Ribbon Noodle Pho Soup With Enoki, Spicy Lotus Root, Pickled Wakame Salad and Ikan Bilis

A tasty nice pho soup!

     The key to presenting a pho creation is simply to make it look interesting.  Tranquil natural presentations are traditional and so are composed presentations.  Composed presentations present the ingredients of a pho soup in a pattern and so they can be seen.  Pho translates to rice noodles, so the noodles are usually the centerpiece of a composed pho soup presentation.

     This is not a traditional pho soup recipe.  It is a creative modern pho soup.  Menus at Vietnamese noodle houses in Las Vegas offer many traditional pho items and they usually offer a few chef creations with fun names for party crowd.  Many Las Vegas pho noodle houses are open 24 hours.  In the mornings, many customers like a tranquil traditional pho soup, while groups of customer who have been partying in clubs all night usually like something new and exciting in the morning to continue the wild time.  This makes for an interesting mix of customers in a dining room!       

  
     Ribbon Noodle Pho Soup With Enoki, Spicy Lotus Root, Pickled Wakame Salad and Ikan Bilis:
     This recipe makes 1 large portion of soup!  
     Flat ribbon rice noodles look like fettucini noodles and they do take some time to cook.  Flat rice noodles take about 10 to 12 minutes to cook.  Vietnamese pho noodles usually served immediately after cooking, and they are not shocked in cold water to add a rubbery texture.
     The soup can be made while the noodles are cooking.
     Cook 1 portion of flat ribbon rice noodles in boiling water.
     Place 2 1/2 cups of shrimp broth in a sauce pot.
     Boil the shrimp broth over medium high heat.
     Add 2 cloves of minced garlic.
     Add 1 teaspoon of minced ginger.
     Add 1 tiny handful of small sun dried anchovies.  (Ikan Bilis)
     Add 1 pinch turmeric.
     Add 1 small splash of rice vinegar.
     Add sea salt and white pepper.
     Add 5 drops of sesame oil.
     Boil the soup for about 10 minutes, till the sun dried anchovies start to become tender.
     Add 1 green onion that is cut into bite size strips.
     Add 3 or 4 slices of lotus root that was marinated in chili oil.  (Chili oil marinated lotus root slices are sold in vacuum sealed bags in asian markets.  This is a nice product!)
     Add 6 to 8 snow peas.
     Add a few small slices of red bell pepper.
     Boil the soup, till the vegetables are a little more than halfway cooked.  The vegetables should still have a crispy bite to them.
     Add 1 small squeeze of lime juice.
     The noodles should be ready by this time!
     
     Presentation:  
     Drain the water off of the rice noodles.
     Mound the noodles in the center of a shallow soup bowl.
     Use a slotted spoon to arrange the vegetables and ikan bilis around the noodles in the bowl.  (Try to expose the lotus root slices on top of the other vegetables.
     Place a few small bunches of fresh enoki mushrooms on top of the vegetables.
     Slowly and gently pour the soup broth over the enoki mushrooms in the bowl.  The broth is hot enough to blanch the thin enoki mushrooms.
     Place a small amount pickled wakame seaweed salad on top of the noodles as a garnish.  (Pickled wakame seaweed salad is available pre-made in asian markets.)
  
     This soup is healthy and it has a nice eye appeal.  The chili oil packed lotus slices are crisp and they add a spicy flavor to the soup.  The sun dried anchovies add a pleasantly mild savory seafood umami flavor and they are not salty or fishy tasting like european anchovies.  Yum!  ...  Shawna