Chicken Pho Noodle Soup

My friend Simon says that there's a lot of confusing and misleading online chatter about chicken phở these days. If you've had the original beef phở then you're bound to want to explore the chicken version, which is slightly lighter in flavor, but delicious still.

Making noodle soup is an art form that take a bit of time, but most of the time is passive cooking. I encourage you to try making your own bowl so that you may savor and appreciate a well-crafted bowl. At Simon's urging, I'm  sharing this chicken phở  recipe from my cookbook, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen(Ten Speed Press, 2006). Try it out and contribute comments so that we can build a nice body of content on this wonderful Vietnamese chicken noodle soup!

Chicken Pho Recipe

While beef phở may be the version that most people know and like, chicken phở is also excellent. In recent years, there has been a renewed interest in phở gà (pronounced "Fuh Gah")within the Vietnamese American community, and a handful of restaurants are specializing in the delicate noodle soup. Some of them use free-range gà chạy or gà đi bộ (literally “jogging chicken” or “walking chicken”), yielding bowls full of meat that has a flavor and texture reminiscent of traditionally raised chickens in Vietnam.

If you want to create great chicken phở yourself, take a cue from the pros and start with quality birds. If you have never made phở, this recipe is ideal for learning the basics. It calls for fewer ingredients than other phở recipes, so you can focus on charring the onion and ginger to accentuate their sweetness, making a clear broth, and assembling steamy hot, delicious bowls. While some cooks flavor chicken phở broth with the same spices they use for beef phở, my family prefers using coriander seeds and cilantro to distinguish the two.

Serves 8

Broth
2 yellow onions, about 1 pound total, unpeeled
Chubby 4-inch section fresh ginger, unpeeled
1 chicken, 4 pounds, excess fat and tail removed 
3 pounds chicken backs, necks, or other bony chicken parts
5 quarts water
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1-inch chunk rock sugar* (about 1 ounce)
2 tablespoons coriander seeds, toasted in a dry skillet for about 1 minute until fragrant
4 whole cloves
1 small or 1/2 large bunch cilantro (bound stems about 1 inch in diameter)

Bowls
1 1/2–2 pounds small flat rice noodles (bánh phở), dried or fresh
Cooked chicken, at room temperature
1 yellow onion, sliced paper-thin, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes and drained
3 or 4 scallions, green part only, thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leafy tops only
Black pepper

Optional garnishes
3 cups bean sprouts (about 1/2 pound)
10 to 12 sprigs mint (húng) 10 to 12 sprigs Thai basil* (húng quế)
12 to 15 fresh culantro* (ngò gai) leaves
2 or 3 Thai or serrano chiles, thinly sliced
2 or 3 limes, cut into wedges

Make the broth
1. Place the onions and ginger directly on the cooking grate of a medium-hot charcoal or gas grill (as pictured, to the right) or a gas stove with a medium flame, or on a medium-hot burner of an electric stove. Let the skin burn (if you’re working indoors, turn on the exhaust fan and open a window), using tongs to rotate onion and ginger occasionally and to grab and discard any flyaway onion skin.

After 15 minutes, the onions and ginger will have softened slightly and become sweetly fragrant. There may even be some bubbling. You do not have to blacken the entire surface. When amply charred, remove from the heat and let cool.

2. Rinse the cooled onions under warm running water, rubbing off the charred skin. Trim off and discard the blackened root and stem ends. Use a vegetable peeler, paring knife, or the edge of a teaspoon to remove the ginger skin. Hold it under warm water to wash off any blackened bits. Halve the ginger lengthwise and bruise lightly with the broad side of a cleaver or chef’s knife.  Set the onions and ginger aside.

3. Rinse the chicken under cool water. Detach each wing by bending it back and cutting it off at the shoulder joint. Add the wings and neck, if included, to the chicken parts. If the heart, gizzard, and liver have been included, discard them or save for another use. (Some cooks like to simmer the heart and gizzard in water and slice them for adding to the noodle bowls.) Set the wingless chicken aside.

4. Remove and discard any loose pieces of fat from the chicken parts. Wielding a heavy cleaver designed for chopping bones, whack the bones to break them partway or all the way through, making the cuts at 1- to 2-inch intervals, depending on the size of the part. This exposes the marrow, which enriches the broth.

5. To achieve a clear broth, you must first parboil and rinse the chicken parts. Put them in a stockpot (about 12-quart capacity) and add cold water just to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes to release the impurities. Dump the chicken parts and water into the sink (make sure it is clean), and then rinse the parts with water to wash off any clinging residue. Quickly scrub the stockpot clean and return the chicken parts to the pot. Put the chicken into the pot, breast side up.

6. Pour in the water and snuggle the chicken in between the parts so that it is covered with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Use a ladle or large, shallow spoon to skim off any scum that rises to the top. Add the onions, ginger, salt, fish sauce, rock sugar, coriander seeds, cloves, and cilantro and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes, adjusting the heat if needed to maintain a gentle simmer.

At this point, the chicken is cooked; its flesh should feel firm yet still yield a bit to the touch. Use a pair of tongs to grab the chicken and transfer it to a large bowl. Flush the chicken with cold water and drain well, then it set aside for 15 to 20 minutes until it is cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, keep the broth at a steady simmer.

7. When chicken can be handled, use a knife to remove each breast half and the whole legs (thigh and drumstick). Don’t cut these pieces further, or they’ll lose their succulence. Set aside on a plate to cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate; bring to room temperature before assembling the bowls.

8. Return the leftover carcass to the stockpot and adjust the heat to simmer the broth gently for another 11/2 hours. Avoid a hard boil, or the broth will turn cloudy.

9. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve (or a coarse-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth) positioned over a pot. Discard the solids. Use a ladle to skim as much fat from the top of the broth as you like. (To make this task easier, you can cool the broth, refrigerate overnight, lift off the solidified fat, and then reheat before continuing.) Taste and adjust the flavor with additional salt, fish sauce, and rock sugar. There should be about 4 quarts (16 cups) broth.

Assemble the bowls
10. If using dried noodles, cover them with hot tap water and let soak for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are pliable and opaque. Drain in a colander. If using fresh rice noodles, untangle them, place in a colander, and rinse briefly under cold running water.

11. Cut the cooked chicken into slices about 1/4 inch thick, cutting the meat off the bone as necessary. If you don’t want to eat the skin, discard it first. Set the chicken aside. Ready the yellow onion, scallions, cilantro, and pepper for adding to the bowls. Arrange the garnishes on a plate and put on the table.

12. To ensure good timing, bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat as you are assembling the bowls. (For an extra treat, drop in any unused white scallion sections and let them poach in the broth. Add the poached white scallion sections (called hành chần) to a few lucky bowls when ladling out the broth.) At the same time, fill a large pot with water and bring to a rolling boil.

For each bowl, place a portion of the noodles on a vertical-handle strainer (or mesh sieve) and dunk the noodles in the boiling water. As soon as they have collapsed and lost their stiffness (10 to 20 seconds), pull the strainer from the water, letting the water drain back into the pot. Empty the noodles into a bowl. If you like, once you have finished blanching the noodles, you can blanch the bean sprouts for 30 seconds. They should wilt slightly but retain some crunch. Drain and add to the garnishes.

13. Top each bowl of noodles with chicken, arranging the slices flat. Place a mound of yellow onion in the center and then shower some scallion and cilantro on top. Finish with a sprinkle of pepper.

14. Raise the heat and bring the broth to a rolling boil. Do a final tasting and make any last-minute flavor adjustments. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl, distributing the hot liquid evenly to warm all the ingredients. Serve immediately with the garnishes.

Copyright 2007, Andrea Nguyen, All rights reserved.  Recipe from Into theVietnamese Kitchen (Ten Speed Press, 2006)

*Notes:

Yellow rock sugar (a.k.a. lump sugar) is sold in one-pound boxes at Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. Break up large chunks with hammer.

For more information, see:

• Growing Vietnamese Herbs posting on this blog
• Vietnamese Herb Primer on VietWorldKitchen.com
• Mega Pho page on VietWorldkitchen.com
• How to select rice noodles (bánh phở) on Vietworkitchen.com

Comments

[Simon Bao]

Andrea, you are a saint.

As I mentioned to you, it's not that recipes for Pho Ga aren't available online. It's that almost all the recipes are so bad. They're just recipes for chicken noodle soup. And weakly flavored soups at that. In some cases, it seemed as if recipe-writers were confusing Pho Ga with Mien Ga and the resulting noodle soup was neither.

If one is living in a city with live poultry markets or Amish butcher stalls or a great farm market, a mature free-range chicken is a good choice. For cooks and shoppers who lack those options, I think the best choice in a chicken might be a stewing hen. The broth will be rich and, if properly cooked, the thin slices of meat will have become tender.

I don't use coriander seeds or cilantro in my broth. My own preference for flavoring the broth is to use the charred onion and ginger and cloves as you do, but then I do use the star anise, which is also traditional for beef Pho. I don't use any cinnamon though - some people do, I prefer not.

The real point is that this is not a one-note broth, a good Pho Ga broth is rich, a harmony of many notes and flavors. If one doesn't want to stew both a whole bird *and* the extra chicken parts, I think it *can* be OK to omit the extra parts and instead stew the bird in plain chicken stock, rather than water. Plain, as in chicken stock that was *not* made with carrots and celery and herbs, etc. It's a bit of a shortcut or cheat, but as long as the resulting broth is rich I think it's reasonable, and probably convenient for some people.

Andrea, I always tell people to NOT garnish soups or dishes with the chopped cilantro at the end. I tell them to put that into a small bowl and allow people to garnish their own. The reason is, as I've learned, some Americans are SO averse to cilantro, they dislike it SO profoundly, that adding it to their food can ruin it for them. And those who dislike cilantro REALLY dislike Ngo Gai (culantro)... "Why... WHY did you put that chopped Soap Leaf into my food?"

[Andrea Nguyen]

Simon, stewing hens -- which are great for coq au vin -- are hard to find these days. It's so sad! You used to be able to find them in many markets. On the West Coast, it was chains like Luckys. I occasionally see them in the frozen in the Asian markets but you don't know how long they've been sitting in the cold.

Each person has their own seasoning for chicken pho broth. I just don't think it ought to be flavored like the beefy pho bo. Several years ago, I tried an institutional version of pho broth made for cafeterias, etc and the maker used chicken instead of beef bones but flavored it just like beef pho. It just wasn't right and lacked the fatty beef mouthfeel.

I feel sorry for people who don't like cilantro; some of them are my dear friends. Just a little at the end is lovely. As for culantro, I can take it or leave it. The flavor is never as strong as I think it ought to be. Frankly, it's an overrated herb in my book. The only thing I mind about Ngo Gai (thorny cilantro is one of its aliases) are the itty bitty thorns, which can scratch my throat.

Vietnamese food is the "have it your way" cuisine. People shouldn't present things and mix up pho ga with mien ga (which is made with cellophane noodles not rice noodles). Here in the Bay Area, pho ga is sometimes served with wide chow fun noodles. I have no idea why. Someone should stop that.

[trucly]

I was searching for some Vietnamese recipes and came across your site. I had found many helpful and practical informations provided by you. Thank you and please keep with the good work.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Truc, You're very welcome!

[Steamy Kitchen]

I made Pho Ga last night - after my kids went to bed I was still hungry and had a bird in the fridge. So what did I do? Spent the next 2 hours making Pho Ga and ate a big bowl at around midnight. heehee! Its perfect midnight eatin' food!

I learned how to make Beef Pho and Pho Ga from an old Vietnamese boyfriend whose family owned a Pho restaurant in Houston. His recipe is almost the same as yours - after toasting coriander and star anise, we put them in a tea ball so that we can easily fish them out. I also roast the ginger and onion, but since I'm too lazy to go outside to the BBQ grill, just stick it in the elec oven on broil. It doesn't char as nicely, but i guess thats what I get for being lazy!

I also add a bunch of stems of the cilantro in the tea ball. Since the leafy part is used as finishing the soup, the stems go in the broth - nice clean flavor.

Thanks for the recipe! I just ordered your book last night (as I was waiting for the broth to cook) and should come in from Amazon in the next couple of days. I can't wait to try your Bun Bo Hue recipe. Its my fav soup.

Jaden

[Andrea Nguyen]

So cool Jaden. Thanks! Bet your kids are in for a nice surprise today! I'm flattered and delighted that you've purchased a copy of the book.

[Edmund]

I just tried this recipe last night and had it with a couple of friends and it was really REALLLY good! Such a comfort on a cold and damp autumn night here in the Netherlands. Then had another bowl this morning. Breakfast of champions!

[Jina]

I LOVE UR RECIPE. MY FIRST TIME COOKING PHO. IT COME OUT TO BE VERY DELIOUS. I WOULD BUY UR RECIPE BOOK! THANK YOU

[Denise Sanders]

My husband and I are from Houston, TX, where there is a pho restaurant in every strip mall. But we just moved to the Texas hill country where no one has even heard of pho. We made this recipe hoping for something similar to what we get in Houston, and it was awesome. We served it with sliced jalapeno peppers (like they do in pho restaurants in Houston), and I made it with a free range roaster chicken I bought at Whole Foods. I will definitely make this again. Thanks for taking the time to post such thorough directions.

[Andrea Nguyen]

You're very welcome, Denise!

[Philnezz]

There is nothing like a good Chicken Recipe, Chicken is quite simply the best food in the world because of it's versatility. You can make thousands of chicken recipes and every one of them will be different and taste great. ENJOY!!

[Amanda Conley]

This

pho

is

SPECTACULAR!

Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My husband loves pho, and I surprised him with this when he got home from work this evening. Normally I don't get more than a 'This is pretty good' at dinnertime; Tonight I got the remark of 'This is truly amazing'. And I have to agree! Never thought I'd get to say such a thing about food - Amazing! Thank you so much!

[Sherry]

I recently moved to the hill country outside Austin from Sacramento California. Pho is my favorite food. In Sacramento there are many great Pho houses. My daughter is Hmong and misses her native foods, so I learned to prepare Pho soon after adopting her. This receipt isn't Hmong Pho but it's yummy. My family loved it! Thank you so much.
I will be purchasing your book for all three of my daughters.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Sherry, I love Sacramento and there are indeed many excellent pho shops there. I was mightily impressed. Some of the best bowls I've had in the U.S, as a matter of fact.

And now, you're in Austin, a city I hope to visit for the great food and culture scene. Happy cooking!

Andrea