Hannah's Phở Week!! Part 2 - Fish Phở

Now that you've got your chili-garlic sauce fermenting (see Hannah's Phở Week!! Part 1), it's time to get some broth boiling and make that Phở! Below is a recipe for a fish Phở version. With any Phở, the broth is the most complicated and time-consuming part. But, while it does take time to prepare, Phở is easy to grab as a leftover, so it can actually save time in the long run. Personally, I like to make a pot or two of Phở broth on one big cooking day, and then have it and all the garnishes and sliced meat prepared so that I can whip up a yummy meal in just minutes throughout the week. A pot this large should serve 4 people who are large eaters easily, or at least 2 meals for 2 people. If it's just you, it should last almost the whole week!

Hannah's Fish Phở

Soup Ingredients:
4 Salmon fish heads
2 Pounds fresh or frozen salmon fillets, thinly sliced
1 Leek, cleaned and coursely chopped, including greens
1 Fennel bulb with stems and leaves, cleaned and tops coursely chopped, bulb thinly sliced
1 Medium yellow onion, washed and halved, one half whole, one half very thinly sliced.
1 Garlic clove, cleaned and whole
2 Inch piece of ginger, washed and coursely sliced
1 Inch piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 Package (2-4 oz) enoki mushrooms, washed and separated into separate threads
1/4 c. Finely chopped Chinese chives
1/4 c. Finely chopped scallions (white portions only)
1 Bunch lemongrass (about 3-4 large stalks), cleaned, outer tough leaves removed and coursely chopped; inner tender shoot finely sliced
1 t. Fennel seeds
1 Star anise
2 t. Coriander seeds
1 Small stick cinnamon
5 Whole cloves
5 Whole green cardamom pods (or 1-2 black cardamom)
1/2 c. Dried seaweed (smoked dulce or kelp is good)
5 Quarts filtered water
Salt to taste

Fresh Herb Garnishings:
Cilantro
Mint
Basil
Chives, chopped
Scallions, chopped
Onion, thinly sliced
Lime slices
Chili-garlic sauce

Part 1: Broth
In a 6-8 quart pot, place the fish heads. Cover with the water and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 5 minutes. Skim off the foamy skin. Add halved onion, chopped leeks, fennel tops and tough parts, garlic clove, coursely chopped ginger, tough parts of lemongrass, spices, and salt. Boil for 3-8 hours, until the broth is rich and fatty. Add more water as needed to compensate for evaporative loss. When finished boiling, cool the broth. Strain and return to the pot.

Part 2: Soup
Add the finely chopped lemongrass, ginger, fennel bulb, scallions and chives. Add enoki mushrooms and dried seaweed. Boil for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the thinly sliced fish pieces in large soup bowls. Then pour the boiling soup over the meat. The soup will cook the meat.

Part 3: Garnish
Place the garnishings on the table on a plate or in separate rice bowls. Serve the Phở and garnish individually as desired with the fresh herbs and hot sauce. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until fully satisfied!

Hannah's Phở Week!! Part 1 - Chili-Garlic Sauce

Well, I'm declaring it Phở week on my blog! Officially, International Phở Day doesn't happen until August 20th, but who wants to wait for the hottest month of the summer to enjoy their Phở? I say spring is the best time for a Phở craze.

I grew up in Asia, and have had many Asian friends, and Asian cuisine is some of my favorite. Alas, much of the foundation of good Asian cooking centers on rice and flour - for noodles, dumpling wrappers, etc. I've really missed cooking Asian style food since being on GAPS. But recently, I decided I needed to figure out how to satisfy my Asian comfort food cravings safely. For this week at least, Phở is my answer.

Don't know what Phở is? It is an Asian-food-loving GAPS dieter's best friend. Rich, flavorful, full-bodied bone broth with thinly sliced pieces of meat and fresh herb garnishings of cilantro, basil, mint, scallion, and lime; topped off with some Sriracha-style hot sauce (and Hoisin sauce, which I haven't figured out how to make for GAPS yet - I'll let you know if I come up with something). Traditional Phở has rice noodles in it. But the GAPS version can use a noodle alternative like zucchini noodles or enoki mushrooms to almost paralleled satisfaction.

To kick things off for my Phở craze week, below is a recipe for homemade lacto-fermented chili-garlic sauce. You'll need to get this going before you make your actual Phở, since it will take 5-7 days to ferment. Once it's ready, you'll be equipped to handle many, many bowls of Phở (and plus it goes great with steak, grilled chicken, braised greens, eggs, and just about anything else too!).

Lacto-Fermented Asian Chili-Garlic Sauce

3/4 lb. Fresh Korean red chilis
1 Large head garlic
1/4 c. Filtered water
1 T. Fish sauce (This kind has no additives and is GAPS-legal)
1 T. Raw honey
1 T. Raw apple cider vinegar
1-2 t. Salt

Clean and cut tops off chilis. Clean off skins and cut bottoms off all garlic cloves. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender (I use my Vitamix). Puree into a sauce. Pour into a 0.5-0.75L Fido jar (lever-locking preserve jar) or other lacto-fermentation vessel. Ferment for 5-7 days, then refrigerate.

Stay tuned for parts 2 and 3 of my Phở week on Wednesday and Friday!

Please Take Action to Prevent Mansanto's DARK Bill to Protect GMO's from Labeling Laws

Most GAPS patients are well-aware of the health dangers of GMO foods. We more than care about this issue; for us, it is a matter of our health. Mansanto, one of the major biotech industries who creates GMO crops and the herbicides that go with them, is also very active to protect their interests legislatively. With the advocacy of Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), they are currently reintroducing a bill (HR 1599) that would prohibit Congress or individual states from requiring mandatory labeling of GMO foods and ingredients. It would also allow food manufacturers to use the word “natural” on GMO products.

Mandatory GMO labeling is an important step in the fight against GMO foods. I encourage you to take just a couple minutes (literally, it only takes about two minutes) to act on this issue by clicking the link below.

TELL YOU REPRESENTATIVE: DON'T SUPPORT BIG FOOD'S BILL TO KILL GMO LABELING LAWS