Salmon Pho

Whenever I feel a little run down, I crave pho. There's something about the combination of noodles and that magical broth that is so comforting. There was this one time when I had a performance on a Saturday night (typical.) I had been feeling run down all day, and went to grab dinner before the concert. After eating a bowl of beef pho, I felt instantly better. Well enough to get through a playing a two hour concert.


I was happy to find a recipe that duplicates pho broth and cooks in less than an hour. I had never thought to use salmon in Vietnamese noodle soup, but I really liked the combination. If you want an extra kick, add a few squirts of sriracha to the soup.



Salmon Pho
adapted from Cuisine At Home
June 2011


Broth:
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 Tbs minced fresh ginger
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 c water
4 c low sodium chicken broth
3 Tbs fish sauce
1 Tbs sugar
2 Tbs plus 1 tsp low sodium soy sauce
10 whole cloves
1 bunch fresh cilantro stems
2 tsp Chinese five spice powder

2 6-oz. salmon fillets
Salt and pepper
1 c sliced shitake mushroom caps
1 c matchstick carrots
¼ c thinly sliced white onion
12 oz. rice-stick noodles, cooked

Garnish:
Bean sprouts
Chopped green onion, white and light green parts
Fresh mint leaves
Fresh basil leaves (Thai basil if available)
Fresh cilantro leaves
Sliced jalapeno
Lime wedges


Heat vegetable oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Saute onion, ginger, and garlic in the stockpot until softened, about 3 minutes. Add water, broth, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, cloves, cilantro stems, and five spice powder. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Using a large slotted spoon, pull solids out of the broth; discard. Turn heat back up to medium-high and bring broth back to a boil.

Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Thinly slice crosswise (against the grain.) Set aside.
Add shitake mushroom caps, carrots, and the ¼ c of sliced onions to the broth. Divide salmon and noodles evenly into four large soup bowls. Pour into the bowl, making sure to cover the salmon. The fish will cook in the hot broth. Garnish with bean sprouts, green onion, mint, basil, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime wedges.