Cycle 11 – Item 199

22 (Wed) July 2020

Brisket Pho

2.5

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with the Family

Another DIY product from Pulmuon, this one for Vietnamese pho.

I discarded the dehydrated vegetables, except the red chilies, and prepared fresh bean sprouts, radish sprouts, cilantro, onion, scallion, and lemon.  I also got primo 1++ hanwoo brisket (chadolbagi) to be added just prior to serving, allowing the hot broth to flash cook the meat.

My second home-cooked pho (see most recently 11.113 Pho Bo), this time with a big assist from Pulmuone, was pretty good.  The packaged components, the broth and the noodles, were decent.  The fresh vegetables by me were great.  But I made several mistakes regarding the meat – first, whereas chadolbagi is typically sliced razor thin, it was much thicker here; also, I’d neglected to consider that brisket is quite a tough cut of beef, unless it is grilled to a crisp, as per Korean tradition (or barbecued low and slow, as per American tradition); finally, I let the broth sit around for a bit too long, so it was not quite boiling hot when I poured it over the meat – ultimately, the meat turned out undercooked, fatty, and rubbery.  Next time, I’d first cook the brisket and add it as a crispy topping (see for example 10.271 Chadol Jjambbong); or use an inherently tender cut, like tenderloin.  Anyway, it was a fun effort.

(See also PULMUONE)

(See also GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)