I love pho. I made some (sort of) from scratch last night and it turned out real well. Ingredients:
- 2 boxes chicken broth (I cheated)
-2 caramelized onions in olive oil
- four cloves garlic, cooked golden but not burnt
- 1 leftover chicken breast, sliced
- 8 brown mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon of dried lemon grass in a teaball
- 3 tablespoons of hot chili sauce/hoisin sauce mix
- 12 oz of cooked shrimp
- 1 lb of shrimp/pork dumplings
- half-pound of sliced bok choy, leaves on
-1 tablespoon of sesame seed oil
- 1.5 cups cilantro leaves
I simmered the onions, garlic, mushrooms, lemon grass, bay leaves for 45 minutes after the boil, pulled out the lemon grass teaball, then added the dumplings after the broth boiled again, cooking until they floated, then the shrimp, bok choy, cilantro and and sesame oil two minutes before serving.
Hoisin/chili sauce to taste. Made 6 big bowls. I swear it was better than the stuff you buy in restaurants.