Vietnamese Beef-Noodle Soup

This was my third attempts at Vietnamese soup, and probably my most successful. The beef has a LOT more flavor than the chicken. This recipe called for bok choy which I had never tried before. I liked having some green veggies mixed in the soup.

I was a little skeptical about the beef being cooked solely by the hot soup broth. I made sure the liquid was at a boil before I ladled it into my bowls. Well, I was impressed. It cooked the beef immediately to medium-well. We prefer our beef more on the rare side, so if I make this again, I’ll let the broth cool for a minute or two before adding it to the bowls.

I omitted the fresh herbs and served our portions with generous servings of garlic chili paste and hoisin sauce. We LOVE the extra spicy flavor this combo adds.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients
1 (12-ounce) sirloin steak
6 oz uncooked rice sticks noodles
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow onion
3 whole cloves
2 cardamom pods
2 garlic cloves, halved
1 (3-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 star anise
5 3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
3 cups water
1 tbl less-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
4 cups bok choy leaves
1 small jalapeño, thinly sliced into rings
4 lime wedges
Bean sprouts, fresh basil, fresh mint if desired

Directions
1. Freeze beef for 10 minutes; cut across grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices.

2. Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain.

3. Place onion and next 5 ingredients (through star anise) in a large saucepan; cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add broth and 2 cups water; bring to a boil.

4. Strain broth mixture though a fine sieve over a bowl; discard solids. Return broth to pan.

5. Add soy sauce, sugar, and fish sauce; bring to a boil. Add bok choy; simmer 4 minutes or until bok choy wilts.

6. Arrange noodles into each of 4 large bowls. Divide raw beef and pepper slices evenly among bowls. Ladle about 1 2/3 cups hot soup over each serving (broth will cook beef).

7. Top each serving with bean sprouts, basil, and mint as desired. Serve with lime wedges.

The Facts
4 Servings

Pho Ga – Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

This was the main course for our Vietnamese inspired dinner. The final dish was ok, but not exactly as I expected. This is definitely a dish I plan on making again, but will be applying a few lessons I learned in the process. Check out the link below for the recipe. Once I perfect it to our liking, I’ll be sure to blog my changes.

The main problem with my version was there was not a lot of broth. The dish turned into more of noodle dish versus a soup dish. I think the noodles I chose and how I cooked them are to blame for this. They were bigger than what we've had before in traditional Pho at the local restaurahts. I’ve already bought some thinner ones that I’m looking forward to trying. I also read somewhere that you could just put the dried noodles straight into the broth. BAD IDEA. Don’t do it! The noodles absorbed almost all of the delicious broth. I will definitely cook the noodles SEPARATELY in the future. The flavor of the broth was amazing before I added the noodles so I don’t think I need to alter anything there; however I plan on doubling the amount I make next time.

Overall, I think it was a good first attempt, but there’s A LOT of room for improvement. I’ll keep you posted when I attempt Pho Ga, Take 2!

Adapted from Jaden’s Steamy Kitchen

I served ours with scallions, fresh Thai basil, fresh mint, bean sprouts, jalapenos, sriracha sauce and hoisin sauce.

Zuppa Toscana

Bryan and I LOVE to go to Olive Garden for soup, salad and bread sticks. Our favorite soup there is Zuppa Toscana so when I saw this recipe I immediately bookmarked it and knew we had to try it! In keeping to my lighter style, I subbed ground lean turkey for the sausage and seasoned it with additional red pepper flakes for flavor. I also used fat free evaporated milk instead of heavy cream. This soup definitely hit the spot and was a GREAT copy cat recipe to Olive Garden’s version.

Adapted from Annie’s Eats

Ingredients
1 lb 93% lean ground turkey
Red pepper flakes to taste
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine to deglaze the pan
1/2 t red pepper flakes
2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
2 cups fresh kale, chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup fat free evaporated milk
Salt and pepper

Directions
1. Place a large stockpot or Dutch oven on the stove over medium heat. Add ground turkey to the pot and season with red pepper flakes to your taste. Cook until well browned.

2. Remove the cooked turkey from the pot with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl; set aside.

3. Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes.

4. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan and cook for a minute more, just until fragrant.

5. Add the wine to the pot and stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits.

6. Add the potatoes, kale, chicken broth and water to the pot. Return the sausage to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer on medium-low. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender and cooked through.

7. Stir in the evaporated milk and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

The Facts
4 servings
Calories 376.7
Total Fat 8.0 g
Fiber 2.8 g
WW Points 8