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Recipe for

Pho ga (or chicken pho)

PictureIngredientsStepsTips

Ingredients

This is a meal of stages. I'll walk through exactly what I did, but there are shortcuts, longcuts and alternative options. I'll outline that in the notes below. Otherwise, here we go.

Stock for the broth

  • Leftovers of a whole roast chicken – see notes
  • Water

Broth

  • 1-2 litres of chicken stock – see notes
  • 1 onion halved but not sliced (cleaned but don't worry about peeling)
  • 1 thumb size piece of ginger halved (cleaned but don't worry about peeling)
  • 1 bulb of garlic halved horizontally (cleaned but don't worry about peeling)
  • 5 star anise
  • 5 green cardamon pods split or crushed
  • 4 cloves
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 stick of cinnamon
  • 2-3 tbsp of fish sauce – see nots
  • 1 tbsp sugar – see notes
  • 1 small bunch of fresh coriander
  • salt and pepper to taste – see notes

Finished bowl

  • Enough flat rice noodles for 2
  • Strained broth
  • Leftover chicken, shredded and warmed in broth – see notes
  • A handful of beansprouts
  • 1 thinly sliced red onion
  • 2 sliced green chillies
  • Optional toppings – see notes
  • Optional condiments – see notes

‍

Steps

Stock

  1. I like to heat a dry pan up on to a medium heat them drop in the leftover chicken bones so they sizzle instantly. It's joyous.
  2. Brown bones and render any chilled and solidified fat.
  3. Add a kettle full of boiled water.
  4. Bring to a rolling boil and leave it there for 5 minutes.
  5. Reduce heat to a simmer and bask in the chickeny wafts.
  6. Check occasionally and skim any gross looking foam off the top.
  7. Let simmer for 2-4 hours.
  8. Turn heat off and strain into a container you can then stick in the fridge to cool.

Broth

  1. Heat a pan up to about medium high heat (you can use a little bit of oil if needed).
  2. Place halved onion and ginger cut side down
  3. Leave for a few minutes until blackened. I know, it's weird, but trust me. You don't want to burn it, just char it.
  4. While this is happening combine your dry spices and ingredients.
  5. Reduce heat and drop in spices and stir for a few seconds, don't let them burn, just toast.
  6. Add strained (and cooled if you stuck it in the fridge) stock, beware of splattering.
  7. Add fish sauce, coriander and sugar. Start small with sugar, your broth shouldn't be sweet but the sugar should bring out a lil sumthin sumthin. It's easier to add more.
  8. Simmer for 30 mins at least, top up with more stock or water if needed. You really want this to fill your house with delicious pho niceness.
  9. Strain when you reckon it's infused enough.
  10. You can freeze this for a few months if you want, it'll last in the fridge for a couple of days.

Final bowl

  1. Cook noodles for about 30 seconds to a minute less than the packet will suggest.
  2. Rinse hot cooked noodles under cold water and plunge into a bowl of OTHER cold water until read to use. Or use straight away if your timing is bob-ob.
  3. Blanch your beansprouts (lol) in boiling water and refresh in ice cold water.
  4. Portion noodles out into big bowls and ladle over hot broth.
  5. Top your bowl with chicken and beansprouts and freshly sliced chillies.
  6. Add other toppings.
  7. Slurp and be well.

Tips

Big ones first

  • Stock: You can use stock cubes instead but for the love of god get low sodium, otherwise it might be way too salty. You could also make stock specifically for this, you'll need: about 1kg of chicken thighs and wings with enough meat to then top your bowl with. Brown the outsides and remove before charring onion and ginger. Add them back when you add the water to the stock. Simmer for about 40 minutes. Remove chicken and take any delicious meat off before chucking bones back into the broth.
  • Fish sauce: this is important and it might sound like it's a lot. Grow up. Get fishy.
  • Sugar: I see sugar a lot in recipes and it will definitely add something. If you want, leave it until the end and taste the broth. Add sugar if feels like it is missing something.
  • Salt and pepper: Depending on how you've used the rest of the ingredients it may not need any salt at all. But the broth should be slightly too salty to slurp on it's own. The noodles and herbs will mellow it.
  • Chicken: if you're not making your own stock and therefore have leftover chicken, you can cook it separately. Perhaps simmer it in the broth until cooked and then thinly slice. SLICE, not cube, you absolute reprobate.
  • Optional toppings: coriander, lime, vietnamese mint, thai basil
  • Optional condiments: more fish sauce, hoisin, chilli oil, sriracha

A project of love and passion Made by Sheppard.