Cooking for One: Pho (kind of)

So, originally, I was going to title this post "Tuesday Night Pho for One", but seeing as how it's Thursday night, that poses a bit of a problem. I did cook this on Tuesday night, but was too wrapped up in my filing cabinet post to discuss my delicious dinner.

That being said, I think that there is no good reason for someone to have a frozen meal (or worse!) if they are home alone/living alone. I always try to take a meal that I like, and simplify it enough to be willing to make it quickly for one.

Conveniently, I found myself in such a situation this past Tuesday. Chris was home visiting his parents, and he wasn't coming back until later that night. Therefore, I was home searching for what to make, and couldn't fight off a nagging Pho craving. This is a Vietnamese noodle soup in broth that is fantastic. There are a bunch of different variations, and I knew that I had enough ingredients at my discretion to create a basic version of it. I'd like to point out, I am aware that this is nowhere near authentic. It's cool, it's tasty, and I made it up. Deal with it.

Katie's Tuesday Night nowhere near authentic Pho

Cook some chicken breast. I chose to slice mine thinly before throwing it in a pan with water, soy sauce, and garlic pepper.

Then cover it at set aside.

At the same time, soft boil an egg. I'll be honest, I'd never soft boiled an egg before, and generally the Pho I've had has a hard boiled egg, but I love runny yolk, so that's what I did. If you want to know how to soft boil an egg, here's a great overview.

So your chicken is off to the side, your egg is chillin' in the cold water, time for the rest of it. Cook some Oriental flavor ramen.

I love this... "Product of U.S.A."

You'll notice that I removed the noodles from the ramen before putting the seasoning in. That's because I put the seasoning packet in the remaining water, then doctored it up a bit with some sesame oil, chili oil, and a bit of soy sauce. Sorry, no picture of those three ingredients.

Then, I put the chicken in the broth to give it a quick final blast of heat, and poured it over the noodles.