LOW Carb: Stall Buster: A Soup called Pho....

Pho

Oh….I know PHO….  It’s like a soup that normally has thinly shaved meat with tons of noodles and just feels so good on a blustery day…..

 

Yep Pho….you may not have heard of it but umm…let’s see….so tasty…so good for you…and umm…low carb?  Yep and then some…  Stall busters, write this one down…..NO NOODLES...sorry but hey...once you've gone though the militant low carb diet, then you can do carbs, but if you have stalls then only a solid low carb diet can bust it longterm!

 

It’s a Vietnamese styled dish…but lots of cultures use this recipe and call it different things…in fact, I think the Thai people have something like this too…

 

INGREDIENTS :

 5 medium-large shallots

 3 inch piece of fresh ginger

 5 lbs. beef leg (shank) bones (optional but so good if you can get from butcher)

3 lb. beef brisket, separated into 1 pound packs each

 sachet of whole (not ground) spices:

 1 cinnamon stick (regular or Vietnamese cassia)

 5 star anise

 5 cloves

 1 tsp. coriander seed

 1 tsp. fennel seed

 1/2 tsp. cumin

 1 Tbl. of salt

 4 Tbl. of fish sauce

 3 packets Splenda

 6 quarts water

 1 package beef meatballs

 1 medium yellow onion, sliced into thin “half -moons"

 fresh coriander, stems and leaves, roughly chopped

 green onion, both green and white part, thinly sliced

 fresh ground black pepper

 Vegetable garnish:

          ½  cup Thai basil full leaves

          1/4 cup chopped Cilantro

          1 teaspoon Coriander

          1 large pack Bean Sprouts

          5 Lime wedges

          Hot chiles to taste

          Kale to add at the end before serving

 

DIRECTIONS:

 

 To begin, dry-roast the spices in a small skillet on medium hea****ch carefully as the spices can scorch easily. As the spices toast, they’ll become fragrant and deeply hued.

 Remove from heat and tie them inside a cheesecloth sachet or large tea infuser. Set aside.

 Cut the onion and ginger lengthwise, mince the shallots, take skins off. Saute for a few minutes in a pan over medium heat with a tiny amount of butter.

 To make a clear broth, begin by parboiling the beef bones. (or take beef stock and make to save time or if you can’t get bones)  Place the bones in a large stock pot. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil. After 3-5 minutes, drain the bones and give them a good rinse and scrub to remove the most of the sediment.

 Next, add 6-7 quarts of cold water to the bones and bring to a boil. Skim off any of the scum that rises to the top. Add 2 pounds beef brisket.

 Then, add the onion, ginger and shallots to the broth, along with the spice sachet. Add the salt, fish sauce and splenda. Bring down the heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours.

 At this point, the brisket will be ready. It should be cooked through and feel slightly springy to the touch. Remove the brisket from the pot and set it on a plate. Immediately tent with plastic wrap or foil.

 Continue to simmer the broth another 2-2.5 hours. Taste the broth and adjust for seasoning (fish sauce/splenda).

You may also slice the beef balls in half at this point. Place all meatballs in the hot broth.

 Slice the rest of the raw beef into thin slices, at least 1/8 inch thin

 

    * You’re now ready to assemble the bowls. Divide the kale among the bowls and layer the slices of cooked beef brisket, beef balls,It doesn’t wilt very much and is hearty for everyone. Top it all off with the yellow and green onion slices and fresh coriander.

    * When you’re ready to serve the phở, bring the broth to rolling boil. Ladle the hot broth (3-4 ladles’ worth) into the prepared bowls and sprinkle fresh cracked black pepper on top. Serve with the herb and vegetable garnish and allow your guests to hand-tear into their bowl whatever amount they like.

 

about 3 carbs per serving...  give some love to the low carb and your panty size will thank you for it...

T.

 

This sounds wonderful. I have been low carbing it for about two weeks and the stall did break. Have you ever tried Miracle Noodles? Or Shiratiki Tofu noodles? Very low carb and would be great in this.

I have made the shiritaki mushrooms...I also use dreamfield's psta and find it terrific....so if you hit hard ketosis, you can eat a lot of stuff without damaging the fat burning activity going on when you do decide to eat some carbs!

t.

Hi Roar ... Your recipe sounds amazing.  I love all Asian cuisines.  But I have a question.  My surgeon says not to eat soups (except thick, high-protein soups such as pureed lentil soup), because with the broth and the solids, they are "like eating and drinking at the same time" -- the high-calorie solids are washed down with the broth, so you eat more.  That's the theory as I understand it.

Is that a restriction your surgeon did not impose?  Or have you found for yourself that eating soups like this does not cause you to take in extra calories?  I've noticed lots of soup recipes on the oh.com boards and have wondered about this issue.

Thanks,
Cynthia