For about the first time in my life, I'm having [time] management issues. My mind used to be an intricate, well-sorted web of alerts and reminders that I seldom forgot deadlines or anything in my to-do list. But especially during the past weeks, I have been feeling some deep pressure in my head, as if it's keeping my thin protective sanity layer from exploding. Being a stay-at-home-mom is tough and busy, but of course, very fun. I'm barely touching the computer and making updates to my blog reinstallation because I've been busy at home. I'm very lucky that my husband has been initiating on doing extra house chores. Thanks to him, I can reply to some emails and messages a little, little, little bit more. However, my daughter, now 11 months old, is undergoing terrible growth pains and developmental leaps. She has four teeth sprouting out all at once; and she's both so scared and excited to master walking that she's been wanting me beside her all the time. All the endless and countless daily chores plus preparation for my daughter's first birthday give me no more time to face neither my blog nor my YouTube channel. For that reason, I ask you, my readers, to forgive me for posting photos and recipes I already posted on Facebook in 2016. This time I will be sharing with you my Vietnamese pho noodle soup. So as not to be redundant (especially for those who have been with me on Facebook since 2016), I added here the standardized measurements of the ingredients.
Although, please take note, my husband finds this proportion rather bland. So if you're a tasty eater, I'd suggest decreasing the amount of water to make a more concentrated stock. You may also add more star anise and cardamom if you love their flavors; these ingredients are just quite expensive here that I tried not to use so much. But me, I like my recipe's light, soothing flavor just the way it is. Slurp, Mmm!
Ingredients (serves 2)
star anise, 1 pc
cardamom, 2 pcs
cinnamon, 1/2 tsp
kombu powder, 3 tsp
mushroom powder, 1 tsp
dried shiitake, 1 pc (optional)
black pepper, as desired
salt, very little
soy sauce, 1 tsp
water, 5 cups
rice noodles, 100 g
Procedure
Prepare two pots of water for boiling-- one for the rice noodles and one for the soup/stock.
Cook rice noodles a minute less than stated in the package instructions. Wash well with running water.
To make the stock, put water, cardamom, star anise, cinnamon powder, dried shiitake mushroom (optional), black pepper, salt, soy sauce and kombu powder in the other pot. Once the soup boils, add in the chinese cabbage and beansprouts and boil for another 3 minutes.
Pour the stock over the rice noodles and top with fried tofu and/or spicy vegan karaage.
Enjoy it hot, with or without lemon or calamansi.