Categories: Asian

Ingredients

• Broth:
• 1 medium onion, thin sliced
• 4 large cloves garlic, thin sliced
• 2- to 3-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thin sliced
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 star anise, bruised, or 1/2 teaspoon anise seed
• Fresh-ground black pepper
• 4 cans low sodium chicken stock, or regular chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons Asian fish sauce
• Soup:
• 6 to 8 ounces linguine-style rice noodles
• 6 to 8 ounces top round steak (chicken breast can be substituted), sliced extremely thin
• Table Salad:
• 10 branches fresh coriander
• 6 to 8 branches Thai, or other basil
• 2 serrano or jalapeno chiles, thin sliced
• Generous handful bean sprouts
• 1 large lime, cut into wedges
• Hot sauce

Directions

1. Position an oven rack 4 to 6 inches from the broiler, and preheat. Double up a very large piece of heavy foil. Scatter on the foil the onion, garlic, ginger, cloves, anise, and 5 grinds of pepper. Broil for 5 minutes, turning the pieces once. You want the onion to have some toasted edges, and the spices should be fragrant. Scrape everything into a 6-quart pot. Be sure to get all the anise seed.

2. Add the broth, sugar, and fish sauce, bring to a gentle bubble, cover tightly, and simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Put the rice noodles in a large bowl, and cover them with very hot tap water. (To keep them hot, cover the bowl with a plate.) Soak the noodles for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are tender, but with a little more firmness than you want. Stir a few times. When ready, drain and rinse well with cold water. Divide the noodles between 2 large soup bowls.

4. As the broth simmers and noodles soak, arrange the table salad on a platter and set out the sauces. To serve, divide the beef between the soup bowls. Ladle the bubbling broth into the bowls. Top each serving with a few sprigs of the coriander and serve.

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