Phở Gà (Chicken Pho)
Ingredients
5 L water
1 tablespoon salt
2kg chicken bones or chicken wings
1 whole chicken
3 whole star anise
2 whole black cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
4 shallots, unpeeled
2 medium onion, unpeeled
80g ginger unpeeled
1 inch piece of yellow rock sugar
3 tablespoon of fish sauce
For serving
500g dried flat rice noodles (Pho Noodles)
Lime wedges
Chopped fresh coriander
100g of spring onions roughly chopped
Bean sprouts
150g 3-4 inch lengths of spring onions sprigs
Cracked Black Pepper
Other optional garnishes
Fried shallots
Vietnamese fish sauce
Chili Sauce
Sliced Red Chili
Instructions
In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil. Stir in the salt, then add the chicken bones, whole chicken, breast side down. If the chicken floats up above the water, place a heatproof plate over the chicken to keep it submerged. Return water to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer the chicken for 30 minutes, skimming off any foam that collects at the surface. Transfer the whole chicken to a bowl of ice water and let cool; it will not be completely cooked through. Do not discard the broth in the stockpot.
While chicken is cooling, prepare the seasonings for the broth. In a large cast-iron skillet, combine the star anise, cardamom pods, cloves, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, and cinnamon stick. Cook the spices over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until very fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add spices to broth in stockpot.
In the same skillet, add the shallots and onion and ginger . Cook over moderate heat, turning occasionally, until the skin on the vegetables have burnt on all sides, about 10 minutes remove from the heat and let cool. Wash onions under cold water to rub of the charring. Peel the skin off the ginger. Add ginger, onions and shallots to the pot.
Remove all of the meat from the chicken and coarsely shred it. Refrigerate the shredded chicken until ready to serve.
Return all of the chicken skin and bones to the broth in the stockpot and bring broth to a boil. Cover partially and simmer over moderately low heat for 2 hours. Add the yellow rock sugar and fish sauce and simmer for another 30 minutes.
Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a large pot, pressing on the solids; discard the solids.
For serving
Cook the noodles in a large saucepan of boiling water until pliable, 5 minutes. Drain the noodles and rinse well. Divide the noodles among serving bowls.
Bring the broth to a simmer. Stir in the shredded chicken and cook until just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Taste the broth and season with additional salt, fish sauce, and rock sugar. Skim of any fat from the broth before serving.
Ladle the hot broth and chicken over the noodles. Top with coriander, spring onions, bean sprouts, cracked pepper and a squeeze of lime. Add other garnishes as desired.
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