Buffa-pho

Okay, this was so good I have to share...somehow this has turned into more of a kitchen blog than a gardening blog but as I said yesterday, the garden is in deep-heat-survival mode.

So I ordered a buffalo roast from our coop last month. We used it as a roast, as yummy sandwiches with dijon mustard and pickles, and as BUFFA-PHO.

If you're a pho devote like myself you'll realize that all you really need to make a good pot of pho is a few fine ingredients. Simple, simple. Pho is Vietnamese noodle soup which includes a meat, onions, peppers, rice noodles, fresh bean sprouts, fresh basil, lime, and a squirt of hot garlic chili paste. Man, is it good! And it's fairly light, too, so while it's soup, it's still good on a summer night. No food coma afterwards. Typically it's made by quickly heating raw meat in simmering stock and then serving immediately. I usually make it with leftovers, though, and it's great!

Here are rough estimates of what I threw together the other night, remember my constant motto - taste and adjust!

Buffa-pho for two

• about 6 oz thinly sliced buffalo roast (throw in the freezer for 30 mins to make it easier to slice the meat thinly
• 1/2 pkg rice noodles, prepared according to directions (boil water, remove from heat, soak, use)
• 2 peppers, hot or not, sliced
• one small onion, thinly slice in rings
• 2 cups stock + 2 cups water (or 4 cups stock, we were running low)
• about 2 tsp soy sauce or Braggs
  
• 1/2 cup fresh bean sprouts
• about 8-10 basil leaves
• 1/2 lime, quartered
  
• Sriracha sauce at the ready!

Heat stock and slice meat while it's warming up. Toss in onions and meat and peppers. After four or five minutes add the rice noodles. Let it all get hot but don't cook it for too long - the veggies should still be crispy. Ladle, and garnish with bean sprouts, torn basil leaves, squirt on lime and Sriracha and you're ready to go!