Fawm/Pho

I love fawm or "pho" as majority of people know it by. I love any kind of noodles actually, but fawm is my favorite. This delicious rice noodle soup with tender beef slices and it's aroma of spices in the broth is just perfect for any day. It's the easiest thing to make and most satisfying to any belly. I've been making fawm for a very long time, but never wrote down the recipe. Funny thing is, everytime I make it, it never tastes the same as the one before. Finally, I remembered to write down the recipe as I cooked and it turned out perfectly. I love my fawm with all kinds of fish balls and meat balls. You can definitely add bean sprouts for a nice crunch, but I love my fawm with lots of cilantro and sriracha sauce. The best thing about this dish is that the toppings are all OPTIONAL!! You add whatever you like!!

                                        beef fawm with steamed fish roll and broiled fish roll

Broth:
4 quarts of water
4 lbs beef chuck roast
3 cloves
2 bay leaves
2 star anise
2 tsp corriander seeds
1 onion, sliced lengthwise
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp Maggi Seasoning sauce
2 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar

Ingredients:
1 pkg rice noodles, soaked in hot water and drained
Fish balls *can use any asian meat balls you like)
Cilantro, chopped
Green onions, chopped

Toppings:
Oyster sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha sauce
Fish sauce
Lime juice
Vinegar
Sugar
Black pepper
Black Sweet Soy Sauce
Fried Dried Garlic
Peanut Butter *my husband's favorite, but it's optional*
Chili Garlic Paste

To make the broth, bring water to a boil. Add the beef chuck roast, skimming off any fatty foams at the top. This process is to keep the broth nice and light-tasting. Put all the spices in a spice bag and drop it into the broth along with the carrots. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer. Simmer the broth for about 2-3 hours, constantly adding more water. The key here is to bring out the flavor from the beef and spices, you really want them to linger in the broth for awhile. Take out the beef chuck roast and thinly slice them. Add the fish balls or meat balls into the broth and let them simmer until they're cooked. Take them out and cut them in half. Take out the spice bag and keep the heat on simmering.

To prepare a good bowl of fawm, you must always decide if your noodles are soft enough or will it need to be drenched in the broth before ladling the broth into the bowl. Some noodle brands are more difficult to soften with just hot water than others so this process depends on the noodle after it's soaked in hot water. My noodles were soft so I skipped the drenching process. Ladle a few scoops of broth onto the noodle bowl. Top it off with slices of beef, fish balls or meat balls, cilantro and green onions. Add toppings to desired tasting.

  beef, shrimp balls, and lobster balls

crab meat is in the center