Everytime I go back home to Cerritos, I go out with my friends from high school and we eat at Pho 77, a Vietnamese noodle house. In Southern California, pho is HUGE! We have about 10 pho restaurants in my area. Even my Egyptian friends John Ebrahim and Mike Boulos are fans. Pho is pronounced “fuh” and bun is pronounced “boon.” Basically, pho is rice noodle soup with beef or shrimp and lots of really fragrant fresh herbs and vegetables, like mint and cilantro. Bun is the dry version of it, without soup. I’m a big fan of bun because it’s really filling, light and full of really fresh Vietnamese flavors. I didn’t make this recipe up. I found it online.

6 oz rice noodles
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced fine
2 inches of lemon grass root, thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
4 tbsp nuoc mam (fish sauce)
pinch of sugar
1 lb fillet or sirloin steak, thinly sliced
3 oz bean sprouts
4 oz crisp salad greens, shredded
3 tbsp shredded cucumber
1 small bunch mint
2 tbsp oil
4 tbsp chopped peanuts

Blanch rice noodles for 5 minutes, drain and set aside. Combine garlic, onion, lemon grass, salt, pepper, half the nuoc mam and sugar and marinade beef in this mixture for half an hour. Divide bean sprouts, salad greens, cucumber, and mint, put in individual deep bowls and top with rice noodles. Heat oil in skillet and fry beef to preferred taste. Divide into four and add to bowls. Dribble over with remaining nuoc mam, add chopped nuts, and serve.