free from gluten and the top 8 food allergens<\/p><\/div>\n

In Vietnam they have pho and then more pho. Considered the Vietnamese national soup, pho is enjoyed at breakfast, lunch and dinner.<\/p>\n

There are many pho variations. Common are Pho Bo (beef noodle soup), Pho Ga (chicken noodle soup) and Pho Chay (vegetable noodle soup).<\/p>\n

This lemongrass pho chay recipe is not only delicious, but good pho you!<\/p>\n

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Pho consists of broth, rice noodles called banh pho, herbs and meat and\/or vegetables. Other additions have come center stage such as shrimp and pork filled wontons, seafood, brisket, tofu and so much more.<\/p>\n

Broth Rules!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Although the word “pho” actually refers to the rice noodles, the soup is really about the broth. The way all the spices and their flavors come together is incredible. But the best part is that you can customize, adding any and all the condiments and proteins you desire to make this your soup.<\/p>\n

Once you’ve got the broth and the noodles, everything else is totally customizable. We’ll show you how we like our pho, but it’s your pho. Add to the broth what you want.<\/p>\n

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We make it once a month, always making sure there is leftover broth to freeze for another day.<\/p>\n

Making pho is easy, yet it can be time consuming. If you start your prep a day in advance and you have stock in the freezer, a bowl of soup will never be out of reach.<\/p>\n

The Stockpot<\/strong><\/p>\n

You’ll need a stockpot, which is a large, deep, straight-sided pot for preparing stocks and simmering large quantities of liquids where rapid evaporation is not desired. Stockpots are similar to saucepans, but saucepans are much shallower to allow for ease of stirring and mixing.<\/p>\n

If you don’t have a stockpot, don’t worry. Use a large narrow saucepan. For this, we used a large saucepan with a diameter of 10-inches. We lost a little more evaporation, but the results were still pho-nomenal!<\/p>\n

Let’s take a look at the steps for making the broth.<\/p>\n

mise en place<\/p><\/div>\n

more mise en place<\/p><\/div>\n

sweating onion, carrots, celery, leeks, parsnips and garlic<\/p><\/div>\n

adding water, tomato, lemongrass, daikon, ginger, star anise, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and dried shiitakes<\/p><\/div>\n

simmering broth for 45 minutes<\/p><\/div>\n

strained veggies and the finished broth<\/p><\/div>\n

Tidbits<\/strong><\/p>\n

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• Yellow rock sugar is often used in making authentic Vietnamese pho. The flavor is a little different from regular sugar and it isn’t a refined white sugar. Regular sugar produces a sweet, flat broth, whereas the rock sugar rounds things out with translucency and brings everything together.<\/li>\n
• Charring onions over an open flame or under a broiler make for a more complex finished broth. When split, you see the layer of blackened skin on the exterior, which will be removed, followed by layers of sweet semi-cooked onion, with a raw core. Charring ginger also gives nice depth and color.<\/li>\n
• Toasting star anise, cloves and cinnamon in a dry pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes adds depth to the broth. Despite the fact that they’re dried, spices do lose flavor and aroma over time. The key is to use good, fresh spices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

  Gimme some pho!<\/p>\n

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