{Recipe} Chicken Pho

I never knew Chicken Pho existed until I came to college. (DEPRIVED!!!)

There was a small Vietnamese shop near the Starbucks I frequented - and the "50% OFF PHO" sign outside the door quickly drew the attention of my poor college self.  I had initially thought "Pho with chicken instead of steak...? GROSS!" but $3 pho was all I could afford at the time so I caved. And it was magical. It held the same rich flavor as my usual beloved pho broth but was gloriously refreshing and not too heavy. I was hooked. I went there 1-2x a week after my long nights of studying and delighted in the fact that I got to enjoy a delicious meal for only $3. You can imagine the devastation I felt when the "half-off pho" deal went away. And even more so when the Vietnamese joint closed down. SAD FACE. 

Since then, I have only found ONE other place that serves good chicken pho. It was really close to where we lived in SGV and I used to go there all the time. (This is why my nickname is "MSG queen", btw.) Pho is easily one of my favorite meals EVER. I never imagined making it myself at home until I came across this blog and this video. Of course I had to try it. It's obviously my calling! 

And you know what?

It was pretty easy!

First - we need to char our stuff. I charred my onions and sliced ginger. I also decided to roast my drumlettes a little bit too. You can char it more than this for flavor. The more the better (or so they say). 

Most pho recipes call for additional spices including cinnamon, star anise, fennel, coriander and cloves.  These spices aren't used in a lot of our dishes so I was reluctant to buy the $4 containers for each of the spices. Thankfully, I found this little guy that actually has all those spices wrapped in this filter bag. No additives included - including MSG. Yuck! I will never cook with MSG in our kitchen...

So yay for these little guys! (There are about $3-4 a box and come with two). 

Boil some water in a big stock pot with your chicken, charred onion/ginger and spice filter bag.  (I used a Cornish hen and my roasted drumlettes for mine - just cuz that's what I had in the freezer). Let it boil like crazy for 30 minutes or so, or until your chicken (or in my case, Cornish hen) is completely cooked. 

Cut and shred. Set the chicken meat aside. Return the bones into the broth and let it simmer for another 6-8 hours). Add salt and/or fish sauce to taste. 

Prepare the toppings! 

Be patient with your broth. I started late so I ended up cutting the cook time in half and my broth was a little bland. I'd say let it ride for the whole 6-8 hours. Use a strainer of some sort to remove the fat and gunk from the top.

Then pour the broth into a bowl like so. 

Scoop the rest of the fat and oil off. 

Cook your rice noodles in boiling water just for a minute or so. It was so fast I couldn't believe it!!! Fold some cooked rice noodles and arrange your toppings into a bowl. Pour hot broth over it and let it sit for a few minutes. Add some sauce. Spray some lime juice and enjoy. :) 

Might make this a weekly thing. :) 

I bought a 5-lb bag of pho noodles so we should be good.

Chicken Phở recipe

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Broth

2 medium yellow onions, quartered

2 1-inch thick slices of unpeeled fresh ginger

4 quarts cold water

1 cornish hen

1-2 lbs of chicken bone or chicken wings (I used drumlettes)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

Additional spices (optional): cinnamon, star anise, black cardamoms, coriander seeds, cloves

1/4 cup Asian Fish sauce, or to taste

Garnish

1-2  pounds dried rice noodles (bánh phở)

1/4 small onion, thinly sliced

1 large scallion, thinly sliced
1 pound mung bean sprouts, steamed or fresh
1/2 cup basil leaves
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
Asian chili-garlic sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha

Char onions and ginger in your oven (400 degrees F) until soft.  Roast chicken bones/wings/drumlettes too while you're at it. Boil water in a large stock pot. Add chicken, onion and ginger. Add spices. Allow it to come to a boil until chicken fully cooked (about 30 minutes) and remove chicken from broth. Allow to cool and shred. Return the bones back into the broth and allow it to simmer on low-medium heat for 6-8 hours. Add fish sauce and/or salt to taste.

Prepare your garnish. Chop all vegetables finely and set aside. Place dried rice noodles in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute, or until fully cooked. (It cooks fast!) Drain water and wash noodles with cool water. Shake off excess water and set cooled noodles aside. Pour broth into another bowl with a strainer to separate the cooked onions/ginger/chicken bones from the broth. Discard the bones/onions/ginger. Remove excess fat and oil from the broth.

In a bowl, arrange noodles and garnish as desired. Pour hot soup into the bowl and let it sit for a few minutes. Squeeze fresh lime juice into pho bowl and add sauce as desired. Eat immediately.

XOXO