This is the one. The From Scratch Friday that made us stop and say, "Okay, God is paying attention." We're talking beef brisket pho from scratch, fresh-caught tuna tempura rolls, homemade boba tea, and a trip to Hong Kong Market in Columbia, Missouri that turned into one of the best cooking days we've ever had. Here's how it all went down.
Beef brisket pho from scratch - rice noodles, sliced brisket, bean sprouts, carrot ribbons, and a fresh lime wedge
The Trip to Hong Kong Market
It started the way most of our best days start: with a plan and a car full of kids. Stephanie, Leo, Rapphy, Reiko, and I loaded up and drove to Columbia, Missouri to hit Hong Kong Market. If you've never been, it's one of those places where you can find everything you need for real Asian cooking—the kind of ingredients you won't find at your average grocery store. We were there picking up supplies for pho, sushi, boba tea, the works.
Leo was in his element, pointing at everything and asking what it was. Rapphy was along for the ride. Reiko was keeping everyone organized. And Stephanie and I were loading the cart with rice noodles, brisket, fresh herbs, nori sheets, tempura mix, tapioca pearls—basically everything we needed to turn our kitchen into an Asian restaurant for the night. And the best part? All of it came in under $200.
Sauces, nori, tapioca pearls, and fresh herbs
Panko, sushi mat, chili oil, and more
Tempura mix, bean sprouts, and rice noodles
The Phone Call That Changed Everything
So we're walking through the aisles at Hong Kong Market, cart full of sushi supplies, and my phone rings. It's my mom.
She tells me that my step-dad—who's a pilot—had just flown some fishermen down to New Orleans to catch tuna. Well, they caught it. A lot of it. And on the flight back, the fishermen gave some of the fresh tuna to my step-dad as a thank-you.
Her question: "Do you guys want any?"
Let that sink in for a second.
We're literally standing in an Asian market, buying ingredients to make sushi, and we get a phone call offering us fresh-caught tuna straight from New Orleans. You can't make this stuff up. Would you like fresh tuna for your sushi? Yes. Yes please. A thousand times yes.
Talk about a God moment. We were already planning to make sushi with whatever we could find at the store, and then out of nowhere, restaurant-quality, fresh-off-the-boat tuna just lands in our lap. The timing was unreal.
Beef Brisket Pho
Let's start with the pho, because this was a labor of love. Real pho takes time. You're building layers of flavor in that broth, and there's no shortcut that does it justice.
It starts with toasting the spices—star anise, cinnamon, cloves, coriander—until they're fragrant and smoking. Then you char the onions and ginger to get that deep, smoky sweetness that makes pho broth taste like pho broth.
Toasting the pho spices until fragrant
Charring onions and ginger for the broth
The brisket simmers low and slow in the broth until it's tender enough to slice thin. When it's done right, it practically falls apart.
Brisket cooked low and slow, sliced and ready for the bowls
Fresh Caught Tuna Tempura Rolls
This is where the night went from great to legendary. We're not just making sushi—we're making sushi with tuna that was swimming in the Gulf of Mexico that same day. Fresh-caught, flown in by a pilot who happens to be family. You can't buy that experience at a restaurant.
First step: the sushi rice. You cook it, then season it with rice vinegar while it's still warm so it absorbs all that flavor. Get this wrong and the whole roll suffers, so we took our time.
Seasoning the sushi rice with rice vinegar while it's still warm
While the rice cooled, we prepped the tuna. Strips of fresh-caught tuna went into tempura batter, then straight into grape seed oil for frying. Grape seed oil has a high smoke point and a clean flavor—perfect for tempura.
Fresh-caught tuna strips coated in tempura batter
Frying the tuna tempura in grape seed oil until golden
Then it was time to roll. Nori on the bamboo mat, rice spread thin, tempura tuna and carrot in the center, roll it tight, slice it clean.
Nori sheet on the bamboo mat, ready to roll
The finished product: fresh-caught tuna tempura rolls with spicy mayo
Homemade Boba Tea
You can't do an Asian food night without boba. We picked up tapioca pearls at Hong Kong Market and made boba tea from scratch to round out the whole experience.
What We Learned This Week
- God's timing is wild. We were literally shopping for sushi ingredients when fresh-caught tuna fell into our hands. You can plan all you want, but sometimes the best parts of the plan are the ones you didn't make.
- Hong Kong Market is the real deal. If you're anywhere near Columbia, Missouri and you're cooking Asian food, this is the spot. The selection is incredible and the prices are solid.
- Fresh tuna changes the game. There's a difference between store-bought and fresh-caught, and once you've had it, you know.
- This is what From Scratch Fridays are about. Family. Good food. Stories you'll tell for years. This one's going to be hard to top.
This Might Be Our Best One Yet
Beef brisket pho, fresh-caught tuna tempura rolls, and homemade boba tea—all in one night. From Scratch Fridays keep getting better, and honestly, we don't know how we're going to top this one.
Have you ever had a moment where everything just lined up perfectly? We'd love to hear about it. Drop a comment below!
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