Cooking with Care

Thai food is hands down one of my favorite choices for a fun dinner out. Its one of the cuisines that I have not been able to master at home (yet). I have such respect for Thai cooking and really appreciate the depth of flavors in every bite. Aside from Panang Curry and Pad Thai my go to Thai dish is Tom Ka soup. The creamy broth paired with strong flavors of ginger and spice will warm up any day. Pair the flavors of Tom Ka with Pho inspired ingredients and noodles and you get Tom Ka Pho! I’ve been spending the winter in Phoenix and found this great Pho restaurant that has innovative soup dishes that offer a hybrid to many favorite soups.

The inspiration for my homemade Tom Ka Pho

Like most great dinners out, I was inspired to come home and try to replicate the dish. I spent some time online researching which Tom Ka base I wanted to use and what vegetables to include in my home made version. I used this great recipe from An Urban Cottage to make my broth. I followed the recipe and really only swapped a bit of agave for brown sugar because I saw it first in the pantry. I also used reduced sodium chicken broth and low fat coconut milk. Next time I think I’ll go with full fledged coconut broth to improve the creaminess of the dish. To create our Pho station I prepared the following meat and veggies:

• Baby corn
• Chopped turkey (we had it in the fridge but chicken, beef, tofu or no meat would all work)
• Broccoli (quick blanch in a little water to soften)
• Shredded carrots
• Bok choy (quick blanch in a little water to soften)
• Red peppers (quick blanch in a little water to soften)
• Diced jalapenos
• Cilantro
• Sriracha
• Sliced mushrooms (quick blanch in a little water to soften)

Once all my veggies were ready, and the broth was simmering I prepped my Pho noodles. I found a great package of Pho noodles at our local Asian market in Phoenix. The noodles only required 10-20 seconds in boiling water. Once I drained them I added the noodles to the bottom of each giant bowl I’d chosen to serve dinner in. Then we each added our choice of veggies and meat on top of the noodles and added the broth right over top. Add a bit of cilantro, fresh squeezed lime juice and Sriracha to taste!

Our home made Tom Ka Pho!