Changes Pho Sure

I remember quite well my first experience with ethnic foods.  Sure, I had been to some college town Chinese restaurants whose food was dumbed down to American styles, but I had never been to restaurants of authentic Thai, Indian, or Vietnamese.  Born and raised in the midwest, I was very much a meat and potatoes type of gal.  When my horn professor wanted to meet over lunch at a local Vietnamese restaurant, I tried to be polite and agreed to the restaurant choice.  Once I stepped into the restaurant I realized that I had no idea what any of the menu items were or even what I might possibly find pleasing to my (then very restricted) palette.  Turns out that I hated it.  I got a soup and tried to stomach as much as possible.  I left the restaurant with a very judgemental view of not only Vietnamese foods, but also of all other ethnic foods - even though I had never tried foods such as Indian or Thai. 

Over the years I have grown to LOVE all types of food.  My food palette has matured.  I recently went through one of the earliest cookbooks that I received.  In that cookbook I had placed sticky notes on pages that contained a recipe of interest and I always rated the recipes once I did try them.  All the old sticky notes were still in place.  I found it very interesting how many different recipes sounded simply fantastic but did not have sticky notes!

This recipe is one that reminds me so so so very much of my first experience with Vietnamese food.  Everytime I make this, I think of my lunch meeting with my horn professor and always smile to myself.  I really hope you enjoy this Vietnamese style pho soup!!!

Hot 'N Sour Chicken Soup

Ingredients

tagliatelle noodles
5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt, pepper
1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 package button mushrooms, sliced
grated ginger root, about one inch
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce
6 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water
1 bunch green onions
1 cup bean sprouts
fresh cilantro, chopped
Sriracha hot sauce

1. Season chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and coriander.  Cook about 5 minutes on each side and set aside.

2. Bring large pot of water to a boil for tagliatelle pasta.  If the pasta is in little balls of noodles, I usually do about 4 balls per person.  Only make enough for that current meal.  When making leftovers, I always do the noodles fresh.  Cook tagliatelle according to package directions (usually a fairly short amount of time).

3. In a large, deep skillet, stirfry mushrooms in vegetable oil.  Add fresh ginger and garlic.  Stir until fragrant.  Be careful not to let the garlic burn. 

4. Add in rice vinegar.  Stir.  Add tamari soy sauce and chicken stock.  Stir.  Bring to a boil.

5. Slice cooked chicken thighs into bitsize pieces and add to soup. 

6. Combine the cornstarch and water in a small bowl.  Mix well.  Add to soup and let thicken for a few minutes.

7. Add chopped green onion and beansprouts to the soup just before serving.

8. Place one serving of cooked noodles in a bowl.  Add desired amount of sriracha hot sauce.  Then place ladles of soup into bowl.  Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Bon appetit!

I tried to be sneaky and stretch a buck and make this a bit healthier by using only 4 cups chicken stock and 2 cups water, but Shea immediately knew something was different.  He insists that only chicken stock should be used in this recipe.  And, as stated above, I always boil the tagliatelle the day of eating, never pre-cook and store.

Be careful with your amount of Sriracha!  The first time I used WAY too much and learned to scale back.  My bowl is on the right, Shea's bowl on the left.

The finished soup