Pho...huh? Chicken Sausage, Pho and Summer Rolls

Okay...this is a BIG one.  A lot of vegetables from our basket and a lot of ingredients.   Here goes!  First I made the chicken sausage (I had some casings left over from making Hungarian Hotdogs a while back so I thought it would be fun to try.  I think these would make good meatballs for the soup, but I wanted to play with the casing idea.  I also wanted to create something "hotdog-like" that my two-year-old would eat that had some vegetables. I basically, just chopped everything finely in my food processor and then put them in casings.   I grilled these until almost done and then sliced them into chunks for the soup.

Chicken Sausage

2 boneless chicken thighs

2 cloves garlic (crushed)

1/4 tsp Sezchuan Pepper

1/4 tsp Korean Chili paste

1/4 cup mustard greens

1 egg

1 tsp Hoisin sauce

3 TBS  Sweet Peas
Salt and pepper. 

 

Next I started on the Pho or Asian Noodle soup if it is too far off from Pho for you.

Pho (Asian Noodle Soup)
1/4 cup carrot (diced)
1/2 onion (diced)
3 Green Garlic Shoots (really...what do you call these)
1 TBS Mirin

1 tsp Hoisin

1 tsp Fish sauce

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp Sezchuan Pepper

3 cans chicken stock

1 package noodles

1 cup Chicken Sausage

1/4 cup Cilantro chopped (more reserved for garnish)

1 TBS Lime Juice (reserve extra lime wedges for garnish)

I started out by sauting my carrot, garlic and onion in a little oil until they start to get soft.  I then add all of my spices and sauces.  Next we add the chicken stock and some of the sausage and let that simmer for a little while.  At the last minute, I add the noodles, then Cilantro and Lime Juice.  You can adjust with Salt if needed.  Serve steaming hot with cilantro, lime and hoisin on the side so you can add however much you like.  Feel free to omit the fish sauce if you don't like it.  It is a bit weird. 

Next a little side for the soup that uses up a few more vegetables.  I LOVE summer rolls.  I just used what I had on hand. 

Summer Rolls

Rice Paper wrappers

bean sprouts

basil

Lettuce greens

carrot

cilantro

Dunk the rice wrappers in warm water until pliable and fill with your vegetables.  Roll up and enjoy.  I would usually make a sauce for these out of fish sauce, soy sauce and lime juice with some sliced chilis, but with the soup...it just wasn't necessary.