[Leica] Cold Pho

[bruceslomovitz at comcast.net (bruceslomovitz at comcast.net)]

Heresy of heresies!? You don't eat pho with glass noodles or vermicelli.? 
You eat it with banh pho.? Glass noodles are made from beans.? Banh pho is a 
somewhat broad, white (not clear) rice noodle which should be prepared so it 
is al dente.? Regarding the name pho, it is a corruption of the F rench 
gastronomical term "pot au feu".? The word pho is pronounced very nearly 
like feu.? Pot au feu means, of course, pot on the fire.? 



As far as cooking on hot days, you must make the broth by first charring 
soup bones and a whole yellow onion (skin on)?in the oven.? Then you must 
boil the bones and onion slowly for hours with star anise,?a couple of 
sticks of cinnamon, and some ginger.? Add good fish sauce to taste at the 
end and remove the bones, onion, ginger, etc.? Your broth should?not be 
cloudy, which it will not be if you boil it slowly.? 



After all of this, how much heat is it going to generate to boil up enough 
broth for a bowl or two of pho???But to each his own I suppose.? The 
Vietnamese changed the French cooking methods to which they were exposed.? 
So I guess if you wish to corrupt pho by eating it cold, you are entitled to 
do so. 



Bruce S.