phony pho

Last weekend Matt and I on an adventure to Vietnam. Not really at all, but we did go up to Argyle Street, which is sort of the same thing? It's like if the country had a tiny baby and then the baby lived in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. The entire time I was there I pretended I was vacationing in Hanoi. And it was pretty great. We ate pho, shopped in the grocery stores for cheap noodles and exotic tea, and then bought a LOT of baked goods. Do we know how to travel or what?

We took the red line up to Pho 888, sat down and each ordered a bowl of vegetarian pho.  I had never had this mystical meal before, but I had heard Matt sing its praises for months. And now I see why. It was so great. First of all it came in a huge bowl along with a plate of lime wedges, anise leaves, bean sprouts (maybe?), and chili peppers. There was tofu and broccoli and noodles all floating in a yummy broth. Delicious.

On Monday I was already craving it again so I decided to try my hand at it using only things I already had. Basically it was a lazy version, but it turned out pretty yummy. I used some of the soba noodles I'd gotten, and then put them in chicken broth with some basil, red pepper flakes and some Thai chili sauce. It was no pho, but it was alright.

cold sesame noodles

This is probably my new favorite meal. I had it bookmarked to try for months and on Friday I ended up finally making it. Also, I made it again on Saturday. Also, I think I'll make it for lunch today. It's just so easy and good and cheap. Plus you can pretty much put anything in there, so it's a great way to finish up vegetables. Like say you buy a giant bag of spinach, you can just put some in the strainer, then poor the hot pasta water over it to lilt it a little and throw it in the sauce. Easy as pie. My favorite combo so far is with spinach, tofu, and scallions.


Cold Sesame Noodles via Gourmet  
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar or granulated sugar, or to taste
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon Oriental sesame oil
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pound linguine or lo mein noodles
chopped scallion and cucumber strips for garnish

In a saucepan combine the soy sauce, the vinegar, the red pepper flakes, the brown sugar, the peanut butter, the oil, the ginger, and the broth, simmer the mixture, stirring, until it is thickened and smooth, and let it cool slightly. In a kettle of boiling salted water cook the noodles until they are al dente, drain them in a colander, and rinse them under cold water. Drain the noodles well, transfer them to a bowl, and toss them with the sauce. Serve the noodles at room temperature and garnish them with the scallion and the cucumber.