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Daring Cooks Challenge: Chicken Pho

October 14, 2009 by Jennifer Che 29 Comments

_MG_1900

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.

_MG_1891

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)

Chicken Pho toppings

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.

Pho 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).

Chicken Pho

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.

©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

Filed Under: Asian, Noodles, poultry, Recipe, Soup, Vietnamese Tagged With: Chicken

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Shirataki Noodles »

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Comments

  1. Jenn says

    October 14, 2009 at 12:52 am

    I am in love with your great photos from this challenge! Just beautiful!

    Reply
  2. Jenny says

    October 14, 2009 at 3:00 am

    Those photos are absolutely beautiful! Well done!
    I opted for the longer version of chicken pho, but sadly I was disappointed with the results.

    Reply
  3. Sean says

    October 14, 2009 at 7:36 am

    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!

    Reply
  4. Karen @ Citrus and Candy says

    October 14, 2009 at 9:13 am

    I absolutely love your bowl! Are you planning to try the beef version in the future?

    Reply
  5. Woman with a Whisk says

    October 14, 2009 at 12:14 pm

    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!

    Reply
  6. Rose says

    October 14, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    Whaaaat? 0 calorie noodles?! AWESOME! Think of all the pho I could eat! (insert evil giggle). Great job on the challenge! Looks fantastic.

    Reply
  7. Basht says

    October 14, 2009 at 1:35 pm

    as everyone else has said, beautiful photos.

    Reply
  8. TeaLady says

    October 14, 2009 at 2:49 pm

    It was fun to make. And the first time for me.

    Yours looks/sounds delicious.

    Reply
  9. Hungry Dog says

    October 14, 2009 at 3:58 pm

    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.

    Reply
  10. Junglefrog says

    October 14, 2009 at 3:59 pm

    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!

    Reply
  11. wasabi prime says

    October 14, 2009 at 5:52 pm

    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!

    Reply
  12. Diana Bauman says

    October 14, 2009 at 8:03 pm

    I need to join this daring kitchen. I’ve been seeing many posts about this, yours looks fab!

    Reply
  13. Karine says

    October 14, 2009 at 8:33 pm

    I love yours pics! and your pho sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing:)

    Reply
  14. Jenni says

    October 14, 2009 at 8:49 pm

    Great job! Your Pho looks great!

    Reply
  15. Jen says

    October 14, 2009 at 9:20 pm

    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!

    Reply
  16. NotAnotherFoodBlog says

    October 14, 2009 at 9:44 pm

    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.

    Reply
  17. Cathy/ShowFoodChef says

    October 15, 2009 at 1:00 am

    Loved your information and pics were wonderful!

    Reply
  18. chef_d says

    October 15, 2009 at 3:11 am

    Great looking photos!

    Reply
  19. Frenchie says

    October 15, 2009 at 9:47 am

    Your pictures look great, there is such a beautifully strong contrast in colors, it’s amazing. I hope your pho was flavorful and good!

    Reply
  20. Olive says

    October 15, 2009 at 10:53 am

    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 🙂

    Reply
  21. Lyd says

    October 15, 2009 at 12:03 pm

    I’m hungry just looking at these photos! Great work!

    Reply
  22. Ravenous Couple says

    October 16, 2009 at 2:52 pm

    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.

    Reply
  23. Lauren says

    October 16, 2009 at 7:04 pm

    Oh my goodness! Your photos. Amazing.

    Reply
  24. Cramped Kitchen. says

    October 16, 2009 at 9:51 pm

    This looks great! I love pho and think I might try your recipe.

    Reply
  25. Lisa Michelle says

    October 18, 2009 at 4:16 am

    Gorgeous soup, gorgeous photos! My mouth is watering and I wish I had some left over! Well done!

    Reply
  26. Ambitious says

    October 19, 2009 at 10:48 am

    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!

    Reply
  27. Lisa says

    November 9, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    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.

    Reply
  28. Large Pot says

    November 8, 2010 at 7:27 am

    Excellent! Great article, I already saved it to my favourite,

    Reply
  29. HannahAlexander says

    November 28, 2015 at 10:07 am

    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.

    Reply

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Welcome to Tiny Urban Kitchen!

JenChe

Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am a Boston to Hong Kong transplant, born and raised in Ohio with parents from Taiwan. Feel free to head on over to the About page if you want to learn more about me, or just explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!
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