Vietnamese Food: Pho Bo A Traditional Pho Recipe

[caption id="attachment_1991" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Vietnamese Food Pho Bo A Traditional Pho Recipe - Click To Enlarge"][/caption]

Hi everyone this week I am back to cooking because I really missed it. I will be doing some more sharpening videos in the future but this week I wanted to cook. So this week I decided on Vietnamese food! As anyone who knows me knows I love Vietnamese food. I love the flavors of Southeast Asian cooking whether it is Thai food or Vietnamese food or Laosian food.

This week I decided to make Pho Bo which is the favorite soup of Vietnam. The Pho Bo recipe I am making this week is a traditional pho recipe made of beef and noodles. Pho Bo is the national soup of Vietnam a place that used to be called "Tonkin" when the French occupied the country under something called the "French Protectorate." When I was a kid during the time of Nixon Tonkin was called Indochina.

Pho soup whether it is Pho Bo(beef pho) or Pho Ga(chicken pho) is the mainstay staple of street side stalls and eateries throughout Vietnam! Vietnamese food is very popular in the United States these days and Pho soup is on top of the list. Most Americans pronounce pho as "foe" and this is not the correct way to say it.  The Vietnamese people pronounce it someplace between "few" and "fuh". I myself am guilty of mispronunciation of this word for years.

In Vietnamese food culture Pho soup even more Pho Bo is a kind of early fusion cuisine that is influenced most notable by French and Chinese. Pho Bo is a soup that has over a 100yrs history that began in the city of Hanoi. As far as Vietnamese Food is concerned Pho is considered to be the "meal of the people." The traditional Pho recipe of Pho Bo is highly influenced by the French. The French Protectorate had occupied Vietnam from 1858 to 1954.

The French cooked a dish cooked a dish known as "Pot Au Feu". This dish was the humble predecessor today's traditional pho recipe and was made of meat and vegetables that were cooked in a rich broth. Way back in those early days beef was just about unheard of in that part of the world and the national meat was pork. Today in this type of Vietnamese food beef is readily available but pork is still #1.

As I stated the most important part of the Pho Bo is the broth. It can take 3 or more hours to simmer a good broth for Pho Bo and you want that broth to be as pure as possible before serving the soup. In the traditional pho recipe the broth is made from beef bones. Most notably the bones to be used are shank and knuckle marrow bones. You can also add meat to the broth mixture to help enhance the flavor of the Pho Bo. Cuts of meat like sirloin, chuck or even oxtail will help make your broth delicious!


Pho Bo is a very healthy soup and it is not the kind of beef soup that you want to skim all the fat from. A large majority of the fat will come from the marrow in the bones along with other constituents which are very healthful when eaten. In order to rid your Pho Bo of impurities it is necessary to blanch the bones for between 10 and 15 minutes to get the impurities out. Then the broth is made at a simmer. You want the simmer to be as low a flame as possible. The Vietnamese call this simmering process a "smile".

So the traditional pho recipe was influenced by the French and today there are many variations in Vietnamese food especially pho in both Vietnam and America. Today a traditional pho recipe can and is made with more than just beef or chicken. Other parts of the animal are being used today to create haute pho recipes or what I call the new school traditional pho recipe in Vietnam. Parts such as kidneys, lungs, tripe, brisket, brain, udder, and yes even penis! Other ingredients such as mushrooms, tofu, sprouts, varied greens, and scallions are being used and the list goes on and on!

Today I will be making a simple beef pho(Pho Bo) using beef shank and knuckle bones, chuck roast and eye of round raw meat slices with a simple combination of herbs and spices in my bouquet garni. I know if you make this recipe you will love it. Enjoy the video and thanks for stopping by!
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Knife Sharpening - Knife Sharpening Part 2

Knife Sharpening

 

OK guys here it is! The second part of my series on Knife Sharpening Part 2. Whew! I am sorry that it is late but I caught some kind of bug a few days ago and it stopped me from getting this Knife Sharpening video done.  In this second part video I go a bit deeper into the Knife sharpening process and I go over my patented method of how to find the angle of your knifes blade so that you can perform the chore of Knife Sharpening correctly!

In this second part of Knife Sharpening I was going to continue using Japanese water stones but, I didn't. Why? Because one of my subscribers on my Youtube channel sent me an email and asked me a very pointed question. "How do I sharpen my knives?" This person was not interested in me showing my readers and subs  how to use Japanese water stones, he was interested in how I do my sharpening and thought that it would be in my best interest and the interest of my readers and subs to see how I myself do Knife Sharpening.

I gave this request a lot of thought and in the end I decided to forgo the Japanese water stones and show you how I do Knife Sharpening in my home. Yes! I own many Japanese water stones but in truth I try to avoid using them. I do this basically because when it comes to Knife Sharpening I am lazy! Yes! I am lazy! I do like to do Knife Sharpening with Japanese water stones but, I don't like to do the maintenance necessary to keep those water stones in peak performance! The fact of the matter is that Japanese water stones are most often very messy to work with as many of them create a slurry that you have to contend with. Also the issue of "lapping" the Japanese water stones to keep them as flat and level as possible can be quite a time consuming chore at best.


I am a bit more modern in my Knife Sharpening when I use sharpening stones. For about 98% of all my Knife Sharpening chores I use DMT Diamond Whetstones in various mesh/grits. I do this because DMT whetstones don't need to be "lapped" in order to keep them flat or level for use as the diamonds are impregnated into steel plates. This means very low maintenance! I use the DMT Duosharp Benchstones in various mesh/grit ratings. I have in succession a DMT Duosharp coarse/extra coarse 220/325 mesh/grit benchstone. I use this whetstone for quick metal removal for a blade that is really deformed and in need of reshaping. Then I use a DMT Duosharp fine/extra fine 600/1200 mesh/grit benchstone. This whetstone helps me with micro beveling and reducing the scratch patterns from the coarser grits used to sharpe the edge and helps to refine the edge to a finer degree.

After I use the full gamut of diamond plates for my Knife Sharpening I then move on to my polishing steps and I use synthetic ceramic stones to do this for me. I rarely ever go beyond 3000 grit for my polishing needs whether I am sharpening Japanese knives or western knives. Some people want to sharpen their knives upwards of like 8000 grit or more and my answer to that is how sharp is sharp? How sharp do you need your knives to be! There are times that I will take a particular knife like a Japanese Yanagiba that is ground at 100/0 degrees and I will put a final polish on it from a  King Japanese water stone 6000 grit but that is a rare occasion. So usually when I am done Knife Sharpening using my diamond plates I will finish my polishing on a Spyderco 302f ceramic bench stone. This ceramic is a synthetic ceramic rated at 1800 grit. It will not gully or dish like other clay based or resin based ceramic stones so they will last for years and years and this is a true value. I have been using mine for at least 8yrs and they are still level. Then I will finish my polishing on a Spyderco 302uf ultra fine ceramic benchstone rated at 2200 grit. This stone puts the final razors edge on my blade on the primary cutting edge when I am done with the knifes back bevel and then lookout my blades are wicked sharp!


There are other things that you can do when performing the chore of Knife Sharpening in order to refine your edge ever further if that is something that you want to do. One of the things I do is make my famous "poor man's strop." This is done by rubbing some form of metal polish onto a piece of cardboard and making a nice thin layer to cover the surface of the cardboard and then letting the compound dry and then lightly stropping your knife on it to get an even higher mirror polish on your knifes edge. Most metal polishes are at a minimum 6000 grit and up. Don't quote me on this however as I am not an expert on metal polish. I do know however that if you have a good quality leather strop you can get liquid green compound rated at up to 60,000 grit if that is what you want. So please watch this video and enjoy it! If there are any questions please contact me and I will get back to you ASAP!


 

Knife Sharpening - Knife Sharpening Part 1

Knife Sharpening

 

In my last blog post I covered a sub subject of knife sharpening which was how to maintain the sharpening stones you are using especially if the knife sharpening stones you are using are Japanese water stones. Lapping water stones prior to knife sharpening is a subject that I found was not discussed very often or even very correctly on the internet or anyplace else for that matter.

So I did a video last week on how to maintain the water stones that you use for knife sharpening chores and this weeks video I am starting a two video module demonstrating knife sharpening. I am going to cover some basic information on the difference between symetrical and asymetrical blade styles and how to find the angle of the blade you are sharpening.

As well for those of us out there that don't have a lot of experience with knife sharpening I am going to show you in the video how to find the angle of any knife that you are going to sharpen and this method works every time. It will get you close enough to the manufacturers blade angle without having to call the manufacturer to ask what angle the blade was ground at.

There are many types of strokes that can be used for knife sharpening and in this video I will be using a reverse Japanese stroke on the stones to get the edge I want. I consider this stroke to be the most efficient stroke in knife sharpening but, on the other hand it is also the most difficult stroke to learn because of issues of correct pressure to apply to the stones, wrist flexing against the stone, proper grind technique in the proper direction against the stone.  All of these aspects are covered in this video.

As I have said before knife sharpening is easier than you think and there really is no mystery to it. All you need to learn proper knife sharpening is some basic information and some practice and that is what I ma offering with this video series on knife sharpening. I have also stated in past videos and blog posts that not all knife sharpening mediums will work well with all types of cutlery steels. Some stones work great with carbon steel blades and yet will not work well with stainless blades and vice/verse!

Now in part 2 of this module I am going to finish sharpening the Japanese Petty knife that I showed in this part 1.  So go ahead and watch this knife sharpening video and enjoy it!

Waterstones: How To Maintain Japanese Waterstones With Lapping

Waterstones

 



Waterstones from Japan are the rage in the sharpening world today. In the store that I manage I sell waterstones from Japan by the truck load. I sell many different types of Japanese waterstones. Some of the waterstones are single stones and many of the waterstones are consumer based double sided waterstones that come at a value price.

Japanese waterstones come in many varieties. Some waterstones are clay bases ceramic and some are resin based ceramic. There are some waterstones made domestically by Shapton and they are some of the best waterstones on the market and even though Shapton says  the waterstones they produce are resin based they actually rubber based stones and they work very well.


If you are one of those people that are into using Japanese waterstones or you are one of those people that want to get into Japanese waterstones then you will need to do some research on waterstones to decide which one's will work best for you. The other thing you have to look forward to is the fact that if you get into using Japanese waterstones or domestic made waterstones you will need to be prepared to spend some money on good quality waterstones and you will need to explore the kinds of grits that you will need to perform the sharpening chore. Remember: Some waterstones work well with carbon blades but maybe not stainless blades and then there are the waterstones that work well with stainless blade but maybe not so well with carbon blades.

If you have decided to buy Japanese waterstones for your sharpening arsenal then you will also need to be prepared to learn how to properly sharpen your knives on them AND you will also need to learn how to properly maintain your waterstones in order to keep the surface of the waterstones flat and as level as possible. This is done through a process call "lapping."

Oh yes! Japanese waterstones need to have a maintenance schedule just as your knives need to have a maintenance schedule. So even though there is a learning curve when it comes to learning how to sharpen your knives to keep them at peak performance there is also a learning curve when it comes to keeping your waterstones at peak performance as well. Lapping waterstones in a labor of love to say the least.

So first thing is first: Lapping a waterstone is a relatively easy thing to do. I generally suggest that the sharpener lap their waterstones after each use. This prevents the waterstones from getting gullied or dished. When you see that your waterstones have a lot of black buildup on the surface of the waterstone that buildup is called "glazing." This glazing is the buildup of steel from knives that have been sharpened over and over again on a stone that has not been lapped. This glazing will prevent proper contact of your knife blade to the waterstone and therefore you will not get your knives sharpened correctly because the abrasive is not making contact with the blade, the glazing is.

Lapping your waterstones is the process of removing the glazing and truing or leveling your waterstone so that your knife makes proper contact with the abrasive nature of the waterstone and therefore has even metal removal taking place so that your blade is consistent and contiguous.

There are a couple of ways of removing glazing from your waterstones. In the bad old days I used a piece of wet/dry sandpaper at 220 grit and wrapped it around a piece of 2x4 and stapled it into the wood and I would lay my waterstone on a flat surface and do my scrubbing back and forth until the glazing was all gone. This worked for a while until I found that the surface of the 2x4 that I was using was not exactly flat enough so in turn my waterstone was not getting leveled to a high degree of satisfaction.

So later in the process of me learning to do quality lapping of my waterstones I bought a DMT diamond diasharp at 220 grit  and a DMT diamond diasharp at 600 grit. I would then wrap a piece of 2x4 in thin cloth and wet it and then put a waterstone that has been soaking for 30mins minimum on top of the 2x4 and then use the diamond plate to lap my stones back to level.

Now after your waterstones have been lapped back to level there is a process you perform on your waterstones called radiusing the edges. This is where you take off the sharp edges of your waterstones to allow the blade even more consistent contact with the abrasive for a better sharpening experience. You radius the edges of the waterstones because sometimes the edges can raise the knife off of the center mass of the stone and only be lifted by the edges and this makes for poor contact with the abrasive.

All of this is covered in the video so please watch this video and leave a comment. If there are any questions please feel free to contact me and I will get back to you ASAP!

Knife Sharpening Starting From The Beginning

Knife Sharpening

 

As of late I have been bombarded with emails and private messages from readers and Youtube subs asking me to do more sharpening videos as they really like what I am teaching about the subject. I have been promising to do some more videos now for the last 3 or 4 months and finally this last week I decided to put off on cooking a nice dish and give the people what they want!

So as with the new year being new this is a new run of videos dedicated to the subject of how to sharpen your much valued kitchen knives. We are all people who love food and love being in the kitchen and therefore our most important tools in the kitchen are our knives. I get really tired of all of the bad information about knife sharpening that there is out there on the internet and in places like Youtube. Knife sharpening is a skill and that skill takes time to aquire as with any skill.

There is no mystery to knife sharpening. It is just knife sharpening. So many people out treat the subject of knives sharpening like some mystic art. The riddle of steel! The riddle of knife sharpening. I don't get it! There is no mystery to knife sharpening. Don't listen to people who tell you that "this is the only way to do knife sharpening" because that is not the case. Don't pay large sums of money for a video course on knife sharpening. Don't pay to take a 1, 2 or 3 day course in knife sharpening that costs hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Now there are a couple of people out there that make practice of doing this. I don't agree with the bulk of them and what they charge. If you are a person with some number of years doing knife sharpening and you want to further your career as a professional knife sharpener or knife maker then yes there are people out there that are quite reputable as teachers and worth the money they charge to teach the art of knife sharpening but, believe me these people are few and far between.

So it is with this blog post I am starting to do a series of posts and videos covering the subject of knife sharpening from the beginning. Starting at the bottom of the subject of knife sharpening and working my way up to give you the most complete and informative coverage of the subject of knife sharpening as I have learned it over the past 30yrs.


In these two videos covering part one of my knife sharpening series I am going to  cover what an edge is and how to make a proper edge when performing the knife sharpening task. The edge itself is one of the most misunderstood aspects of knife sharpening because most people are taught that there is only one edge to be sharpened on a knife and the fact of the matter is that there are two edges to be sharpened on each side for a total of for if you look at knife sharpening as a matter of planes which it is.


So here I am going to discuss knife sharpening from the angle of what is and edge? A plane? And what happens as a plane is ground during knife sharpening to create your edge. In other words how to create the "burr" that creates your edge. When performing knife sharpening you need to understand that there are many types of edges that can be created on a knife so there are some things to take into consideration when knife sharpening.

1. What kind of knife are you sharpening?

2. What is the intended chore for the knife you are sharpening?

3. What are you using the knife for that you are sharpening?

Once you have answered these questions then you will know how to proceed with your knife sharpening task. As an aside about knife sharpening let me tell you that there are a ton of rigs and jigs and guided sharpening systems out there that all work fairly well if you want to work within the guidelines of that piece of gear. Yes! you will get a workable edge and a decent cutting edge from these rigs, jigs and guided systems but, what you will lose using these types of gizmos is the shear breadth and width of knife sharpening creativity! If you really want to "feel the force" when it comes to knife sharpening then the absolute best way to learn how to do knife sharpening is freehand on stones of various types. Learning how to sharpen on a stone is an art you will never forget. I mean you can't take a sharpening rig into the woods to sharpen your knives and even if you could I don't and you shouldn't!

There is something very important to cover here when it come to knife sharpening and that is that you may have some stones or a sharpening system that work great with the knives that you have now. Then all of a sudden you get some new knives and they get dull and you find out that the stones or rig that you have is not doing such a good job on the new knives. This is because not all mediums for sharpening  will work well on ALL of your knives because there are so many different kinds of steels and world of different knife sharpening abrasives out there. So you need to know what you have and what you will need in order to  do knife sharpening correctly. So sit back and watch these two videos and enjoy and the next video is coming soon!

Kimchi Recipe: Kimchi Jigae Dakgogi A Hot Kimchi Recipe

Kimchi Recipe

[caption id="attachment_1885" align="alignleft" width="300"] Kimchi Recipe: Kimchi Jigae - Click To Enlarge[/caption]

This week it started getting colder  here in the high desert of Las Vegas, NV where I live. I had told myself months back that I was going to concentrate on making soup recipes for the winter months because I  myself as so many of us love to eat soups in the cold winter months. I thought to myself what kind of soup did I want to make for you my valued readers this week. My mind began drifting off back to when I was in college and my room mate Suk Yi who taught me how to make kimchi and other Korean dishes and then I remembered that he had taught me how to make Kimchi Jjigae, a great Kimchi Recipe. This Kimchi Recipe is a stew by nature but depending on the consistency of the liquid in the dish it can also be considered a soup. Kimchi Jjigae is served hot and if there is any stew/soup that I know of that can warm your cockles it is this Kimchi Recipe!

Kimchi Jjigae is a Kimchi Recipe cooked in homes all over Korea! Generally speaking this Kimchi Recipe uses older kimchi that has fermented for a longer period of time and is a bit more sour and thus it creates a much more pungent aroma and a stronger flavor as well. There is also the added benefit of quality good bacteria that comes from the fermented Kimchi Recipe. It is basically recognized that fresh kimchi will not impart the flavor that older kimchi will in this Kimchi Recipe.

Traditionally this Kimchi Recipe is made by putting sliced kimchi into an earthenware or crock type of pot with pork belly or beef and in some cases seafood like tuna which is called Chamchi Chigae. Other ingredients are added to this Kimchi Recipe such as garlic, onions and tofu and is cooked in water or some type of stock then the addition of doenjang which is Korean soybean paste and Gochujang which is Korean chili paste is added to create a fiery and satisfying soup/stew. As with so many dishes in the Korean culture kimchi jjigae is a Kimchi Recipe that is eaten in a communal manner at the table and the kimchi jjigae is also accompanied by many side dishes or "banchan" and of course rice!

So this week I decided to make another Kimchi Recipe and that recipe is Kimchi Jjigae Dakgogi. Dakgogi is the Korean word for chicken and I decided that this would be my version of what I call Korean chicken soup for the soul because it's so warm and comforting and delicious! I used chicken stock instead of just plain water to help bring out the flavors of this Kimchi Recipe. Please enjoy the video and the recipe will be right below! Eat and enjoy!

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Ingredients:
A large saucepot or Korean crockpot for making the Kimchi Recipe.
2 Cups kimchi. The older the better.
1 Lbs. Chicken meat either boneless leg meat or thigh meat cut into medium or large sized chunks as preference.
1 Cup kimchi liquid.
2 Cups Chicken stock.
2 Tbsp. Sesame oil.
2 Tbps. Soy sauce.
2 Scallions rough/fine chop. Personal preference.
1 Red chili pepper thinly sliced.
4 Shitake mushrooms.
1/2 to 1 small yellow onion either slivered or medium diced.
4 to 6 cloves of garlic minced.
1 to 2 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger.
1 Tbsp. Mirin.
2 Tbsp. coarse ground Korean chili pepper.(Gochugaru)
2 Tbsp. Korean chili paste.(Gochujang)
2-3 Tbsp. Korean soybean paste.(Doenjang)
2-3 Slabs firm or soft tofu cubed.
1-2 Tbsp. cooking oil.
Optional: Some type of Asian noodle such as Udon, Somen, Soba, Mung bean thread, Jajangmyeon, or regular spaghetti all will work just fine. I used regular spaghetti in my dish.

Method:
1. If your kimchi is in big pieces then cut it up into more manageable bite sized pieces.
2. Have a cup of the kimchi juice set aside for this Kimchi Recipe.
3. Make sure your tofu is rinsed and cubed.
4. Mince your garlic and set aside.
5. Slice or dice your yellow onion and set aside.
6. Now put chicken meat in saucepot or crock pot and brown it up in your cooking oil this takes 2 to 3 minutes.
7. Then add your minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add your kimchi and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the kimchi softens then add your kimchi liquid.
9. Once the kimchi softens it's time to add your chicken stock, the chili paste(Gochujang) and chili flakes(Gochugaru) and your shitake mushrooms.

10. Add your soy sauce now cook 1 to 2 minutes.
11. Add your Korean soybean paste as in the video stir and cook for 1 minute.
12. Add your minced ginger now and cook for 1 minute.
13. Add your tofu cubes and bring to a boil for 3 minutes.
14. Add your sliced red chili pepper if you desire.
15. Add your sliced scallions now and cook for 1 minute.
16. Add your sesame oil.
17. Add your Mirin.
18. Allow this Kimchi Recipe to cook on simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
19. In a bowl of your choice put the noodle of your choice at the bottom.
20. Now ladle your delicious Kimchi Jjigae into the bowl and enjoy!

[caption id="attachment_1892" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Kimchi Recipe - Click To Enlarge[/caption]

Kimchi Recipe: Jook Pa Kim Chi An Easy Kimchi Recipe

Kimchi Recipe

 

[caption id="attachment_1847" align="alignleft" width="300"] Kimchi Recipe - Click To Enlarge[/caption]

This week I felt like making another Kimchi Recipe for my readers and Youtube Channel viewers. This week the Kimchi Recipe I am making is called Jook Pa Kimchi or just plain Pa' Kimchi. Most of us are familiar with the standard Bae Chu Kimchi Recipe which is made from whole or sliced up Napa cabbage. This is the Kimchi Recipe that we find in our local Asian supermarkets in various sized jars and we also see this type of Kimchi Recipe that we find when we go to a sushi joint or an all you can eat Chinese buffet.

The fact is that there are many different types of Kimchi Recipe that one can make. This weeks Kimchi Recipe, Jook Pa kimchi is made from the simple and humble green onion or scallion that we can get in every market in every city in the nation. There are well over 180 different kinds of Kimchi Recipe in Korea and Jook Pa is considered to be the easiest Kimchi Recipe to make.

No matter what a Korean family will eat for breakfast, lunch or dinner one thing is for sure and that is kimchi must be present at the table. What is also a nifty little fact is that in Korea even when you go to a restaurant that serves Western food on the menu kimchi is offered as a free side dish or banchan and you can have as much as you want! I am ALL in for that!

As I said earlier kimchi is a side dish in Korea although I am sure I am like many Koreans and vice/verse that I eat enough kimchi to make it considered a main course. I just LOVE kimchi and I can honestly say that I have never had a Kimchi Recipe that I didn't like! Any Kimchi Recipe is one of the healthiest things that you can eat. I mean look at this Kimchi Recipe. Jook Pa is made of green onions/scallions. These onions are LOADED with calcium and other health attributes. The red chili flakes are loaded with vitamin C. The garlic has something called an Allicin potential and is known to be a natural blood cleanser.  The fish sauce has lots of energy from the fermentation process and the ginger in this Kimchi recipe is know to be great for your circulation. Kimchi is a low fat high energy, high fiber food that is just plain GOOD for you!

[caption id="attachment_1869" align="alignleft" width="300"] Jook Pa Kimchi Recipe - Click To Enlarge[/caption]

I thought that I would make a dish that can be served with this Kimchi Recipe as either another side dish or banchan or as a main course and that is Kongnamulbap. This dish is made of short grain rice, meat of your choice either ground beef or pork and eggs either sunny side up or scramble. In my version of this recipe I am making it with short grain sushi rice, seasoned thinly sliced Shitake mushrooms, soy bean sprouts and scrambled eggs and  a nice sauce. So sit back and enjoy the video and the Kimchi Recipe and the Kongnamulbap recipe will follow at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!


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