Pate Pho

A couple days ago, I made pho broth in a slow cooker with short rib bones, oxtail, and pho aromatics. I skimmed off PLENTY of fat and for some reason decided to strain it for later use. I had pho flavored fat….and pho broth. The obvious thing to do was make pho gravy! I suddenly had a flashback to a dish I had at Paper Planes in San Jose. It was a pate chaud (meat in puff pastry) topped with fried egg and pho gravy.

My version is filled with oxtail and short rib meat topped with a poached egg. The gravy is a flavor bomb of umami. It’s meaty, star anisey, clovey, and fish saucey. What’s not to like? The egg adds that extra indulgence. It’s like a French/Vietnamese inspired eggs benedict. The next time you make pho, think twice about discarding the fat!