Vietnamese · 45 min · serves 4

Chicken Phở

Kept by The Bhook kitchen

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg), cleaned
• 2 onions
• 1 thumb ginger (about 50 g)
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 400 g dried rice noodles (bánh phở)
• 4 spring onions
• 1 bunch coriander
• 200 g bean sprouts
• 1 lime

Method

1. Char the onions and ginger over open flame or in a hot pan until blackened, about 5-7 min, turning now and then. They should smell sweet and smoky.
2. Put the chicken in a big pot and cover with 3 L cold water. Add charred onion, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer (not a rolling boil). Skim off any scum as it forms.
3. Simmer for 30 min, or until the chicken is just cooked through and broth tastes savoury. Lift out the chicken and let cool enough to handle.
4. Strain the broth, return to pot, add fish sauce. Taste and adjust with more salt if needed. Keep hot.
5. Cook rice noodles in boiling water following packet until tender but not mushy. Rinse in cold water and drain well.
6. Slice the chicken meat off the bones, tear or cut into bite-size shreds.
7. To serve: Place noodles in bowls, top with chicken, ladle steaming broth over. Tear up coriander, slice spring onion, add to top with bean sprouts and a wedge of lime.

Do not boil the broth hard, or it’ll turn cloudy and taste less clean.