Chicken Pho
There's nothing more classic in Vietnamese cuisine than Pho. (No it's not pronounced "fo" but closer to "furr" or "faa".) Pho is to the Vietnamese that a Big Mac is to Americans (except it's a whole lot healthier, and to my palate, a ton more tasty.) It's comfort food.
It seems like the Vietnamese eat pho all day long. I've enjoyed it for breakfast as many Vietnamese do but sometimes when I'm in a retail store, I'll spy an employee sitting in the back eating a bowl of the stuff any time of the day.
You can have beef pho with an endless variety of beef-related meats or chicken pho.
I've had cooking classes that included both. Beef pho is a lot trickier to master because there are more steps and some chefs will cook the broth for more than 12 hours to make it deeply rich.
Chicken pho is a heck of a lot easier and can be made in a couple of hours. I'm sure they make it every day from scratch in Vietnam but I buy 5-6 chickens and make a huge potful of broth which freezes nicely. Invest the two hours in making the broth and you'll have many delicious lunches (or breakfasts!) that you can prepare in minutes.
Pho can be somewhat different depending on whether you are in the north or south. Northern pho has a lighter, clear broth and they use wide rice noodles while in the South the broth is slightly sweeter and bolder.
This recipe doesn't reflect either region but is the simplest one to make. So give it a try. Oh, and try to get your hands on the fresh herbs. (bean sprouts, Thai basil, etc.) They really brighten up the soup.
Six servings
Ingredients
Banh Pho fresh thin rice noodles (2 oz per serving)
1 white onion, cut into fine rings
3 spring onions, finely sliced
Bean sprouts
½ bunch of Thai basil, picked
½ bunch of coriander
2 limes, each cut into 3 wedges
3 bird’s eye chilis, finely sliced
4 tablespoons fish sauce
Soup Base
4 lbs. whole chicken
2 large onions, skin on, cut in half
2 garlic bulbs, sliced horizontally
4” piece of ginger, cut in half lengthways
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
Method
To make the soup base, wash the chicken inside and out under cold running water. Fit it snugly into a stockpot and cover it with 1 gallon of water.
Grill the onion, garlic, and ginger until slightly blackened. Scrape off any burnt pieces, then place the onion, garlic, and ginger in the pot, along with the spices, fish sauce, and sugar. Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes. From time to time, skim the white foam from the top of the broth
Remove the chicken and let it cool, then remove the cooked meat from the bones. Shred the chicken into small pieces. Return the bones to the stock and simmer for about two hours.
When the broth is done, boil water in a separate saucepan and blanch the rice noodles. Divide each batch of noodles between the serving bowls. Distribute the shredded chicken, onion rings, and spring onion on top of the noodles. Then ladle the stock into the bowls. Serve the soup with lime wedges, chili, and fish sauce on the side.
Optionally you can add the bean sprouts, Thai basil, and coriander to the soup as well as hoisin and siracha sauces, depending on preference.