February 9, 2010

The Olympics are coming to Vancouver, and, as I'm going to be working evening shifts the entirity of the Games, I will inevitably have to take a hiatus from Tuesday night dinners. So for my final meal before said hiatus, I felt like I had to go all out with cuisine. This was going to need to expand beyond my tiny closet-kitchen. So I enlisted the help of one of my regular diners, who offered to host (his kitchen is a respectable size!).

For theme, I scoured the internet for holidays, celebrations, etc. I figured the meal would be kind of a good way to kick off what was sure to be two weeks of massive partying during the Olympics. I was in luck, because Tet is February 14, certainly close enough to justify cooking some classic Vietnamese cuisine. And nothing screams Vietnamese like Pho!

I've been meaning to go out for Pho since my aforementioned foodie former-roomate raved about it years ago. Unfortunately, most Pho is made with beef stock, and since I'm quite anti-beef, I hadn't made my way to finding a veggie - or at least chicken-based option. Luckily, I found a recipe for Vegetarian Pho. Lemongrass is also a key componant to Vietnamese cooking, and I found this delicious-sounding Lemongrass Tofu with Mushrooms. Then I figured I needed a spicy tropical salad, so I added a Cucumber Tomato and Pineapple Salad.



The Pho turned out fairly well. The broth, considering the lack of meat, was a very tasty flavour. The noodles I chose, unfortunately, never softened quite right, and ended up fairly doughy. I would make sure next time to use rice noodles. Also, this is definitely a time-consuming venture, and only to be attempted on days when you have more time! The Lemongrass Tofu was, on the otherhand, fairly easy to make and clean up. I think the recipe skimped on the lemongrass flavour, and I would modify it to try and infuse the tofu with that woody-citrus more. The salada was fantastic - very very spicy! In fact, the part that sang in this meal was the pineapple. For a great appetizer, you could just put the dressing on the pineapple and serve it in rings. It was the perfect blend of sweet, tangy and spicy!

It was definitely a treat to finally try Pho, and the motivation is on to find a vegetarian or chicken option, to try someone else's recipe. It was also a treat to cook in a real sized kitchen, and to have assistants for some of the lengthy prep for this meal!