Chicken Pho / Phở Gà

Phở is likely the most well-known and popular Vietnamese dish. While it’s typically made with beef, the chicken version is a little bit lighter but equally delicious. The broth is silky, clean, and comforting. The Chicken Pho is also very easy to make and only takes a couple of hours to put together.

What is Chicken Pho?

While phở can trace its history back to the early 20th century, chicken pho only became more popular during the French colonial period when beef became more scarce. Speaking of which, phở is uniquely Vietnamese, but you can definitely still see some of the French influences, primarily through the spices used.

Chicken pho was actually the very first Vietnamese noodle soup that I learned how to make! The first go around was not so smooth; I used a pre-packaged phở seasoning bag that managed to explode halfway through cooking. It left the broth extremely dark and had a slightly acrid aftertaste. I was broke and poor, and mama didn’t raise a quitter, so you know I still finished the pot of phở. Thankfully, I’ve gotten better at cooking since then, and through improved techniques, I’ve been able to get a consistently light and clean broth.

I’m a big fan of Old Man Que Huong’s seasoning for pho; it comes with a spice bag and all the spices you need to make pho. Having the spices not premixed will allow you to control exactly how much of each component goes into the spice bag.

PRO TIPS:

• Removing the aromatics and spice bag after 1-1.5 hours of simmering helps the broth maintain a light and clean look and taste.
• Seasoning the broth after it’s done simmering/close to the end of the cooking process also adds to the appearance of the broth.
• During my travels to Vietnam, at a local shop, I learned that patrons would crack a raw egg yolk into a hot bowl of soup, mix it up, and that back into their bowl of Phở. This adds another level of body and creaminess to the broth that is really unmatched.

Chicken Pho / Phở Gà

4.4 from 21 votes

Servings

6-8

servings

Prep time

45

minutes

Cooking time

1

hour 

30

minutes

Ingredients

• Broth:

• 6 quart water

• 2 lb chicken bone-in thigh

• 2 lb chicken bone-in breast

• 1 yellow onion

• 2 inch knob ginger

• 2 tbsp MSG

• 4 tbsp fish sauce

• 1 inch nub rock sugar

• Spice Bag:

• 3 star anise

• 2 cardamom pods

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds

• 1 tbsp fennel seeds

• 4 dried cloves

• Noodles:

• 32 oz rice noodles

• Garnishes:

• Beansprouts

• Green onions

• Cilantro

• White onion

• Lime

• Thai Basil

• Jalapeno

Directions

• Scrub chicken with kosher salt and rinse with cold water to remove the chickeny odor. Repeat steps 2-3 times
• To a stock pot, add water and cleaned chicken
• Char onion and ginger on a dry pan, open flame, or in the oven on the top rack on broil
• Toast dry spices in a pan until fragrant. Add to spice bag
• Add charred aromatics and toasted spices to the pot. Bring up to boil, skim off any impurities, and let simmer for one hour
• Remove breasts after 20-30 minutes and thighs after 30-40 minutes of simmering. Shred or cut chicken, and return bones back into the stock to continue simmering
• After an hour, remove the aromatics and spice bag to ensure that the broth stays light and clean
• Prepare garnishes by thinly slicing onions and submerging them in cold water to reduce raw onion flavor. Cut cilantro, green onions, lime, and jalapeno
• In a separate pot of water, cook rice noodles to the desired doneness
• Assemble the bowl by adding noodles, chicken, broth, and garnishes. Serve with beansprouts and Thai basil

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