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Pho Broth
1½ litres/2¼ pts chicken stock
2cm/1in piece fresh ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, grated
4 star anise
4 kaffir lime leaves
3 peppercorns
1 red chilli
150g/5½ oz vermicelli rice noodles
2 tbsp fish sauce
For the chicken balls
2 red chillies
450g/1lb chicken mince
4 spring onions, very finely sliced
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
kaffir lime, zest only
1 tbsp sunflower oil
To serve 4 spring onions, finely sliced
75g/2½oz bean sprouts
handful coriander leaves
1 lime, cut into wedges
For the pho broth, pour the chicken stock into a large heavy-based saucepan. Add
the ginger, garlic, star anise, kaffir lime leaves and peppercorns. Roughly chop
one of the chillies and add to the stock. Heat the stock to a gentle simmer and
allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Place the noodles in a bowl. Pour boiling water
over the noodles and leave to stand for ten minutes (or cook according to packet
instructions). Drain and set aside. Strain the stock to remove the herbs and spices
and return the strained liquid to the pan and add the 2tbsp of fish sauce.
For the chicken balls, de-seed and finely chop the red chillies and put into a food
processor. Add the chicken, spring onions, coriander, 2tbsp of fish sauce and the
kaffir lime zest and blend until mixed together. Roll the chicken mixture into bite-sized
balls and place in the fridge for ten minutes, or until ready to use. Heat a large
frying pan. Add the oil and then the chicken balls and stir fry over a high heat for 6-7 minutes, until golden brown and almost cooked through. Just before
serving, add the chicken balls to the stock to cook
thoroughly.
To serve, warm four deep bowls and divide the noodles among them. Next pour over
the soup and chicken balls, Finally garnish with spring onions, bean sprouts,
coriander leaves and lime wedges.
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Cao Lau
This was the only recipe for Cao Lau that I could find anywhere on the web. But
I did find out that this dish is only made in Hue in Vietnam and is jealously
guarded by the areas chefs.
1. Water source: In Hội An (Faifo) and surroundings such as Cẩm Khê, there still
remain old square wells that the Cham people dug from hundreds of years ago.
Water from these wells is used for drinking and cooking, and it has a unique
flavor. The most famous well is Well Bá Lễ.
2. Lye solution: Lye is made from
ashes of trees. Different trees give different lye solutions. This particular
lye solution that is used to make cao lầu's noodle is from "tro" tree grown in
Cham Island nearby.
6. Pork rind: Select the thinnest pork skin, and
remove all the fat. Cut the skin to small pieces of about 2 cm wide, and
marinate for 30 minutes in the same kind of mixture you use to make xá xíu. Deep
fry (in high heat?) the pork rind until crispy. Let the pork rind drain.
7.
Herb: Húng lủi (Mentha aquatica L.; water mint), cut to short stems. Chive,
minced. Cilantro also.
8. Presentation: Put noodle and water mint in a bowl.
Place slices of xá xíu on top. Throw in some pork rind and minced chive. Pour
just a litte of the stock into the bowl. Also throw in some cilantro on top. Put
a dash of pepper.
9. New modifications: Some people now add dry shrimp, dry
squid in the soup stock to add more flavor with a ratio of 10g dry squid or
shrimp and 1/2 liter of water. Some also use chicken stock instead, but this
gives different flavor. Some add more varieties of herb, minced. Uncooked bean
sprout, roasted peanut, rice crackers that are broken in small pieces...are also
used. Some even use (boiled) chicken meat cut into squares, sauteed shrimp. Some
cao lầu noodle has a deep yellow color of tumeric, and is only seen in Saigon.
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