Pho and Spring Rolls

Matt and I love to eat pho, so I thought I'd take a stab at making it at home. I found this recipe at Bon Apetit for "faux pho" and it's what I used to base my soup off of. Here's how I made mine: Ingredients Olive oil Small yellow onion Garlic cloves Ginger Veg broth Star anise Cinnamon Sliced mushrooms Green onion Sea salt Rice vermicelli Bean sprouts Basil leaves Sriracha and hoisin Preparation Slice yellow onion thinly, but leaving the entire circle intact. Heat oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add onion slices and cook until it starts to get golden. Add minced or crushed garlic and thinly sliced ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until garlic is golden, 3–4 minutes. Add broth (and water, until it's the desired strength you want it), star anise, and cinnamon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until flavors meld, 7–8 minutes. Add mushrooms; simmer 2 minutes. Add scallion. Season with salt. Meanwhile, cook rice vermicelli. Make enough to have some extra to put inside your spring rolls! Put the vermicelli into the bottom of each bowl, then pour broth into bowls. Top with raw mushroom slices, bean sprouts, basil, and green onions. Add sriracha and hoisin to season to taste. This is a HUGE bowl (the one we use for popcorn). So you can't see much of the broth, but it was so good. I would even dare to say it was better than the pho we got at the local restaurant! We may never order out again! Spring rolls are super easy, and you can put just about anything in them. We used rice vermicelli, spinach, carrots, basil, and cucumber (I think another time I used zucchini). The basil is key, though, because it adds so much flavor. You just soak the rice paper for about 5 seconds, add your ingredients, and roll. For the sauce I just used some hoisin, sesame paste, and I think a dash of soy sauce. Maybe some rice wine vinegar or sriracha. It changes every time I make it! These are super easy and so delicious!