enough "b"-ing. The month at home was actually quite nice, minus all of the unnecessary work/studying I had to do. I hadn't been home for more than a week at a time since the end of high school, so it was fun to be back at home again for an entire month. My mom did call me at 9:00pm one day asking me why I wasn't home, but that's what moms do, right?
The best part of last month, though, was that I got to see my girlfriends! We had 2 girls-night-out dinners, complete with wine and cocktails, and 1 night with the boys where we baked homemade pizza (post to come). It was soooooooo wonderful to spend time with some of my favorite people in the world. The first night that I saw them, my face literally hurt from laughing so much. I am so grateful for my friends :).
Now on to the food! I don't really have a Halloween themed dish today (but I have a surprise Halloween picture when you finish reading!). The dish that I am sharing with you guys today is called "bun bo Hue". It's a noodle soup flavored with beef and lemongrass that originated in the city of Hue, the imperial capital of Vietnam. This dish holds a special place in my heart because it was one of my favorite dishes as a child. We didn't eat this very often because it took a while to make, so it was a real treat whenever we got to eat this. Also Hue is where my ancestors are from. Vietnamese people take their families seriously - my grandparents have a family tree that goes back 13 generations (that's hundreds of years, people)!
I do hope you enjoy this dish. It does take a while to make, but most of the time is spent simmering. The chili oil is optional, but it makes the dish so yummy. Plus it gives the soup a beautiful orange color (so I guess this is sort of Halloween themed :))
It's interview season, so I may be busy, but between interviews, I will have plenty of time to cook. Plus, I have some recipes that are cooked and ready to be blogged about. So be prepared :)
Bun Bo Hue (beef noodle soup with lemongrass)Serves 6
Print this recipe
Ingredients
4 stalks fresh lemongrass
9 cups cold water (or enough to cover meat)
1 - 2 lbs beef bones
1.5 lbs boneless beef shank
1 lb fresh pork hocks
3 tablespoons fish sauce (nuoc mam)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon shrimp sauce, mixed well with 1 teaspoon water
1 package rice vermicelli
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 small bunch of rau ram (vietnamese coriander - can be found at the Asian grocery)
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions
1. Cover the pork hocks, beef shank, and beef bones with water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Lots of scum will rise to the top. After 10 minutes, dump everything into a colander and rinse the meat with cold water. This step will make a cleaner tasting broth.
2. While the meat is boiling, discard outer leaves and upper 1/3 of the lemongrass stalks. Take the back of a chef's knife or a meat mallet and pound the stalks to release the oils.
3. Place the beef shank, beef bones, lemongrass, and pork hocks into a clean stockpot and cover with cold water. Boil, uncovered, for 15 minutes, removing any additional scum every 5 minutes. Turn heat down to medium, cover, and simmer for at least 3 hours. Remove the beef shank after about 1.5 hours.
4. While the broth is simmering, cook the rice vermicelli according to the directions on the package.
5. Remove the meat and bones from the pot then add the fish sauce, salt, and shrimp paste. Cook for about 15 more minutes and adjust seasoning to your liking.
6. In another small pan, heat the oil and add the cayenne pepper. Make sure that there is good ventilation when you do this! And keep your face away from the oil, because you may burn your nostrils! Add the oil mixture to the broth - it should float to the top.
7. Take the beef shank and cut into thin slices; cut the pork hock into 1 inch slices. Discard the bones - or feed them to your dog :)
8. To serve, place about 1.5 cups of rice vermicelli into a large bowl. Top with as much meat as you'd like, then ladle enough broth to cover the noodles and meat. Top with chopped onions and herbs, and finish off with a squeeze of lime.
So happy to be back!
xoxo <3
Nhu-Y
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| My little hallo-weenie |
