Quick Chicken Pho – As Easy As Boiling Water!

The first time I tasted pho was a year ago when we were celebrating our grandson turning 6. He wanted to see Black Panther and go to his favorite pho restaurant afterwards for his birthday treat. Here he was turning 6 and he already had his fave pho place and grandma here had never even tasted it. (Or knew how to pronounce!)

Pho is a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles, a few herbs, and typically beef or chicken. It’s a popular street food in Vietnam and pronounced “fuh.” And if you can boil water, you can make this.

We recently had the grandsons over for dinner and we all made this super easy and quick chicken pho recipe that I found. They loved helping and it was so good! For our first time making this I couldn’t even believe how delicious it was. 

This particular recipe comes from The Pho Cookbook: Easy to Adventurous Recipes for Vietnam’s Favorite Soup and Noodles by Andrea Nguyen. 

QUICK CHICKEN PHO 

Prep Time: 10 minutes                Cook Time: 30 minutes                  Serves: 2 for approx. $6.50 (I actually got 3 1/2 big servings)

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 -inch section ginger

2 medium to large green onions

1 very small bunch cilantro sprigs

1 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 whole clove

3 1/2 to 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (keep this meal gluten free by using gluten free broth)

2 cups water

6 to 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs

about 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

5 ounces dried narrow flat rice noodles

2 to 3 teaspoons fish sauce (keep this meal gluten free by using gluten free fish sauce)

about 1/2 teaspoon organic sugar or 1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)

pepper (optional)

Optional extras: bean sprouts, mint sprigs, Thai basil, cilantro leaves, lime wedges, thinly sliced chili pepper

• I added “regular” sugar instead of organic and we garnished with bean sprouts, mint, cilantro, lime wedges, jalapeno, shredded carrots, green onion, and peanuts. 

DIRECTIONS:

1 – Prepare the broth ingredients: Peel then slice the ginger into 4 or 5 coins. Smack with the flat side of a knife or meat mallet; set aside. Thinly slice the green parts of the green onion, to yield 2 to 3 tablespoons; set aside for garnish. Cut the leftover sections into pinkie-finger lengths, bruise, then add to the ginger.

Coarsely chop the leafy tops of the cilantro to yield 2 tablespoons; set aside for garnish. Set the remaining cilantro sprigs aside.

2 – Toast the broth ingredients: In a 3 to 4 quart pot, toast the coriander seeds and clove over medium heat until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the ginger and green onion sections. Stir for about 30 seconds, until aromatic.

3 – Add the broth and bring to a simmer: Slide the pot off heat, wait 15 seconds or so to briefly cool, then pour in the broth.

Return the pot to the burner, then add the water, cilantro sprigs, chicken, and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat to gently simmer.

4 – Remove the chicken from the broth once cooked: After 5 to 10 minutes of simmering, the chicken should be firm and cooked through (press on it and it should slightly yield).

5 – Continue to simmer the broth without the chicken for another 15 to 20 minutes (for a total of 30 minutes simmering time).

6 – Shred the chicken: Transfer the chicken to a bowl, flush with cold water to arrest the cooking, then drain. Let cool, then cut or shred into bite-size pieces. Cover loosely to prevent drying.

(If chicken isn’t quite cooked through when you begin to shred, spit in a few pieces and add back to broth and cook for a few more minutes till cooked through.)

7 – Soak the rice noodles in hot water until pliable and opaque. Drain, rinse, and set aside.

8 – Strain the broth: When the broth is done, pour it through a fine-mesh strainer positioned over a 2-quart pot; line the strainer with muslin for superclear broth. Discard the solids. You should have about 4 cups.

Season with fish sauce and sugar (or maple syrup), if needed, to create a strong savory-sweet note. (I personally would never leave the fish sauce out of this recipe. It brings much depth.)

9 – Finish the pho: Bring the strained broth to a boil over high heat. Put the noodles in a noodle strainer or mesh sieve and dunk in the hot broth to heat and soften, 5 to 60 seconds. Lift the noodles from the pot and divide between bowls.

Lower the heat to keep the broth hot while you arrange the chicken on top of the noodles and garnish with the chopped green onion, cilantro, and a sprinkling of pepper. Taste and adjust the broth’s saltiness one more time. Ladle broth into the bowls.

Top with any extras you like.

• I doubled this recipe and it seriously fed 6 of us: 3 children, a teen, and 3 adults. And we had plenty. For pricing, I priced the original recipe serving 2.