Follow along on the map: bit.ly/MAP_pho
Lisa spends the day in bustling Cabramatta exploring the most flavoursome Pho she can find. She encounters three bowls of steamy, fragrant broth + slippery noodles, a duck pancake with no duck, and a Pho expert on her walk through the beating heart of Sydney’s Vietnamese culture.
An Nhien
Our first stop is Vegetarian Pho restaurant, An Nhien. Chef Ngoc Truc Huong Doan gets compliments on her rich, flavour-packed vegetable broth all the time, and in this episode, she tells us the secret to that perfect depth of flavour without adding bones or meat. An ideal first stop on our Pho journey!
/ annhienvegetarian
At our next stop, Lisa catches up with local guide from Taste Food Tours, Arron Ngo. He loves nothing more than sharing the fun and the facts of Cabramatta’s culture with as many people as possible. Arron walks Lisa through the centre of Cabramatta, a delicious melting pot of South East Asian cultures.
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By 7522 steps, Lisa and Arron are eating at Pho Anna, one of Arron’s favourite dining spots. Long slow cooking is the key to Anna’s famous broth. Its flavour is meaty with a strong umami flavour, and raw beef cooks quickly in the hot soup for the freshest of flavours. Add the best sauce combo and the crunch of bean sprouts as well as Lisa’s first taste of tendon. Yep, tendon. Eating with Arron is like a masterclass in Pho-eating, finishing off with a traditional Vietnamese iced coffee (wow!)
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We’re leaving Cabramatta now for an unlikely destination - a petrol station in Mount Pritchard. 2 Foodies is owned by Pete Nguyen, and word on the street is that his Chef’s special sauce is like no other. His pho broth is incredible. Sweeter and more complex than the others we’ve tried, even without the sauce, and the combination of the two takes it to a whole other level. The beef is tender, the noodles are silky, and the petrol next door is cheap - what more could you want?
/ 2greatfoods
Now, back to the kitchen to make a Pho that combines the traditional Vietnamese combo of spices of pho, perfectly slippery noodles and beef that melts in your mouth, with some of Lisa’s own Jewish heritage. Jewish Chicken Soup Pho with Kreplach (dumplings). Check out the recipes below.
Join Lisa for 14,753 steps, perfect pho, and a dive into Sydney’s Vietnamese heritage on Walking up an Appetite!
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Pho Kreplach Bonus Recipe!
• Soup Dumplings (aka Ph...
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LISA’S ‘JEWISH CHICKEN SOUP’ PHO
Serves 4, with extra broth and chicken
Makes 2.5 - 3 litres broth
500 g chicken wings
500 g chicken drumsticks (about 4)
1 small chicken (great if you want the meat) or 1 kg chicken frames
4 small beef short ribs on the bone or top rib (about 800 g)
4 litres (16 cups) tap water
2 tablespoons fish sauce, to season
Aromatics
2 onions
100 g knob ginger
Spices
5 star anise
2 cassia sticks
2 cardamon pods
2 cloves
3/4 tablespoon coriander seeds
And
50 g palm, rock or white sugar
3 teaspoons salt
Noodles
300 g dry rice sticks (pho noodles)
Lisa’s Pho Kreplach
Accompaniments
2 spring onions (green shallots), sliced
2 French shallots, peeled and finely sliced into rounds
4 sprigs coriander including stalk, roughly chopped
2 birds eye chilli, finely sliced
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
4 lime cheeks
Sriracha, hoisin and fish sauce, to serve
Place chicken and beef in a large stock pot. Cover with the tap water and bring to the boil. In the meantime, toast the seeds and spices in a dry frying pan until fragrant. Crush them with a mortar and pestle (or rolling pin in a bag) and place in a piece of muslin (or a clean chux) and loosely tie up. Using tongs or a metal skewer, char the onions and the ginger over a flame or bbq until blackened. Cut in half.
Once the water comes to the boil, skim off the scum that comes to the top. Once clear, add the spice bag and the onion and ginger as well as the sugar, salt and fish sauce. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer. After 45 minutes, remove the whole chicken. Allow the chicken to cool for a few minutes and then remove the meat from the bones. Place the chicken meat in a bowl, cover with a ladle-full of the liquid and set aside. Return the chicken carcass to the pot and simmer for a further 2 hours.
Add the fish sauce and then taste the broth for seasoning.
Cook the noodles according to the packet directions.
Cook the pho kreplach according to the recipe: bit.ly/pho_kreplach
Warm the serving bowls. Place noodles, pho kreplach and a little chicken meat in each bowl, along with a small handful shallots, eschallots and chopped coriander. Place 1 beef rib in each bowl. Top with boiling hot broth. Serve chilli, bean sprouts, Asian basil and sauces on the side.
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00:00 Intro
02:00 An Nhiên
04:20 Food Tours Arron Ngo Interview
06:23 Pho Anna
09:50 2 Foodies
14:12 RECIPE: LISA’S ‘JEWISH CHICKEN SOUP’ PHO