Vietnamese Pho Ga or Chicken Noodle Soup

It’s winter in this part of the country. Winter for me always meant fresh winter veggies and herbs, warm woollen clothes, hot and warm soups and those countless cups of masala chai throughout the day. Pho (pronounced Fuh) Ga or Vietnamese Chicken and Noodle Soup for today’s #Bloghop as I welcome the Winter season.

Those lovely childhood winter days along with the aroma of winter delicacies cooked with freshly picked kitchen garden produce always get me nostalgic.

Today’s healthy traditional Vietnamese Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam. The origin of Pho can be traced back to the early 20th century in North Vietnam. Later it was spread and popularized across the rest of the world by Vietnam War refugees.

Main ingredients of pho is the broth, rice noodles, fresh local herbs and shredded beef or chicken meat.

I have added some of my own ingredients to the pho. Green moong bean sprouts, pak choi, carrot, mushrooms since I wanted a winter-like feel as I have the pho ga.

Luckily some new culantro leaves have been popping up ever since my father had planted few roots he had brought all the way from my home town. So I have used them for that fresh culantro flavour. I had some dried lemon basils so used them as garnish just before enjoying the pho.

The regional variant of pho is divided between Pho Bac/Northern pho which has wider rice noodles, more of onion greens with the garnishes often limited to fish sauce, vinegar and chilli sauce.

The Southern Vietnamese pho or pho Sai Gon has a slightly sweeter broth with addition of chicken or dry squids at times along with bean sprouts and variety of fresh herbs.

One needs a lot of patience in boiling the broth for a clear pho. Initially the whole recipe looked too long and challenging for me.

As I went step by step, everything seemed simple and easy. It’s trial and error at times for new recipes. I am sure many of you will agree to this.

In terms of a clearer broth I personally vote for the Northern or Hanoi style of Pho broth. More of salt and less of condiments too. (Source)

So today, I bring forth Pho Ga tweaking the recipe of Luke Nyugen’s Pho.

Pho Ga (Chicken Pho)

Serving 4

Total Time 48 mins Boiling+ 1.5 hours of slow cooking the Broth

Ingredients

For the Pho

1 whole Chicken (about 1Kg), excess fat removed

1 medium Yellow onion

2-inch piece Ginger

1 unpeeled small Garlic bulb

1.5 kg Chicken bony parts

1 Tbsp Salt

2 Tbsp Fish sauce

20 g Yellow Rock Sugar or Sugar

800 g Flat or Vermicelli Rice Noodles(200 g each per person)

2 Scallions/Onion Greens, green part only, thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped Cilantro/Coriander, only the leaves
Ground Black Pepper

4 Quart/4 Litre Water

Spice pouch

1/2 Tbsp Coriander seeds, dry toasted for 1 min until fragrant

1/2 Tbsp whole Cumin seeds, dry toasted until fragrant

1/2 Tbsp Fennel seeds, dry toasted until fragrant

3 whole Cloves

3 star Anise

1.5 inch Cassia/Cinnamon bark,

1 tablespoon whole Black peppercorns

40 cm (16 inch) square piece Muslin cloth

For the Garnish on a Plate: 

5-6 Sprigs Mint and Asian/Thai basil(as per availability)

5-6 sprigs Cilantro or Coriander

6-7 leaves of Culantro (as per availability)

1 1/2 cups Moong bean sprouts ( 1/4 pound)

1 medium Carrot, sliced (optional)

1 whole Pak Choi (optional)

1/3 cup Button Mushrooms, washed and halved

1 or 2 Thai Bird’s Eye or Serrano Chillies, thinly sliced(you can substitute with Jalapenos or Cayenne Pepper)

1 Lime, cut into wedges

Method

Pho Preparation

1.Heat a grill pan over medium-high and grill the unpeeled garlic, onions and ginger evenly for 15 minutes in total until all sides are blackened.

2.Now peel and discard the skins of the charred garlic, onion, ginger, and then roughly chop.

3.This will add more flavour to the pho.

4.Put the toasted spices in the cheesecloth and tightly tie it. Now keep aside.

5.Rinse the chicken under cool water.

6. Whack the chicken with the help of a cleaver/chef’s knife to break the bones, this will help expose the bone marrow which will add more taste to the broth.

7.Put the chicken and bony parts in a large pot. Fill water enough to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil over high heat with 1/2 Tbsp salt.

8.Let it boil on high heat for 3-4 minutes to release scum/impurities.

9.Pour the chicken and water into a clean sink, and then rinse the chicken and bones with cold water to wash off all residue.

10. Clean out the same pot and return the chicken and bones into the pot with chopped grilled onions, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, remaining  1/2 Tbsp salt, sugar or rock sugar, and toasted spices pouch.

11. Pour in the water. Bring to a boil over high heat and then lower the heat to simmer. Ladle out scum that floats on top of the broth. Simmer for 45 minutes.

12. Remove the chicken breasts, whole legs using a chef’s knife and set aside. Continue simmering broth for one and a half hours.

13.Cut the cooked chicken into slices about 1/4 inch thick, cutting the meat off the bone as necessary. Bring to room temperature before assembling the bowl.

14.Return the leftover parts to the pot and simmer the broth for another 1 1/2 hours. Keep the pho broth at a gentle simmer.( Avoid a hard boil, or the broth will turn cloudy)

15. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve (or a coarse-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth) positioned over a pot.

For the Soup Bowl

1.Prepare and blanch the noodles for 20 seconds in boiling water using a mesh sieve. Remove and transfer the noodles into the bowls.

2.Blanch the bean sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, pak choy for 30 seconds. Drain and set aside on the garnish plate.

3.Add cut chicken pieces and the blanched vegetables on top of the noodles.

4. Arrange the garnishes on a plate and put on the table.

5. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl, distributing the hot liquid evenly to warm all the ingredients. Serve immediately with the garnishes.

6.Serve immediately by adding 1 Tbsp of sliced onion greens, sliced chilli, bean sprouts, basil, culantro, a coriander and mint sprig with a gentle squeeze of lime into each bowl.

Note: Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce and rock sugar if you want to. You can add little more water towards the end to compensate with the evaporated water during boiling.

Instead of bony parts you can substitute with equivalent quantity of chicken drumsticks for the broth.

Also try adding Daikon/white radish to complete the winter soup flavour.

The amount of original volume of water should yield about half the quantity or little more broth at the end .

This yummy and tummy-filling Vietnamese Pho Ga (Chicken Pho) is to be sent for our 65th #FoodieMonday theme #Soups.