Chicken pho
Try out this easy chicken pho recipe. To save time, don’t bother peeling your ginger or onions - skin on is fine! This recipe gets lots of flavour from the warming spices used, so we don’t recommend skipping them. If you can’t find a spice, check the international aisle at your local PAK’nSAVE.
Ingredients
Method
- 1 tbsp oil 2 brown onions, halved
- 5 cm piece of fresh ginger, sliced into 1 cm rounds
- 1.6 kg whole chicken
- 3 whole cloves
- 4 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 handful coriander leaves and stems
- 1 litre low sodium chicken stock
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- Salt and white pepper to taste
- 400g dried flat rice noodles
- Optional to serve: shallot, coriander leaves, bean sprouts, lime
- In a deep stainless steel saucepan, heat oil over a medium-high heat. Place your onions and ginger face down in the oil and leave for a few minutes until charred, then turn them over to char the other side. Don’t worry if it seems like they’re burning — it’s all flavour.
- Add the chicken, spices and herbs, chicken stock, fish sauce and sugar. Add water to cover the chicken if needed. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a very low simmer and cook for 1 ½ hours. Check every 30 minutes and skim off any fat or foam that rises to the top of the broth.
- Once cooked, remove the chicken and strain broth into a clean pot. Season the broth to taste with salt and white pepper, and return it to a gentle simmer to stay warm while you prepare your noodles and chicken.
- Strip meat off the chicken and shred with two forks or your hands. Cook noodles according to packet instructions.
- To serve, divide noodles into bowls then top with ladles of broth and handfuls of shredded chicken. Add any toppings like sliced shallots, coriander leaves, bean sprouts or a squeeze of fresh lime juice and enjoy.