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Easy Chicken Pho Soup (Phở Gà)

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 4 plus enough broth for more servings
Author Margaret Bose Johnson

Equipment

  • 1 large stock pot or soup pot
  • broiler, barbecue grill, or gas cooktop for charring the vegetables
  • aluminum foil, if using the broiler

Ingredients

for the broth:

  • 2 lbs. (900 grams) raw chicken bones, backs and necks, or chicken wings
  • 3 quarts (3 litres/12 cups) water
  • 4 large shallots (or 8 small ones) or 2 small onions
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger (3 inches)
  • 1 stalk celery, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces
  • 1 medium carrot, cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces, no need to peel it
  • 2-3 whole star anise pods
  • 1 3½-inch (9cm) cinnamon stick
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3-4 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 bay leaves, optional
  • 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns, optional
  • 3-4 dried shiitake mushrooms, optional

for the Pho soup:

  • 1 large (10-12 oz/300 gms) boneless, skinless chicken breast or two small ones (or 1 sirloin, striploin, or eye of round steak, for beef pho, or tofu)
  • 400 grams (14 oz) wide flat rice noodles (100 grams/3½ oz per serving)
  • 1 bunch green onions (spring onions)
  • ½ bunch fresh cilantro
  • a handful of Thai basil, or sweet basil and/or mint
  • 1 large juicy lime or 2 small ones
  • a handful of fresh bean sprouts (see note below)
  • sriracha sauce or sliced fresh chili pepper, optional, for serving
  • hoisin sauce, optional, for serving

Instructions

to make the Pho broth:

  • Preheat the broiler and set the top oven rack so it is 3-4 inches (8-10cm) below the broiler element. Line a small pan with aluminum foil for charring the shallots and ginger. Alternately, they can be charred over a barbecue grill, or on a rack set over the burner on a gas cooktop.
  • Place the chicken bones and water in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and boil for 5 minutes. Use a large spoon to skim off and discard any foam and scum floating on the top of the water.
  • While the broth is boiling, char the shallots and ginger: Peel the shallots and cut them in half lengthwise if large (if using onions, cut them lengthwise into quarters). Cut the ginger into ½-inch (1cm) slices - no need to peel it. Place the shallots and ginger in the aluminum-foil-lined pan and set it under the broiler. (Or grill them in a grill pan on the barbecue or on the gas burner flame). Broil until the vegetables are charred and blackened over ¾ of their surface area. Check them and turn them every 3-4 minutes. The shallots will only take about 10 minutes in total. Remove them when they are charred. The ginger pieces can take up to 10 minutes longer to get charred. If any of the outer shallot skins are completely black, you can peel them off and discard them.
  • Once you have skimmed the broth in the chicken pot, add the celery and carrot pieces, the star anise, the cinnamon stick (broken in half), and the charred shallots and ginger. Add the dried mushrooms, bay leaves, and peppercorns, if using them. Bring the broth back to a low boil, the reduce the heat, cover the pot, and simmer the broth for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Don't cook it any longer than that or the star anise and cinnamon flavour can become too strong. (While the broth is simmering, set the chicken breast on to poach - see below.)
  • Strain the broth or scoop out the solid ingredients with a spider ladle.
  • Add the salt and 3 tablespoons of fish sauce to the broth and taste it. Add another tablespoon of fish sauce if it needs it. The broth should taste saltier than you think, to compensate for the noodles and chicken meat which will be added to the bowls with the broth.
  • Makes about 2½ quarts/litres (10 cups) of broth. You will need 1½-2 cups (350-500ml) of broth for each bowl of soup. Freeze any unused broth for up to a year.

to assemble the Chicken Pho soup:

  • Poach the chicken (do this while the broth is simmering): put the chicken breast into a medium-sized saucepan and cover it with water by an inch (2.5cm). Add a pinch of salt. Bring the water just to a boil, then cover the saucepan with a lid, turn off the heat, and let the chicken sit in the water, without lifting the lid, for 40 minutes. The chicken breast will be perfectly cooked and moist.
  • Shred the chicken breast.
  • Cook the rice noodles in another pot according to the package directions. If there are no directions, cook them just until they are tender (6-10 minutes). Test by removing a noodle periodically and tasting it to see if it is soft.
  • Set aside 4 sprigs of cilantro and 4 stems of basil. Chop the green onions and remaining cilantro and basil together (remove the stems from the basil before chopping).
  • Fill each of 4 large soup bowls with ¼ of the hot cooked noodles. Divide the shredded chicken over the noodles, and sprinkle a handful of the chopped greens over the chicken. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles and chicken.
  • Pile up the bean sprouts, reserved sprigs of herbs, and wedges of lime onto a platter. Serve them with the soup, so everyone can add them to their bowls of soup as they wish (or set a wedge of lime on top of each bowl of soup). Serve with the hot sauce (or sliced fresh chilis) and hoisin sauce for adding to taste to the finished bowls.

Notes

The elements for this Pho can all be made ahead, allowing you to have a quick weeknight pho, even on busy days.
  • The broth can be made ahead and frozen or refrigerated - the recipe makes enough broth for several meals.
  • The noodles can be cooked ahead and refrigerated for up to 5 days. To reheat them, just cover them with boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes and drain them.
  • The chicken breast can be poached ahead of time, shredded, and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
For serving, reheat the amount of broth you'll need. Reheat the noodles and put them into the bowls. Add the cold shredded chicken, chopped fresh herbs, and boiling hot broth. Garnish and serve.
If using beef, freeze the steak for 15-30 minutes to make it firm, then slice it into paper thin slices. Allow the slices to come to room temperature, then add them to the soup bowl on top of the noodles, and make sure they're fully submerged in the hot broth to cook them.
The bean sprouts provide crunch (and nutrients). If you don't have any, you could substitute them with a bit of finely shredded green cabbage, or shredded or julienned daikon radish or carrots to provide the crunch.
If you use chicken wings to make the broth, you can pick off all the tender bits of meat once the broth is cooked and use them to make a chicken salad, or chop them and add them to fried rice, or tacos, or omelets, etc.