Thanks so much to Jaden Hair from Steamy Kitchen for hosting this month’s Daring Cook’s challenge. I have always wanted to make pho but have been scared away by recipes with 15 ingredients that involve making a broth out of random bones and stewing overnight.
This recipe is great for a weeknight because you can actually use commercial chicken broth and make the entire dish in less than an hour.
Ingredients:
Chicken Pho Broth
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts store-bought chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)
½ onion
1 3-inch chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce
1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)*
Note: I had recently ordered Shirataki Noodles from AsianFoodGrocer.com as part of Foodbuzz’s Tastemaker Program. Therefore, I decided to substitute the noodles in at least one of the bowls with this noodle. To read a detailed description of my interesting experience cooking with this fiber filled diet noodle (package says 0 calories per serving – for REAL!), click here.
Accompaniments:
2 cups bean sprouts
Fresh chopped cilantro
½ cup shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice (I picked Habenero)
Directions:
1. To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.
2. In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.
4. Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.
5. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
6. Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.
7. Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.
8. Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.
As part of this challenge, we had the option of trying of the longer, more complicated recipes for chicken or beef. I sort of improvised, and borrowed the roasted onions and ginger used to make the stock (from scratch), but I added it to a commercial chicken broth (thus explaining the roasted onion picture above).
Over all impressions?
This is a decent noodle soup, but definitely not a substitute for real, traditional pho. Bryan thought it tasted bland and sort of wrong without the Thai basil. He also thought the red onions were strong, and overpowered the other more delicate flavors. I know Jaden was probably trying to pick ingredients that people could get at a normal supermarkets, so I’m sympathetic to those limitations. I also bet that if I had made the soup with actual bones (instead of commercial chicken broth), it would have tasted a lot better.
Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience. I had never bought nor used so many interesting spices before. Thanks again, Jaden and the Daring Kitchen, for helping me to be “daring” and reaching beyond my normal comfort zone in cooking.
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I am in love with your great photos from this challenge! Just beautiful!
Those photos are absolutely beautiful! Well done!
I opted for the longer version of chicken pho, but sadly I was disappointed with the results.
A real doable version for the home cook. I think it may be a good gateway (drug) pho for the undaring also.
From reading through though, this recipe may actually taste better than some of the bad pho places I’ve been to!
I absolutely love your bowl! Are you planning to try the beef version in the future?
Beautiful photos, and you did a great job. I also thought that the shortened chicken recipe might be a bit too shortened to get the real pho flavor, so I made the long beef version. You might want to try that next!
Whaaaat? 0 calorie noodles?! AWESOME! Think of all the pho I could eat! (insert evil giggle). Great job on the challenge! Looks fantastic.
as everyone else has said, beautiful photos.
It was fun to make. And the first time for me.
Yours looks/sounds delicious.
I agree with everyone else–the photos are great. Especially love the one of the spices. Sounds like this wasn’t a true winner but maybe gives you some ideas to work with in the future.
I actually thought this was an incredibly tasty noodle soup and we loved it.. I did the short version as well, since I didn’t have loads of time, but will be making the longer version at some point definitely!
That broth recipe looks grand and could be used for other soups. I do prefer the heavier, robust flavor behind a traditional beef pho broth; hard to beat that, but this soup looks so comforting and delicious!
I need to join this daring kitchen. I’ve been seeing many posts about this, yours looks fab!
I love yours pics! and your pho sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing:)
Great job! Your Pho looks great!
Thanks all for the encouraging comments about my photos. 🙂
Karen and Woman with a Whisk- I may try to beef version someday since I do have all those spices at hand now!
Rose – yeah, I had no idea it was 0 calories. Check out my new post that talks more in depth about these noodles.
Diana – yes! Join Daring Cooks! It’s fun and definitely has stretched and challenged me as a cook!
Yum, looks great! For me it’s the Vietnamese mint and fried shallots on top that make a traditional Beef Pho so special
Thinly sliced shallots are a good substitute for red onions, more delicate in texture and flavour.
Loved your information and pics were wonderful!
Great looking photos!
Your pictures look great, there is such a beautifully strong contrast in colors, it’s amazing. I hope your pho was flavorful and good!
great photos! your pho looks delicious even though you didn’t like it that much, mine is too bland for my taste too (I lack some ingredients). You did a great job, looking forward to next month’s challenge 🙂
I’m hungry just looking at these photos! Great work!
great effort and interesting use of those noodles. While pho ga is good, we agree, nothing beats the traditional beef pho. When we do make it, we use a whole chicken.
Oh my goodness! Your photos. Amazing.
This looks great! I love pho and think I might try your recipe.
Gorgeous soup, gorgeous photos! My mouth is watering and I wish I had some left over! Well done!
Hi!! I’m so excited that Pho is getting some press among Daring Cooks 🙂
I agree that making the broth from bones would have produced a much better result. Do you happen to have a good recipe for beef pho? I’ve always wanted to try it!
I made this on Friday and didn’t use a whole chicken but some odd and end chicken pieces I saved for a broth. I think a part of the trick was to boil down the broth a bit to concentrate the flavor. In doing so, I got a less clear broth but it had a stronger taste.
Excellent! Great article, I already saved it to my favourite,
This was AMAZING….my family could not stop raving about it. I doubled the sauce recipe, but still only added the 3/4 t of the red pepper flakes and it still was a little spicy for the kids. However it didn’t stop them from having seconds. Next time I will cut down on the pepper flakes to maybe a 1/4t or 1/2t. I got the bag of Oriental Stir-fry Vegtables from Aldi’s that someone had suggested in an previous review and it was perfect! I also mixed a little extra apple juice and a bit of corn starch together and added it towards the end to thicken up the sauce. This was a great and quick meal. My family was so full afterward that nobody had room for the Strawberry Pie I made.