Cathedral Cellar Triptych Vietnamese Pho

The Vietnamese word Pho is directly derived from the French term ‘Pot au Feu’ which means ‘pot from the fire’ and it is a direct influence from the French military presence in Vietnam.

The first time I prepared this dish was for my birthday party which had an oriental theme.

The secret beauty and depth of this dish is all in the Asian beef broth which should ideally be made a day in advance. The dish is served with Jasmine Rice Balls assembled in a bowl with fresh herbs, chillies and raw fillet which gets cooked as the piping hot stock is spooned over the ingredients. The result is a heavenly mixture of fresh, exotic, spicy and earthy umami flavours that hit your senses all at once. This is a wonderful dish to serve at a dinner party and can easily be prepped and made in advance. The original recipe is from Rick Steins “Far Eastern Odyssey” and our hero spice in this dish is chillies and designated to be paired with Cathedral Cellar Triptych.

Serves: 4 - 6
Prep Time: 1 day in advance
Assembly time: 10 minutes
Easy to prepare

INGREDIENTS FOR THE STOCK:

50 grams of ginger cut into pieces
400 grams of shallots
5-star aniseeds
3 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon of fennel seeds
1 kg of beef shin
1 kg of beef marrow bones
2 celery sticks roughly chopped
3 carrots roughly chopped
2 onions roughly chopped
8 cloves
1 teaspoon of black pepper corns

METHOD:

Smash the ginger & shallots with a rolling pin on a wooden board and set aside
Heat a large pot and dry roast the aniseed, cinnamon sticks, and fennel until toasted brown. Add the shallots and ginger to the pot and cook for 10 minutes
Add the beef, marrow bones, celery, carrots, onions, cloves and pepper and cover with 5 litres of water - cook for 5 hours, strain and refrigerate overnight

INGREDIENTS FOR THE PHO:

2 cups of jasmine rice cooked to instruction - set aside to cool
500g of beef fillet thinly sliced
Fresh mint, basil, coriander, and chives
Fresh birds-eye chilies chopped

METHOD:
Heat the beef broth until piping hot
Wet your hands and roll the jasmine rice into medium sized rice balls and place on a greased oven try - heat in a hot oven for 10 minutes before serving
Place the rice balls, sliced fillet, fresh herbs and chilies in bowls and spoon the hot stock over the ingredients
Drizzle with Willowcreek Basil and Coriander-flavoured olive oil
Serve immediately, paired with Cathedral Cellar Triptych

Also see:

Cathedral Cellar spice things up with Chef Mynhardt Joubert

Cathedral Cellar Sauvignon Blanc Lebanese Fattoush Salad

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