There are few things (if any) that are as cheap and as delicious as pho ("fuh" like "the", not "foe")... but it's just that.  It's a cheap awesome bowl of goodness that you would never try to cook at home because you know you can't make it as good (let alone put in the hours and hours to make just the broth)... unless you have Vietnamese women in your life who make it for you every time you go "home".  That would be us.

Mr P's mom said she waits to make it for when we come home, and when she does make it, she makes it in the biggest pot I've ever seen used on a conventional stove.  This means that when there's a pot of pho, everyone comes from all nooks and crannies to get a bowl of it.  It's great because it gets everyone together, all with the nice addition of really good food.  Sort of like an impromptu Thanksgiving... without all the turkey, but with the same lazy, glutenous fullness after eating it.  Because we all know that Mr P's mom (or any other Asian mom for that matter) simply ignores anything along the lines of "make mine a small one".  There's just one size... and it's huge.

Luckily there were a lot of people over for pho last weekend, and I was able to sneak in the kitchen and grab a small bowl to make my own before she had a chance to make a huge normal one for me.  I'm also not a fan of tendon, so I was able to put in just what I wanted.  That's how it normally goes... the Asian mom makes the bowl of all the normal stuff, then everyone makes their bowl "their own" by adding in jalapenos, hoisin sauce, Siracha, chili oil, or just keep it simple and not add a thing (like Mr P).  I personally like to add a quick squeeze of hoisin sauce and a few drops of siracha...

Here are a few "faces" of pho from last weekend....

my "small" bowl... lots of freshly squeezed lime juice, then I add hoisin and siracha to the broth

Mr P's sisters bowl... ouch!!!  looks SUPER spicy!  Lots of siracha and chili oil

another bowl with some spice... not nearly as hot as the other one though!!

Mr P's huge bowl... nothing added, a dipping dish with hoisin sauce and siracha on the side for dipping the beef balls and beef