Salmon Pho

Salmon Pho

From: Cuisine at Home, June 2011

Ingredients

1 cup sliced onion

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 cups water

2 cups chicken broth, low-sodium

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce, low-sodium

½ teaspoon whole cloves

Cilantro stems from 1 bunch cilantro

Shiitake mushroom stems

6 oz. salmon fillet

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon ground coriander

Salt and pepper

1 cup sliced shiitake mushroom caps

½ cup shredded carrots

¼ chopped scallions

¼ cup thinly sliced onion

1 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped

1 cup cooked rice noodles

Garnishes:

Bean sprouts

Chopped scallions

Mint leaves

Basil leaves

Cilantro

Thinly sliced jalapeno or Serrano peppers

Lime wedges

Sriracha Sauce

Hoisin Sauce

Directions

Saute 1 cup onion, ginger and garlic in oil over medium high heat. Add water, broth, fish sauce, sugar (1 tablespoon), soy sauce, cloves, cilantro stems, and mushroom stems. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes.

Strain broth through a sieve into a large bowl. Discard solids. Return broth to pot and bring to a simmer. Season salmon with 1 tsp. sugar, coriander, salt and peppter. Add salmon fillet to broth and poach for (about) 5 minutes – depending on how much salmon you are adding. Remove salmon from broth when done.

Bring broth up to a boil. Add mushroom caps, carrots, scallion, onion, and 1 tablespoon cilantro to broth.

Divide salmon and noodles between 2 large soup bowls. Pour broth into bowls.

Serve with garnishes.

The Verdict

Wow….soooooo good. As good as any I’ve had in a restaurant. I would use the same recipe again, and switch up the protein – beef, chicken, or pork - all seems like it would go well.

The girls gave the soup two thumbs up.

We doubled the broth and made extra noodles to have enough for all of us.

Our salmon piece had skin on, so after straining the broth, I poached the salmon in the broth for about 5 minutes. Then after removing it and letting it cool a little, just peeled the skin off. If you have skinless salmon, you can slice it very thin and add it to the soup bowls and it will cook when you pour the hot broth into the bowl.

To cook the rice noodles, I ignore the package directions. I put the rice noodles in a heatproof bowl. Heat up enough water to cover the noodles till boiling, then pour the boiling water over the noodles. Then, depending in the thickness of the rice noodles, let them sit in the hot water for 5-15 minutes. Once they are soft enough, drain and give a quick rinse under cold running water.