What the Pho?!
Pho (Fuh not Foe) is a fantastic Vietnamese noodle dish that involves pouring boiling beef stock over thin slices of raw beef and noodles then adding handfuls of fresh herbs, bean sprouts, lime juice, and peppers. The boiling broth gently cooks the thin slices of meat to a lovely, tender medium. It is such a homey, comforting dish that it sometimes seems out of place to enjoy it in a restaurant setting. I wanted to be able to enjoy Pho at home but it’s complex taste was intimidating. Thanks to Jaden at Steamy Kitchen, I now know how easy it can be! Her recipe for making Pho in the crockpot was just the incentive I needed to make it myself.
It really was super easy and smelled delicious all day. If you can make a pot roast, you can make Pho. I toasted the spices, onion, and ginger on the stovetop, boiled the bones vigorously for ten minutes, then added it all to the crock pot with plenty of water to cover. It cooked on low for 8 hours, then I made some rice noodles, strained the broth, washed the herbs, and we ate! Delicious, flavorful Pho in our very own kitchen. Thank you so much Jaden (believe me, mrChaos thanks you too)!
Cost Analysis:
- 4 lbs beef knuckles: $2.99
- 1 lb top round, thinly sliced: $4.12
- bean sprouts: $0.21
- rice noodles: $1.75
- ginger: $0.88
- lime: $0.30
- basil: $2.29 (ugh)
- Total Cost for 6 servings: $12.54 or $2.09 per serving
Kind of makes me feel silly for paying $9.99 for a bowl at our local noodle house…
Posted in Budget
May 15th, 2009 at 7:10 am
My husband loves this stuff. I have a recipe that I whip up when he is craving some. http://thenoshery.com/2009/02/18/pho-soup/
I am going to have to try this crockpot version. I love crockpots.
May 15th, 2009 at 10:30 am
This sounds tasty. You think I can use chicken breast of thighs instead?
I would follow this recipe to make chicken pho, which I will actually do at some point soon… – Katie
May 15th, 2009 at 10:35 am
This looks delicious. Beef knuckles eh? Not sure if I’ve seen that in the stores.
At my grocery store they were sliced and labeled “Soup Bones.” I found them in with all the other miscellaneous beef parts. 😉 -Katie
May 16th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I love pho in restaurants, but the one time I made it myself (from a Sara Moulton recipe) it didn’t do much for me in the flavor department. I like the idea of making it in the slow cooker, though, and if it weren’t a blasted 100 degrees today I’d put it on the menu immediately.
Come on cold front, come on…
May 16th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
I love pho – I’ve only done it homemade once, though. It was the best thing I’d ever eaten in my entire life.
Granted, I was a little…indisposed might be the word? You know, the kind of state of mind in which Cheetos are a direct gift from the gods and Taco Bell deserves at least one Michelin star?
One of thoooose kinds of evenings.
Anyway, the pho was tasty. Now I want to make it again.
This time a little more…alert.
May 18th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
$9.99?? *Gasp*
I guess that seems bizarre to me because we have Little Saigon here in OC (we have a huge Viet population) and you can get a massive bowl for $5-$6.
I LOVE pho. I had it today for lunch, in fact. I really need to learn how to make it at home and am always in admiration of those who take the time to do it.
May 18th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Oh and also? What the pho? Making puns out of the word pho never gets old. Steve’s clan name on Xbox Live is Pho Q. Har har.
May 19th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Love pho and there are a ton of pho places in the area, but alas, I rarely seem to make it to one. Now I have a craving….
May 26th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
You are the crockpot pho queen!
thanks for the shoutout!