Comfort Food: Asian Style:)

Beef Pho

While the beef version of pho is most popular, my mom makes the best chicken pho I have ever tasted bar none. It is pretty Puh-tastic!!! Like many others in the region, I too can trace some ancestral roots back to china via Vietnam. And in recent years, there has been a renewed interest in a handful of restaurants are specializing in the delicate noodle soup. Some of them use free-range “ga chay” or “gia di bo” (literally, “jogging chicken” or “walking chicken”), yielding bowls full of meat that has a flavor and texture reminiscent of traditionally raised chickens in Vietnam. If you want to create great chicken pho yourself, take a gander at the this recipe and maybe try your hand at making some good ole pho remedy in lieu of chicken soup as comfort food. It is healthy and tasty!There are a variety of vegetables and herbs used to prepare and garnish the pho including:  fresh mint, cilantro, basil, bean sprouts, limes, sliced chili peppers are just some of my favorite accompaniments. Set a plate at the table and your guests can pick and choose what they like.

Veggies and herbs used in Pho

Where to find ingredients

• 2-3 lb. chickens: If your go-to markets don’t carry small chickens (mine don’t), you can find them at Asian markets
• Star anise: If your market has a Mexican foods section, you can usually find a packet of whole star anises in a bag for about $0.99. Note: You can also get cloves and cinnamon sticks in the same section… usually for a fraction of the price of spices sold in the standard baking aisle… in the same market
• Fish sauce: Try an Asian market. Look for an orange bottle with flying fish on it. It’s the best.
• Rock sugar: Also at an Asian market. A whole box with a pound of sugar is usually in the $1.00-range.

Chicken Pho

Chicken Pho Recipe 

(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients for Broth
6 quarts water

• 2 2-3 lb. whole chickens
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 4-inch piece of ginger
• 5 star anise (40 robust points total)
• 3-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 ½ tablespoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup fish sauce
• 1-inch chunk rock sugar (about 1 oz.)

Ingredients for Bowls 

• 1 ½ lb. fresh small flat rice noodle
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 scallions
• Chicken pieces (from whole chicken used to make broth)

Ingredients for Garnish 

• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 3 sprigs Thai basil
• Handful cilantro leaves
• 2-3 limes



Nate enjoying some Beef Pho! Yummy!

• 2-3 Serrano chilies

Preparation ( Time: 2 hrs 30 min)

1. Preparation for Broth: In a large stock pot, heat up water. Rinse whole chickens clean and add to pot. Quarter onions, pierce them with the cloves (to prevent cloves from floating around in the broth) and add to pot. With a knife, slice the ginger about every quarter-inch to expose more surface area to the water. But don’t slice all the way through, so it’s still in one piece when added to the pot. Add the star anise, cinnamon stick, salt, fish sauce and rock sugar.
2. Bring pot to a boil, then bring heat down to a simmer for 45 minutes. As needed, skim off the top of the broth.
3. After 45 minutes, remove the two whole chickens and let cool for about 20 minutes. Using bare hands, pull of the chicken meat and place meat into bowl. Cover bowl. Return chicken bones to pot.
4. Preparation for Bowls: Peel and cut an onion into paper-thin slices. Then submerge into bowl of water and set aside.
5. About 2 hours into the cooking time, strain the broth to remove all the solids, and return broth to pot.
6. Begin assembling pho bowls. Cook fresh small flat rice noodles according to package directions (usually by submerging in boiling water for 10 seconds). Chop scallion into thin slices. In each bowl, you need the following:
   1. 3 oz. fresh small flat rice noodles
   2. 1 tablespoon chopped scallions
   3. 3 oz. chicken meat
7. Assemble garnish plate: Pull off cilantro leaves from stem. Quarter limes. Add to garnish plate, along with bean sprouts and Serrano chilies and Thai basil leaves.
8. Immediately before serving, ladle hot chicken broth over soup bowls- enough to cover the rice noodles. Serve immediately.