Mix the whites in with the sauce.
Shakshuka needs to be scorching hot for me and I don’t like sweet food as much, but taking the idea of poaching an egg in non-water sauce is great. It looks good.
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My first covid shot is percolating so I risked sushi for the first time in over a year. Ate a platter for 3-4 to myself (20 nigiri, 5 rolls) in half an hour. Awful cramps 24 hours later. Will probably do it again in a few days.
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Went with the wife for lunch. She didn’t want to sit inside so we took it to-go which ended up problematic.
Tried the special bahn mi (grilled pork, vietnamese sausage and egg). Came with kabocha fries. If i had to guess i would have bet it was sweet potato fries but either way they were tasty. The bahn mi was really light on the pork. It tasted good but felt like mostly bread.
I got the “special pho” which was just all the meats they had. I am a totally clueless about pho but it was really bland to me. I didn’t have any condiments to add and not sure if you’re suppose to add any.
The best meat was the brisket. The rest were kinda dry (the “steaks”) or kinda tasteless (tendon). Not sure they actually had any tripe there or if they did i missed it.
Any bay area people have an idea for a fancy place open for lunch for the mrs’ birthday? Gotta be lunch sadly.
Pho shouldn’t be bland without condiments, but it is common to add a bit of hoisin sauce (for sweetness and depth of flavor) and sriracha (for heat, obv). Were you given bean sprouts, lime slices, and jalapeno slices? Those are common accompaniments, too.
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yeah. i’m actually eating the leftover now and it’s tastier after it sat for a while with the lime juice.
i was offered sriracha and hoisin but i’m not a fan of either (i have a problem with sugary sauces)
What? Sounds like they f’ed up your order.
I phrased myself poorly. It had lime, jalapeneos and bean sprouts in the ‘dry’ bowl.
Ah, that’s better.
it is growing on me. i wrote too soon. just needed more lime and jalapeneos for my burnt out taste buds.
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I think some places use serranos instead of jalapenos or have the option of bird’s eye chilis.
I’m a sucker for the bird eye chili in fish sauce condiment in thai restaurants. I put it on everything, which might explain why my taste buds needing to much heat to taste anything.
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I’ve never heard this phrasing before but it does track pretty well with my experiences with Vietnamese food. Most of the places that I’ve been to have good pho either have mediocre banh mi or don’t sell them at all. A banh mi dedicated shop opened here a little while back but I haven’t gotten around to trying yet; they called it Bahndicted so I have some concerns about their judgement (just checked whether it was still open and the Yelp reviews are very good, at least). At the same time I’m aware of at least one place that does both pretty well, though I’d have to try their pho again to confirm as I always get the banh mi.
Never seen jalapenos.
How to eat pho:
First you stare at the pho. Then try a big spoonful of it. Mmmm. Then you take all of the herbs and pluck the leaves in. Toss in some sprouts. Squirt lime. If they have a fermented hot sauce on the table put a couple spoons in. If not, a tiny squirt of sriracha. Take a side plate for dipping. Squirt sriracha and hoisin in the side plate. Spoon in left hand, chopsticks in right. Alternate spoonfuls of your pho with meat dipped in your side plate.
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Having friends over to watch Willys Wonderland… another Nic Cage classic. Going to build a charcuterie board for snacks. Going to go with an assortment of meat, cheese, olives, nuts, crackers, and bread. Not really sure why I’m writing this, but I’m excited to have people over again.
Movie for fun: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0v27rfaoB2Y
Gonna guess jalapeños in pho is an American innovation.
Sorta, but you are also sorta writing off Vietnamese Americans for not being authentic when using local produce.
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Yeah, this.
I’m assuming if you actually get Pho in Vietnam, there are going to be some sort of peppers for heat.
Vietnamese-Americans are Americans, no?
Yeah, probably a local cultivar of bird eyes. But a hallmark of pho, as an everyman’s dish, is using what you have, and an outfit in Davis, CA using local jalapeños instead of sourcing a cultivar from Vietnam that gets flown in daily is keeping with that tradition.