The Pho Files: Vietnamese Beef Stew at Delicious Pho

Vietnamese beef stew #yegfood

A photo posted by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Mar 21, 2016 at 1:44pm PDT

A meeting right across the street from the 124 Street location of Delicious Pho made the restaurant the perfect place for lunch. I tried the beef stew with cooked carrots and rice noodles. The broth was aromatic to perfection, as were the carrots perfectly cooked. The chunks of beef were smaller and leaner than in other versions of the stew, which made for easier eating. All in all, a definite win.

Steak and Murphy Stew at The Rose and Crown

Another event downtown brought me back to The Rose and Crown where I had the Steak and Murphy Pie. The best thing about this comforting dish is the amount of beef. The carrots and onions sort of got lost int he rich broth. The pie read more like a beef soup rather than stew, but it was hearty. I never had Irish soda bread before: it was dense and salty and went well in the broth, which took some of its flavour from the Murphy's stout.

The Pho Files: Vietnamese Beef Stew at Pho Rice Pot

Although I have been to Pho Rice Pot numerous times, I have never had one of my favourite Vietnamese dishes: the brisket stew with carrots and rice noodles. The portion was huge, as is typical for Pho Rice Pot, and the amount of reasonably lean cubes of brisket was quite ample. The broth was flavourful but not too spicy. Perfect comfort food for a cooler day.

The Pho Files: Vietnamese Brisket Stew at Pho Binh

Vietnamese Beef Stew, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

I ordered the Vietnamese Beef Stew at Pho Binh (15055 Stony Plain Road) while taking a co-worker to lunch last week. I really enjoy this dish as an alternative to basic pho, as the broth is much more aromatic (without being spicy). There was a lot of meat which wasn't too fatty as brisket can sometimes be, and the carrots were cooked to perfection. Flavour and comfort in a bowl.

The Pho Files: Beef Stew at Pho Delight

Beef Stew at Pho Delight #yegfood, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Beef stew done Vietnamese style is one of my favourite colder weather comfort foods. After a couple of hours outside while I was covering two protests, I took a walk over to Pho Delight where I indulged in a bowl. Plentiful beef and carrots abounded (usually I find the carrot portion skimpy), and the carrots were cooked until they were soft. Some of the fat could have been trimmed off the beef - it was the chewy variety - but otherwise this was an excellent bowl of comfort food.

The Pho Files: Vietnamese Beef Stew

Vietnamese beef stew #yegfood, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

Pho Hoa is a chain of Vietnamese restaurants, and there is one in Chinatown on 97 Street and 106 Avenue. I went here for supper this past week prior to a meeting, and had the beef stew (pho bo kho) which can be one of my favourite dishes.

The chunks of meat were plentiful. the seasoning of the broth wonderful, and the carrots soft. Definitely a winner.

Heritage Festival 2012: Chulent (Cholent) at Israel

Heritage Festival 2012, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

For the first time in living memory, Israel had a meat dish on its menu. Cholent (or, "chulent" as it was spelled in the festival menu) is a slowly simmered stew of meat, beans, barley, carrots, and potatoes that is traditionally eaten on the Sabbath (in a pot left on the stove that is turned on before the Sabbath begins, as cooking on the Sabbath is verboten if you are an observant Jew).

Anyways, this was the biggest surprise of the weekend for me. The cholent was beyond excellent. It was rich and full of all of its ingredients (although it could have used a bit more meat - which, by the way, was kosher, thus satisfying my Orthodox Jewish baggage), with a slice of ciabatta bun to catch those last few, tomato-based drops of the stew.

A vegetarian version was also available.

Beef and Carrot Stew, Vietnamese Style

Beef and Carrot Stew, a photo by raise my voice on Flickr.

A menu item I find quite frequently on the menus of Vietnamese pho restaurants is a beef and carrot stew. Since stew is usually considered a western meal, I am guessing this has something to do with the influence of the French.

Today, I returned to Pho Binh with a co-worker and I opted for the stew instead of my usual bowl of pho. The stew is almost like another form of soup. The noodles, hunks of well-done beef, and carrots are in a deeply flavourful broth that is almost like pho, with a rich, meaty flavour. One can opt for bread instead of noodles - again, this seems French to me.

I found the stew to be a hearty, delicious alternative to pho and vermicelli. The pieces of meat are quite large and I had to use a fork to navigate my way through them. There weren't many carrots, but the ones that were there were still firm.

Just be careful not to splash any of that broth on yourself or you will have orange stains on your clothes for the rest of the day. Trust me.