Pho at home with @PacificFoods Pho Starters

OK, I’ll admit…I just tried pho for the first time about a month ago. I was starving and happened to pass this Vietnamese spot and decided to pop in. I ordered the phở bò (beef pho) to-go and rushed home to dig in. Ohhh my, it was delicious. The tender beef, all of the different flavors–it was a taste explosion!

In case you don’t know pho (pronounced “fuh”), it’s a popular Vietnamese soup with an aromatic broth that involves an 8-10 hour cooking process! It’s usually served with beef or chicken over rice noodles. Various toppings can be added based on your tastes, including mint, cilantro, basil, lime, bean sprouts, chilies, green onions and hoison sauce.

I’d been having pho cravings ever since, so I knew it was time to make my own pho using the Pho Soup Starters that the the great people over at Pacific Natural Foods had sent me. At this point you may be wondering why I hadn’t already made the pho if I had it at home. Simple–I wanted to try the real deal first so I’d have a comparison point.

Pho Soup Starters provides the soup base and all you need is 20 minutes of spare time, a protein (beef, chicken, etc.) and ingredients for the toppings. It comes in Chicken, Vegetable and Beef and the ingredients are all natural and organic.

I used the chicken broth…

Easy directions (click on image to enlarge)

Step 1: Cook the chicken and set it aside

Step 2: Boil the broth and add the chicken

Step 3: Chop some onion (I didn’t have green onion, so I used a Vidalia onion), lime, and wash bean sprouts, cilantro and basil

Step 4: Cook the rice noodles

Step 5: Spoon noodles in a bowl, add broth and chicken, and add your own fresh toppings

Step 6: Enjoy! I added hoisin sauce and chili sauce

THE VERDICT
It was delectable! The flavors were rich and complex–I was impressed and thoroughly enjoyed it. I must admit, getting restaurant phở is easier and cheaper (at least at the place I went to), but if you don’t have a Vietnamese restaurant near by, or better yet, a Vietnamese grandmother, this is definitely the next best thing!! Try it for yourself!

Want to know more about Pho Soup Starters? Visit www.pacificfoods.com.

xoxo, Olisa