After a busy day, it’s easy to reach for the takeaway menu but in the time it takes for the delivery driver to arrive you can have this nutritious and delicious Vietnamese style Pho on the table.
Serves 2 • Prep 10 mins • Cooking time 15 mins
Ingredients
- 3cm of ginger root, thinly sliced
- 1 banana shallot or small onion,
sliced into rings - 1 garlic clove, bashed but not peeled
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 10 pork meatballs
(I used Waitrose Duchy Organic) - 1 tsp rapeseed oil
- 100g flat rice noodles
- 1 Chicken stock cube
(I used Kallo organic) - 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 100g bean sprouts
- 100g pak choi, thinly sliced
- 1 small pack of fresh coriander
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 2 lime wedges and thinly sliced red chilli (optional) to serve.
1.
Thinly slice the ginger and shallot and add to a dry frying pan along with the garlic. No need to peel them, you’ll be getting rid of them later. Toast on medium heat for 5 minutes until they start to char then add the cinnamon, star anise and coriander seeds for a minute or two more until they start to give off their aroma.
2.
Empty the contents of the frying pan into a large saucepan, along with your stock cube and 800ml of boiled water, bring to the boil again and simmer for 10 minutes.
3.
Whilst the broth is simmering add 1 tsp of rapeseed oil to the frying pan and cook the meatballs for 6-8 minutes, tossing in the pan to colour all over and cook through.
4.
Prepare the noodles as to the pack instructions, drain and divide between 2 large bowls. (This normally means soaking them for around 10 minutes in boiled water but can vary depending on the brand)
5.
Add the Pack Choi to the bowls then the Bean Sprouts then divide the meatballs between the two bowls.
6.
Add the fish sauce and lime juice to the broth, before straining through a sieve, discarding the shallot and spices.
7.
Pour the broth over the noodles, top them with the coriander, spring onion, lime wedges and chillies and enjoy!
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