This is a great base of flavor
Bachelor on the Cheap
It’s cold out. With sleet, snow and a low temperature of -2 with wind chill forecasted overnight, it’s soup weather.
I’m making vegetable soup. That may sound a bit boring and less-than-hearty to some folks, but I’m not making a soup to serve in the traditional American way. I’m putting a Pho spin on it.
For those of you who live in Valley Center, Pho (pronounced “Fuh”) is a Vietnamese soup dish that now enjoys global popularity. Pho is centered on the broth, a slow simmer of beef or chicken bones, along with charred onion, ginger, and other spices. Pho is traditionally served in a bowl of rice noodles and strips of meat, then garnished with onions, cilantro, Thai basil, bean sprouts, and chili peppers. Great adds are fish sauce, Sriracha, and lime juice, all enhancing that delicious bone broth flavor. The beauty of Pho, is every bowl is unique, like a snowflake. The great broth remains the same, but you can change out the other bowl ingredients to create a new flavor experience. The variations in meat and garnishes are almost endless.
Just pour soup base over bowl ingredients
So in putting a Pho spin on vegetable soup, the idea is to create a simple but great-tasting soup base that I can “Pho Up” in a bowl when serving.
Since there are no bones in vegetables, I used chicken stock to help create depth in flavor after sauteeing a classic mirepoix (That’s carrots, celery, and onion for those of you who live in Valley Center). The recipe for this soup is below. For lunch, and not having any rice noodles on hand, I enjoyed my simple mirepoix vegetable soup poured over a bowl of rice and seasoned pork loin strips. For dinner, I think I’ll go with the soup poured over a bowl of egg noodles and strips of deli-sliced roast beef. This is the beauty of the Pho approach to creating soup. Don’t commit to adding meat, noodles, rice, dumplings, or potatoes to the soup. Leave those out. Put cooked versions of those in a bowl for serving, creating totally new flavor profiles from the same great soup base!
Vegetable “Pho” Soup
Ingredients:
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flake
- Chicken or beef stock, 32 ounces
Directions:
Putting a French mirepoix together is basically 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, and 1 part celery. The above makes about 3 Bachelor on the Cheap servings, so add more accordingly for a larger batch. Saute the mirepoix in the butter and olive oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the dry ingredients, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are softened. Add the chicken or beef stock, reduce heat, and let simmer for 1 – 2 hours.
Cold weather comfort food!
While the soup is simmering, you can spend that time making other ingredients for your bowl if you like. I cooked up those pork loin strips and put rice in the rice cooker. For dinner tonight, I’ll slice up the deli roast beef and boil up those egg noodles, about 10 minutes of prep work. You can do that at any point prior to dinner, the “Pho” approach pairs up so nicely with leftovers! The heat from the broth will warm up the beef and noodles, just cover your bowl for about 3 minutes and let those flavors get all happy together. It’s another dose of YUM!
It’s nice having a variety of “soups” at the ready using one soup base. And don’t limit yourself to a French mirepoix either, unless you really want to, it is rather tasty… Try a Holy Trinity (onion, bell pepper, and celery), play with it, combine, and add pretty much any kind of veggie you like, or do the actual bone broth thing if that’s a practical option.
Creating a soup base for a versatile lineup of tasty bowls is also Bachelor on the Cheap wallet-friendly. I put the base together for less than $2.
Treat that soup like Pho!
$pend Wisely My Friends
~ Mike
Enjoy this post?
If you appreciate the article you just read and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or monthly donation. Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike
Treating vegetable soup like Pho – Bachelor on the Cheap
This is a great base of flavor
Bachelor on the Cheap
It’s cold out. With sleet, snow and a low temperature of -2 with wind chill forecasted overnight, it’s soup weather.
I’m making vegetable soup. That may sound a bit boring and less-than-hearty to some folks, but I’m not making a soup to serve in the traditional American way. I’m putting a Pho spin on it.
For those of you who live in Valley Center, Pho (pronounced “Fuh”) is a Vietnamese soup dish that now enjoys global popularity. Pho is centered on the broth, a slow simmer of beef or chicken bones, along with charred onion, ginger, and other spices. Pho is traditionally served in a bowl of rice noodles and strips of meat, then garnished with onions, cilantro, Thai basil, bean sprouts, and chili peppers. Great adds are fish sauce, Sriracha, and lime juice, all enhancing that delicious bone broth flavor. The beauty of Pho, is every bowl is unique, like a snowflake. The great broth remains the same, but you can change out the other bowl ingredients to create a new flavor experience. The variations in meat and garnishes are almost endless.
Just pour soup base over bowl ingredients
So in putting a Pho spin on vegetable soup, the idea is to create a simple but great-tasting soup base that I can “Pho Up” in a bowl when serving.
Since there are no bones in vegetables, I used chicken stock to help create depth in flavor after sauteeing a classic mirepoix (That’s carrots, celery, and onion for those of you who live in Valley Center). The recipe for this soup is below. For lunch, and not having any rice noodles on hand, I enjoyed my simple mirepoix vegetable soup poured over a bowl of rice and seasoned pork loin strips. For dinner, I think I’ll go with the soup poured over a bowl of egg noodles and strips of deli-sliced roast beef. This is the beauty of the Pho approach to creating soup. Don’t commit to adding meat, noodles, rice, dumplings, or potatoes to the soup. Leave those out. Put cooked versions of those in a bowl for serving, creating totally new flavor profiles from the same great soup base!
Vegetable “Pho” Soup
Ingredients:
Directions:
Putting a French mirepoix together is basically 2 parts onion, 1 part carrot, and 1 part celery. The above makes about 3 Bachelor on the Cheap servings, so add more accordingly for a larger batch. Saute the mirepoix in the butter and olive oil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add the dry ingredients, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are softened. Add the chicken or beef stock, reduce heat, and let simmer for 1 – 2 hours.
Cold weather comfort food!
While the soup is simmering, you can spend that time making other ingredients for your bowl if you like. I cooked up those pork loin strips and put rice in the rice cooker. For dinner tonight, I’ll slice up the deli roast beef and boil up those egg noodles, about 10 minutes of prep work. You can do that at any point prior to dinner, the “Pho” approach pairs up so nicely with leftovers! The heat from the broth will warm up the beef and noodles, just cover your bowl for about 3 minutes and let those flavors get all happy together. It’s another dose of YUM!
It’s nice having a variety of “soups” at the ready using one soup base. And don’t limit yourself to a French mirepoix either, unless you really want to, it is rather tasty… Try a Holy Trinity (onion, bell pepper, and celery), play with it, combine, and add pretty much any kind of veggie you like, or do the actual bone broth thing if that’s a practical option.
Creating a soup base for a versatile lineup of tasty bowls is also Bachelor on the Cheap wallet-friendly. I put the base together for less than $2.
Treat that soup like Pho!
$pend Wisely My Friends
~ Mike
Enjoy this post?
If you appreciate the article you just read and want to support more great content on BachelorontheCheap.com, you can help keep this site going with a one-time or monthly donation. Thank you so much for your support! ~ Mike