441951 Mon Sep 17 00:30:40 -0700 2007 16 31 Home Cooking 0 2947691 Many Hounders have professed their mom's pho to be the best. I am no different, and recently asked my mother to share her secret to the amazing steaming hot bowls of lovin' that grace our table when I come home to visit the Pacific Northwest. When I asked, she took out a step stool, a rickety thing covered in red leatherette, and opened a cupboard. Inside, on the very tippy-top shelf, she took out a jar. Inside swam a sea of anise stars in a brown liquid. "Sherry," she said. Yes, sherry-soaked anise stars are the secret to my mom's incomparable bowl of pho bo (for you whitey tighties in the audience, or just newcomers, bo is beef). You basically buy the most crappy sherry available, fill a used Smucker's jam jar to the gills with anise stars, and pour. It must steep at least a few months to taste right for soup. I don't know if that's useful (or just gross) to anyone else. Thought I would share. Does anyone else's mom have a secret ingredient? Spill the bo here! Mon Sep 17 00:30:40 -0700 2007 126908 iwantmytwodollars 1 2948138 That is a fantastic tip. I never would have thought of it. Can you taste the sherry in the pho? Thanks! www.piealamona.blogspot.com Mon Sep 17 07:46:37 -0700 2007 2947691 65673 monavano 2 2949950 It's pretty subtle, but it makes all the difference. Some people complain that pho is too anisey, and this is one way to sort of prevent that, because you're not leaving the anise in the broth and boiling the flavor into the soup over time. Mon Sep 17 15:22:58 -0700 2007 2948138 126908 iwantmytwodollars 1 2948911 Does she add the anise sherry to the broth while she's making it or to the finished pho? Mon Sep 17 11:01:34 -0700 2007 2947691 24126 amyzan 2 2949951 While the broth is boiling, she adds like three to four tablespoons. Mon Sep 17 15:23:36 -0700 2007 2948911 126908 iwantmytwodollars 3 2950247 So is it sacralige to ask for the pho bo recipe? I love pho, and have no clue how to make it (and no vietnamese mom here) and am wondering if the recipe ingredients are within my grasp to make this yummy dish... Mon Sep 17 16:49:53 -0700 2007 2949951 16518 sds 4 2952312 Yeah, since you already gave out the secret ingredient, might as well give us tighty-whiteys the rest of the recipe! Never tried making pho 'cause I figured I could never get the stock right.... Tue Sep 18 10:14:32 -0700 2007 2950247 98500 Bat Guano 5 2952865 That is brilliant! I would never have thought to soak the anise in sherry, but it sounds fantastic. And I add my voice to those asking for the rest of the recipe! Tue Sep 18 12:30:45 -0700 2007 2952312 76279 chefbeth 4 2954799 There is a most awesome, descriptive step-by-step written by Carb Lover: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/283395 This woman knows what she's doing. Of course her mom's pho is not my mom's pho.. (We don't sautee the aromatics; we don't use neck bones; we don't use chuck roast, etc.) But I don't know that I'm ready to give up the family jewels just yet :) Noodle on, pho lovers, noodle on. Wed Sep 19 00:53:11 -0700 2007 2950247 126908 iwantmytwodollars 1 2952993 I have a Vietnamese friend who makes wonderful pho bo. She swears the broth will not be right without the addition of beef tendon. I'm not going to argue with that I just love when she makes it and shares. Tue Sep 18 12:59:59 -0700 2007 2947691 10285 Candy 2 2953156 Beef tendons, eh? Bet my uncle would agree on that since he loves the stuff, and I recall seeing it in my aunt's broth a few times. Many folks, though, would probably say that the key is using ox tails to make the broth. Personally, I think it's way too greasy (and this coming from someone who keeps duck fat in her fridge), but the taste is pretty good and "authentic," whatever that may mean. I still like my mother's broth using beef bones best. Tue Sep 18 13:35:59 -0700 2007 2952993 17410 Ali 2 2954793 Yeah, tendon was like the meatballs in other kids' spaghetti when I was growing up. (Of course we ate spaghetti and meatballs, too, but you know what I mean.) I usually though just sort of see it floating around in the finished broth, not actually boiling in there -- will try it out. Thanks! Wed Sep 19 00:44:05 -0700 2007 2952993 126908 iwantmytwodollars 1 2955050 My mom's secret is PEOPLE. Wed Sep 19 06:36:15 -0700 2007 2947691 12821 ESNY 2 2957709 Um, I don't understand. Explain please? Wed Sep 19 18:28:27 -0700 2007 2955050 24126 amyzan 3 2959886 He either is joking that his mom is a cannibal, or that a nice social ambiance is key to a great meal. Big question mark there. Regardless, it's better than a joke about eating dogs. Thu Sep 20 11:22:49 -0700 2007 2957709 126908 iwantmytwodollars 4 2960163 I hate to be a downer but... Recently when I was at the local pho place, I noticed boxes of aji no moto, yep that's right MSG stored near the bathroom. They by the way have a delicious pho with a really good broth. I guess I'm not effected by the MSG cause I've never had a headache. All I know is that the pho is really good. Thu Sep 20 12:22:40 -0700 2007 2959886 15877 Bodegadawg 4 2960211 maybe ESNY's mom uses soylent green... Thu Sep 20 12:36:45 -0700 2007 2959886 96253 chocabot