Listen up, people. I made the best dinner tonight. Like, fo realz. I know it doesn’t look like much; it wasn’t a dinner I was expecting to be out-of-this-world good, either. But it was SO DELICIOUS.
I’m still using up the leftovers from the crock pot roast. I madeon Monday. Yesterday, I used the beef to make bahn mis. But today – today – I made Thai noodle bowls.
The whole process only took about 15 minutes. First, I took 2 cups of beef broth (I had this leftover from making the roast), and started heating it over a high heat. Then, I chopped up one whole scallion and finely chopped two cloves of garlic and added it to the broth. Next, I added in about 1/3 a cup of fish sauce, 2 tbsp of soy sauce, and 2 tbsp of lime juice. Up next was 2 tbsp of brown sugar, and 1 tbsp of vinegar. Already, the soup was starting to taste pretty darn good.
As it started to simmer, I added sriracha sauce to my spice preferences (probably a little less than a teaspoon – it goes a long way), 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp of garam masala, and 5-6 fresh mint leaves. By now, this broth was FANTASTIC – it was sweet, salty, sour, spicy, and tangy – everything a Thai broth should be.
With the broth bubbling away, it was time to add the rice noodles, the rest of the shredded pork (I had about a 1/2 lb left, probably), and any vegetables you have lying around – I had shredded carrots, again leftover from the bahn mis, so I threw those in as well. Then, you just let it simmer for about 4-5 minutes until the noodles are soft, and you’re ready to serve.
I would have happily paid $15 for a bowl of this in any Thai restaurant, and the fact that this meal was all just composed of leftovers and pantry items? Pretty damn amazing. And since it was mainly broth, rice noodles, and vegetables – I estimate it around only 450 calories.
Tonight, I am an awesome Chef. That is all. Rock on.
