Ingredients:
How-To, Stock:
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Separate legs from chicken: breasts cook quicker than legs and we will
want to remove the breasts/carcass first.
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In a pot large enough to hold
chicken pieces, add enough water to cover,
bring to a boil.
Add chicken
and then simmer for about 5 minutes to cleanse chicken of impurities and off-flavors.
(If you can do this step, you can make this recipe .)
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In another pot
1
large enough to hold chicken pieces, bring cups of water to boil.
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Peel ginger.
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Optionally do one of these two:
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Meanwhile, peel & halve onions. Blacken onions and ginger over gas flame or under oven's broiler.
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Wash and trim root end of onion, leaving skin on.
The skin adds a golden color to the broth.
Toast spices: toast star anise first. When it starts to get fragrant, add other spices. 2
Transfer spices to tea ball infuser or wrap in a piece of clean cloth.
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Transfer chicken pieces to other pot of boiling water.
Add onions and ginger, tea ball infuser of spices, salt, and fish sauce.
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Simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until chicken bleeds clear juice when pierced with a knife (as opposed to pink or bloody),
or register 175 ° on an instant read thermometer.
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Retrieve chicken from pot and let rest for 15 minutes.
Separate meat from bones.
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Put bones and carcass back into pot.
The bones, cartilage, and skin will yield gelatin and fat when simmered which will add to the broth's mouth feel.
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Simmer for two hours.
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Retrieve tea ball infuser & discard spices.
How-To, Serving:
- Bring salted water to a boil (about 1 tsp salt salt per quart).
- Add rice sticks (3-5 ozs dry, per person).
I use the smallest size of rice sticks (about 1/8" wide) and boil it 2 minutes 20 seconds.
The medium size rice sticks will take four to five minutes.
Drain.
(The noodles will be undercooked but will continue to cook after you drain it.)
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Serve noodles in bowl, with chicken, cover with broth, with accompaniments:
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Chopped cilantro
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Scallions, thinly sliced (I prefer < 1/16")
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Saw tooth herb (culantro), chopped, or left whole to be torn by hand into bowl
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Thai basil, chopped, or left whole to be torn by hand into bowl
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Lime wedges, to be squeezed into bowl, as desired
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Sliced jalapenos
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Optional: thinly sliced red onions, marinated in red wine vinegar or lime juice for a few minutes
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Optional: a side "dipping sauce" for the chicken, of hoisin sauce and Sriracha red chili sauce
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Optional: a side "dipping sauce" for the chicken, of canola oil, chopped ginger, red chili, salt.
Notes:
1
I use a large stock pot with strainer,
which makes separating the solids from the liquid much easier/quicker.
2
If you toast the cloves and other spices at the same time as the star anise,
they will burn since they're finer than the star anise.
3
Phở broth freezes very well.
I usually freeze a good percentage of each batch of phở broth, as well as some of the chicken meat.
Add some rice sticks and herbs and you can have chick phở anytime.