Posts tagged soup

I flipping love super pho. & teriyaki. I don’t remember how I discovered it, but I am so glad that I did. it is by far my favorite pho in los angeles. it’s super tiny, so it’s hit or miss on whether it’s going to be busy or not. I’ve been at all hours of the day and there seems to be no rhyme or reason on when the best time to go is. people just want pho when they want pho, it seems. be patient with the waitress -it’s almost always the same girl and she is always by herself taking orders, running food and clearing tables. once you get your order in, your food will come out super fast. I always order the pho tai, which is amazing, but I’ve seen friends order plenty of other things and everyone always comes away satisfied. my personal favorite part is the veggie bar - they let you pick your own veggies and how many you want! mint, sprouts, jalapeños, onions, basil, you name it, it’s yours for the taking. and apparently they have healing power as well - I was on the way to succombing to a nasty cold the other day and decided to stop here on my way home from work. one bowl of pho (and plenty of mess and fluids) later, I was miraculously healed the next day!

around this time of year, i always crave clam chowder. seeing as i have yet to find a place in la with a chowder worth coming back for, we decided to make our own. along with it - oyster crackers! my mom always makes them around christmas and they are like crack. 

for the crackers: combine 1 package hidden valley ranch dressing mix, 1/2 tsp dill, 3/4 c vegetable oil. 

drizzle over 1 package oyster crackers. stir to coat the crackers. 

spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 250 for 15-20 minutes, stirring halfway through. 

for the chowder: chop 7-8 pieces of bacon and cook on medium low until crispy. add 1 onion, chopped, and sauté until transparent. add juice from 1 10 oz can baby clams (save clams for later) and 6-7 cubed potatoes. cover and cook about 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. 

(at this point we had to move into soup pot. not sure why we didn’t start here) add clams, 2 cans cream of celery soup (we used condensed, so we also added 2 cans water), 1 c heavy cream, 1 c milk and 1 tsp dill. (the recipe didn’t call for it, but we also added 1 can of corn kernels) stir together and add 1 tbs butter and let melt into the chowder. cook for 30-45 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

sprinkle with cheese and oyster crackers and enjoy!