Mark this down as the second night in a row where what started out on the menu plan didn’t become what we ate at the table! But yet again, there’s a perfectly good reason for that. We needed pho today, y’all. I mean, we needed it.
This morning, LeeLee and I both woke up with sore throats – mine was so sore that I refrained from going to the gym, which should tell you how lousy I felt – and then, upon finally rising from bed to get ready for work, I realized the temperature wasn’t going to rise above about 35 degrees all day.
Thirty-five degrees. All day.
So it became quite clear we were going to need something both restorative and warming for dinner tonight. I can’t think of a single thing that fits those bills any better than a big old pot of pho!
I keyed off of a 30-minute pho recipe over at Oh My Veggies, and then sort of took it my own way as the meal progressed. To wit: I sautéed some shiitake mushrooms in hoisin sauce, and then added the pho ingredients right on top of said mushrooms. The seitan (which wasn’t in the original recipe, but I wanted a beefy-tasting pho tonight), some powdered ginger, some garlic powder, and some salt all went in with the mushrooms, topped by a carton of vegetable broth and a cup or so more water just for funsies. I also added two diced scallions and mixed everything together, bringing it to a boil and then to a simmer.
As the broth (and all its goodies) simmered away, I soaked some rice noodles in hot water for about 10 minutes (in all honesty it was more like 15 minutes, which didn’t seem to hurt the noodles in the slightest) and then pulled them out of the water when they were still a bit al dente. I knew they would finish cooking as soon as the boiling broth hit them – and they did! I love when that works out.
I heated up four frozen dumplings from a big bag that LeeLee and I have been working our way through, and served them alongside the pho, balancing them on the wide edge of our bowls. Then it was time to put the pho together – first the noodles, then a heaping ladle or two of the seitan-and-shiitake-filled broth. To say nothing of the dumplings, hanging on for dear life on the side.
We topped our pho with bean sprouts, jalapeno slices, lime wedges, and plenty of Sriracha and hoisin sauce. And then we dug in – for two bowls apiece, plus maybe one last ladle full for good measure.
And even though we ate to our hearts’ content, we’ve still got plenty for LeeLee to eat for lunch tomorrow! As it happens, I have a lunch meeting at work, so it’s all his … but I don’t mind telling you that a little part of me hopes he forgets all about it so I can eat it on Thursday. Ha!
:)