Making Phở

I am told that it's important to have a hobby. They say that if work is your life and the work isn't good then you are in trouble. So I've decided that since cooking is a nice way to relax, I'll call it my hobby.

Being in Vietnam, one will necessarily enjoy Phở, a delicious beef noodle soup. I decided that I would remiss in not learning how to make it so I undertook what turned out to be by far the most challenging dish I've ever attempted. As is my wont, I searched out numerous recipes, chose the one that looked most complicated and time consuming, then incorporated some ideas from other sources.

My first attempts didn't go so well. I had the good fortune to make these attempts in the home of a Vietnamese family, so I had some expert advice and comments. The first comment was incredulity that I was using a recipe.  My first batch was too sweet. My second  attempt was too weak.   They had some ideas about how to fix that.  When I went home for the holidays this year, I succeeded in making it a couple times to my satisfaction. I haven't tried the new approach with the family, so keep in mind that this recipe hasn't been put to the true test just yet.

Recipe after the jump.  Also some interesting information about squid.