Pho (Feed) a Fever and Starve a Cold?

Luckily, WebMd.com says the answer is NEVER to starve.  Whew!

I’ve always been the type of GUY who got sick slowly and was even slower to realize he WAS sick.  So it took me until at least Thursday to realize that I was sick having come down with a pretty good cough the previous Sunday.  The final clue?  Sweating like a pork rind under a heat lamp at my Wednesday night yoga class.  Some soup for the body and soul was just what the doctor ordered.

Having taken pity on me, SHE brought me home some pho (pronounced closer to fuh than fo) from Pho1 on McPhereson.  Pho is a Vietnamese soup consisting of anise infused beef broth served with a variety of vegetation and rice noodles and of course beef.  Usually.  Chicken and different cuts of beef are usually offered as well.  The broth is additionally infused with coriander, fennel, and cardamom.  Traditionally, the broth is served scaldingly hot and the cuts of beef are extra thin and raw as to cook quickly in the broth.  Health laws being what they are, the beef is served slightly blanched as to only need a minimal reheating in the not-really-scalding broth

The noodles were plentiful and the vegetation included onions, bean sprouts, and cilantro.  Hmmmm, is that thai basil???  I could have used plenty more cilantro in my take out box, but that’s a small quibble.  I believe the slices of beef numbered four and I definitely could have used more of that.  I sat at home and placed my take out container of broth into an appropriately large bowl to hold everything and let the microwave do its magic.  What came out was aromatically overpowering and I deeply enjoyed the garden fresh aromas that survived the “nuking” process.  Upon later contemplation, I think the way to go is to heat the broth to boiling in a pot, preferably.  Then, pour the hot broth into a bowl holding the veggies, noodles, and meat.  This will preserve even more the freshness of the other ingredients.


I slurped and sipped my noodles and broth over an entire evening of unwatched episodes of Whale Wars and two bottles of Longboard Lager.   One shot of nighttime cold medicine and ten hours of sleep later, Saturday morning was welcomed with a fresh outlook and renewed sense of well being.


The price for our 2 person dinner: $20 (no drinks included)


Pho 1 is located at 7511 McPherson Rd, Laredo, TX / Phone: (956) 523-0220


Remember to 'follow' us on Twitter @LaredoFoodie and 'like' us on Facebook