Pho, pronounced “fuh”, is a traditional vietnamese soup, made with either beef or chicken. In Vietnam it is eaten at all hours of the day, but it is most popular for breakfast or after a night out. It’s a light but flavorful soup that will make you wonder why you haven’t tried it sooner…or why you have plain eggs for breakfast..
Serves 2-4
- 3lb (1.5kg) whole chicken, preferably organic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, skin removed and roughly chopped
- 2 large knobs of ginger, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 star anise
- 1/2 of 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp rock sugar
- 1 small bunch coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 handful mint
- 1 handful spring onion, chopped
- 1 handful bean sprouts
- 1 lime, wedged
- Noodles of your choice, rice noodles are traditionally served with pho
Method
- In a large stockpot over medium heat, add your onion and ginger. Allow to brown slightly, 2-3 minutes.
- Add in your whole chicken and cover with cold water.
- In a small saucepan, heat your coriander seeds, star anise, cinnamon and cloves. Once fragrant, add into your stock along with your rock sugar, fish sauce and 1/2 bunch of coriander (cilantro).
- Allow to simmer for 45 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken and set aside to cool.
- Once chicken has cooled enough to handle, remove meat from the bone and set the meat aside until ready to serve.
- Strain your stock through a sieve into a clean pot. I like to put a cheese cloth over the sieve to ensure no small bits get through.
- Return the strained stock to the stove.
- Cook your noodles according to the directions on the packet.
- To assemble, place your cooked noodles in the bottom of a deep, medium sized bowl. Pour stock over and garnish with mint, coriander, spring onion, bean sprouts and lime. Enjoy!
*I forgot to add the bean sprouts to the photo and realized only after I had eaten the entire bowl…sorry.
