Faking it.

Last weekend, I had a craving for a steaming bowl of pho, the ridiculously delicious Vietnamese noodle soup. The only problem? I live on the Upper East Side, and we have no decent Vietnamese restaurants in the vicinity - nor was I really in the mood for the trek down to Chinatown. So, what to do?

Well, in the fridge, I had some shallots, garlic, tomato paste, homemade chicken stock, bean sprouts, leftover chicken, and some parsley. I figured this, combined with some rice noodles, soy sauce, vinegar and fish sauce, would be enough to make a substitute pho.

I piled the chicken and bean sprouts in the center of a soup bowl and then set to work enriching that stock with a base of sauteed shallots, garlic, and tomato paste, deglazing along the way with the soy sauce and vinegar. A dash of fish sauce and a few noodles later, and, ta-da! Not-even-close-to-the-real-thing-but-still-tasty pho!