Beware, fellow foodies, of the population that boasts membership to our brotherhood but who are actually in a different class all to themselves. They’re called “food snobs.” And they’re very, very dangerous.

Foodies are always looking for what we call “authentic” cuisine, but we know that the term is a loose one and can mean any number of things, depending on the individual foodie. But for food snobs, the word “authentic” is rigidly defined.

Examples: Food snobs wanting Italian will only go to a place owned by a Scarface mob boss twirling his moustache and plotting your off if you make a face like his Nonna’s spaghetti has too much salt. For a bowl of pho, food snobs will only walk into the shoebox-of-a-restaurant with a lucky dollar on the wall and an English-translated menu that you want to edit with a thick, red Sharpie.

Foodies also frequent these places (which are actually quite good), but unlike food snobs, we are willing to try that Italian place owned by Koreans or the Vietnamese place out in the middle of Kansas. Food snobs will not.

Food snobs also think “authentic” means “extreme.” $50 for cassoulet at a French bistro? Authentique. 50 cents for a street taco? Muy autentico. Foodies love these places too, but we also frequent places where cassoulet doesn’t cost an arm and a leg and tacos cost $5. Food snobs will not.

Foodies know that cuisine can be authentic as long as it’s made with good intentions. Which means we think stellar of that pizza place owned by the blond with the beer gut. Which means we heart Rick Bayless. In the eyes of a foodie, the people who produce authentic food are the people who produce dishes enthusiastically, with passion. People like you and me.

So what else does authenticity mean to foodies? It means that you can make chicken tikka masala without a drop of Indian blood coursing through your veins. And it means that I, a Viet/Irish/Italian hybrid, can make a decent bowl of pho. My recipe may not be authentic by food-snob definition, but you can be sure that its intentions are good.

(CLICK ON LINK BELOW FOR RECIPE)

PHO HAPA
Yield: 6 servings

• FOR BROTH:
  2 onions, halved
  1 piece ginger, quartered
  6 pounds beef bones
  1 to 2 pounds oxtail
  5 quarts water
  1/2 cup fish sauce
  2 bay leaves
  1 cinnamon stick
  1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  3 star anise
  6 whole cloves
  2 tablespoons light brown sugar
  Salt and pepper, to taste
• One package rice sticks (pho noodles)
  Beef tenderloin, thinly sliced
• GARNISHES:
  Bean sprouts
  Cilantro
  Lime
  Thai basil

Procedure:
1. Over the open flame of a burner, char onion and ginger halves until fragrant and blackened.
2. In a 10 to 12-quart stockpot, place beef bones and oxtail. Cover with 5 quarts of cold water (bones should be completely covered. If not, add more water).
3. Bring beef bones and water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 1-1/2 hours, skimming all impurities from bones that float to the surface.
4. Add cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaf, cloves, peppercorns, fish sauce and sugar to broth. Continue to simmer for another 1-1/2 to 2 hours, skimming surface of broth as needed.
5. Taste broth. Depending on how much marrow is in the bones you use, you may need to simmer for longer and reduce the liquid to get that full-bodied beef taste. Remove bones and spices from broth. Season with salt and pepper.

6. (This is an optional step.) When broth is to your liking, cool broth and place in refrigerator overnight. In the morning, take pot out of fridge and skim fat off of surface of broth.

To assemble:
1. Reheat broth to a boil. Soak pho noodles in a bowl of water until soft. Drain.
2. Heat water in a 4- to 5-quart pot. When water comes to a boil, add soaked noodles. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until noodles are soft. Drain, and portion noodles into bowls.
3. Place thinly sliced raw tenderloin on top of noodles. Ladle broth over meat and noodles. Top with garnishes and serve hot.

– Cynthia Furey

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 15th, 2009 at 3:06 pm and is filed under In the kitchen, Main dishes, Meat, Soups/stocks/stews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.