Ingredients:
- 1,5 – 2 litres pho (Vietnamese beef broth), with chicken stock being the classic base
- 5-6 small carrots
- 300 grams potatoes
- 450 grams pickled cucumbers, grated (note the specifics explained at the end)
- 1/3 cup of double cream or any fatty cream; best go for unsoured variety
- dill
Method
- bring the broth to simmer
- slice the carrots into discs and cube the potatoes, toss in cook for about 10 minutes
- add the cucumbers and boil for further 10 minutes
- reduce the heat, pour the cream into a cup, and then slowly add spoonfuls of soup into the cup to the cream. Warming it up this way will prevent it from curdling in the soup
- once the cup is full, add it to the soup. From this point take care not to boil it or the cream might curdle
- serve, garnished with dill
Notes:
- rice popular alternative or addition to the soup
- It’s essential to use ‘fermented’ cucumbers rather than pickled in vinegar; in Polish, there’s a distinction between ‘kiszony’ and konserwowy. The former uses lactic fermentation, while the latter is preserved with vinegar. Just look for the name on the jar when buying them. ‘Western’ pickles won’t do.
- Vietnamese Pho is entirely another story on how to make it which I’ll publish at some point, regular chicken stock is the typical base, but in a pinch a base from instant stock cubes will do.