My name is not Brian!

In reply to mtn:

Yep.

DuctTape&Bondo wrote: In reply to mtn: Yep.

DT&B, give me a virtual bitchslap if you think my question is racist, but..

Can anyone in your family tell me how on Earth to make a decent bowl of pho? I buy the ingredients (lots of decent Asian grocers in Atlanta metro), but just can't get anything right. I'm tired of wasting perfectly good noodles in a broth that tastes like dishwater. I've got to be doing something wrong while I'm trying to cook it.

Spoolpigeon wrote: Don't feel bad Bart, it happens all the time My name is Stephen. I get: Step-hen Stefan Stephanie Steff Seth Long story short, people are stupid.

So, then, I am to call you Steven, even though your parents spelled it wrong?

Sorry, couldn't resist. I'm enjoying this thread, but can't really sympathise. Nobody ever gets "Jim" wrong.

friedgreencorrado wrote:

DuctTape&Bondo wrote: In reply to mtn: Yep.

DT&B, give me a virtual bitchslap if you think my question is racist, but.. Can *anyone* in your family tell me how on Earth to make a decent bowl of pho? I buy the ingredients (lots of decent Asian grocers in Atlanta metro), but just can't get anything right. I'm tired of wasting perfectly good noodles in a broth that tastes like dishwater. I've got to be doing something wrong while I'm trying to cook it.

Are you using "Fish Sauce"? My (as of today, former) Vietnamese roommate uses it in everything. Just a tiny little bit though--as in 1-4 drops for a whole pot of soup. Anything more and it is nasty.

friedgreencorrado wrote:

DuctTape&Bondo wrote: In reply to mtn: Yep.

DT&B, give me a virtual bitchslap if you think my question is racist, but.. Can *anyone* in your family tell me how on Earth to make a decent bowl of pho? I buy the ingredients (lots of decent Asian grocers in Atlanta metro), but just can't get anything right. I'm tired of wasting perfectly good noodles in a broth that tastes like dishwater. I've got to be doing something wrong while I'm trying to cook it.

lol I don't see how that would be racist.

My mom makes a mean bowl, I haven't attempted to make it because I am afraid to butcher it so bad it would ruin pho forever for me.

I just know she starts the night before, a huge stock pot with bone-in pork, beef, a bunch of water, a metal locking spice strainer with some magic herbs and spices, a whole onion maybe a couple other things, maybe pork meatballs too and that comes to a boil and then simmers for the rest of the night.

In the morning, she'll blanch the noodles in a seperate pot with water and there will be a saucepan with some of the broth at a boil, briefly dip the thin slices of beef (depending on how done you like it.) Some people/places add tripe or beef tendon as well but I think that's filler and my mom never uses that stuff.

Assemble the bowl with the noodles, chopped green onion, thin sliced onion, chopped cilantro, basil (iirc) and top with the blanched beef slices. Then ladle the broth over the whole shebang to cover it all and add hoisin, siracha and a squeeze of lemon or lime. Oh yeah you can add bean sprouts too, but I'm not partial to those. And something you won't get at the restaurants; you can grab the pork out of the broth, put it on a plate to the side and dip it in hoisin/siracha as well. Man I'm drooling thinking about it.

I'll have to get the recipe from her for when I do attempt to cook it on my own and I'll report back to you. In the mean time she'll have to keep coming over on a random weekend and cook me up a pot.

Sorry to derail your thread, Blain.

In reply to DuctTape&Bondo:

Thanks, man! I'll try it. And now back to calling Brain funny names.

EDIT: Aside to mtn--yeah, that (fish sauce) might be it. I was just so delighted I could actually find it that I figured I'd use it.

In reply to Grizz:

We need to play BF3 again, so I can blow more E36 M3 up with C4.

I work in a small machine shop, with only a handful of guys. Two of us are born-in-the-USA-Merkins. The other four are temp-service-imports. We usually have to replace one or two, every few months. Some are Asian, some are Hispanic. I make it a point to ask them how to say their names, and make sure I'm pronouncing their names correctly. I have a German surname, that gets mispronounced all the time.

I can understand the frustration you must be feeling, from having people saying your name wrong, Brad.

In reply to BoostedBrandon:

You got it Phillip.

Centurion: Where is Brian of Nazareth?
Brian: You sanctimonious bastards!
Centurion: I have an order for his release!
Brian: You stupid bastards!
Mr. Cheeky: Uh, I'm Brian of Nazareth.
Brian: What?
Mr. Cheeky: Yeah, I - I - I'm Brian of Nazareth.
Centurion: Take him down!
Brian: I'm Brian of Nazareth!
Victim #1: Eh, I'm Brian!
Mr. Big Nose: I'm Brian!
Victim #2: Look, I'm Brian!
Brian: I'm Brian!
Victims: I'm Brian!
Gregory: I'm Brian, and so's my wife!
Victims: I'm Brian! I'm Brian!...
Brian: I'm Brian of Nazareth!
Centurion: All right. Take him away and release him.
Mr. Cheeky: No, I'm only joking. I'm not really Brian. No, I'm not Brian. I was only - It was a joke. I'm only pulling your leg! It's a joke! I'm not him! I'm just having you on! Put me back! Bloody Romans! Can't take a joke!

Try having the first name George and the middle Shelby.

My family calls me Shelby, my dad is George (I have a II, no Jr. my Mom hates Jr., my great-grandfathers on my Dad's side were George and Shelby). As a kid I liked Shelby because George earned me all sorts of ridicule. Then everyone decided to name their daughters Shelby and I earned another type of ridicule. Since I've moved to IN I've used George and still get George of the Jungle and Curious George and Georgy Porgy, but at least I don't have to explain why I have a girl's name, even though it was a guy's name first.

When I was a kid we had a boxer dog named Nicky (female). People insisted on calling me Nicky and the dog Duke.

My real first name is Jay. Spoken, I get "Jerry" a lot. Written, well..let's just say that any mail that's addressed to "Ms. Joy Roberts" is immediately assigned to the round file.

Lots of folks can't figure out "Roberts", either. I get Robertson, Robinson, Robeson, and sometimes even called Robert as a first name.

My last name is butchered constantly. Hyatt shouldn't be that difficult, but it is. I should just change my last name to Wyatt and get it over with.

My name is Brett. I used to mow my next door neighbor's lawn. She was a very elderly woman who was hard of hearing, and thought my name was Bread.

She called me Bread for years. I didn't have the heart to correct her, as she probably would have died of motification.

I also had a coach in high school call me Brian. He said I looked like a Brian, and Brian was a good Irish name (went to a Catholic high school) so there it was. Once I was out of my teens, it didn't take me long to figure out that he knew it bothered me and was just using it to piss me off so I'd work harder.

I am an Arthur.. usually I tell people "art" they look at me and say "Hi mark!"

friedgreencorrado wrote: In reply to DuctTape&Bondo: Thanks, man! I'll try it. And now back to calling Brain funny names. EDIT: Aside to mtn--yeah, that (fish sauce) might be it. I was just so delighted I could actually find it that I figured I'd use it.

This recipe got a lot of great reviews, but I have not tried it myself. My guess is in step one you bring the beef water to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and cook for 2 hours. (I can't imagine trying to keep a pot at roiling boil for two hours without running out of water.)

You can make an extractable spice keeper with cheese cloth available at any good grocery store. wrap all of your spices HOBO style in the cheesecloth with a long piece of roasting twine so you can pull it out easily.

another website verified some of the spices: A typical Pho recipe uses oxtail and stewing beef for the soup base. But instead of the vegetables and bouquet garni for flavour, the Vietnamese typically add an onion and piece of ginger which have been chargrilled beforehand, together with spices such as star anise and cloves, along with the usual Vietnamese flavourings of fish sauce, salt and sugar.

sorry about the threadjack brian

Dammit, Neil, the name's Nawanda!

I get Cody all the time. People at subaru decided I looked like a "Corky" for some reason, and started using that. I refused to answer to it.
Mine has always been misspelled. My last name, though only four letters, one syllable, has always been mispronounced upon repetition.
"Tape" yes, my last name is tape.
"Take" that'll do.
it's pretty simple, but people screw it up so I just spell my name, first and last. lol
Oh, all my insurance papers are under "Corey" even though I've always filled out the paperwork with the CORRECT spelling. "Oh this guy spelled his name wrong, let's fix it for him so he has a potential issue with insurance coverage when pulled over or registering a vehicle!"