Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup) with Ginger Dipping Sauce

Shared by The Pantry Seattle

Recipe adapted from Michelle Nguyen

Yield: 4 serving

Ingredients

Broth

1 whole yellow onion

4 whole shallots

4-inch fresh ginger

1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds, excess fat and tail removed

4 quarts water

1 1/2 tablespoons of kosher salt, plus more for exfoliating the chicken

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1-inch chunk of rock sugar, about 1 ounce

2 tablespoons toasted coriander seeds

4 toasted whole cloves

2 toasted whole star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1/4 bunch of cilantro, tied with kitchen twine

Fried shallots

1/2 cup neutral high temperature oil, such as canola or safflower

1/4 cup dried shallots

Pickled onions and serrano peppers:

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon water

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 white onion, sliced paper thin, soak in cold water for 30 minutes, then drain

3 red serrano peppers

Garnishes

2 scallions

1/3 cup cilantro

1/3 cup Thai basil leaves

1 lime

Ginger Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce

2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

5 garlic cloves, peeled

1-2 red chili peppers, such as Thai bird or serrano

1/4 cup fish sauce

1/3 cup granulated white sugar

Juice of 1 lime

For the Bowls

1-pound flat rice noodles (banh pho), fresh or dried

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Make the broth

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place whole onion, shallots, and ginger on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. This will allow the sweetness to come through. Once done, peel any charred skin off.

Clean the chicken: Sprinkle the chicken with a generous amount of salt. Give it a full exfoliating body scrub then rinse under cold running water. Drain and pat dry.

Place the chicken in a large stock pot and add 4 quarts of water to (make sure it will fit the chicken without overflowing). Add the roasted onion, shallots, and ginger. Add the 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, fish sauce, rock sugar, coriander, cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick, and tied cilantro to the pot. Bring the water to a boil, once boiled turn down the heat to simmer. Cook stock pot for 30 minutes on a low simmer.

Test the chicken for doneness after 30 minutes. Pierce chicken with a chopstick in between the joint of the breast and leg. If water runs clear, chicken is done. Transfer chicken to an ice bath. When cool enough to handle, slice chicken into thin strips. Return all bones back to the stockpot.

Continue to cook the broth for one full hour, remove all solids from the stock pot and discard them after one hour. Season the stock with salt, rock sugar, and fish sauce. It's best to season a little at a time to your liking. Like all noodle soups, you want the flavors to be strong and bold. Once noodles are added, flavor will mellow out quite a bit.

Fry the shallots

Heat 1/2 cup of oil in a small pot on medium high. Once the oil comes up to 325 F, put the dried shallots in the hot oil and fry until golden. This should be no more than 30 seconds. Strain the fried shallots and set aside for garnish.

Pickle the onions and serrano peppers

Mix the rice vinegar, water, and sugar. Place the thinly sliced onions and serranos in the pickling liquid. Set aside.

Prep the garnishes

Slice the scallions into thin rounds. Roughly chop the cilantro. Slice lime into wedges. Set aside.

Make dipping sauce

Cut the ginger into a fine julienne. Mince the garlic and thinly slice the chili peppers. Put the julienned ginger in a small mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients together. Mix until the sugar dissolves.

Assemble the Pho Ga bowls

If using dried noodles, cover them with hot tap water and let soak for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are pliable and opaque. Drain in a colander. If using fresh rice noodles, untangle them, and portion them.

Cut the cooked chicken into slices about 1/4 inch thick, cutting the meat off the bone as necessary. If you don’t want to eat the skin, discard it first. Set the chicken aside. Ready the scallions and cilantro for adding to the bowls. Arrange the garnishes on a plate and put on the table.

To ensure good timing, bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat as you are assembling the bowls. At

the same time, fill a large pot with water and bring to a rolling boil.

For each bowl, place a portion of the noodles on a vertical-handle strainer (or mesh sieve) and dunk the noodles in the boiling water. As soon as they have collapsed and lost their stiffness (10 to 20 seconds), pull the strainer from the water, letting the water drain back into the pot. Empty the noodles into a bowl.

Top each bowl of noodles with chicken, arranging the slices flat. Place a mound of pickled onion and serranos in the center and then shower some scallion and cilantro on top. Finish with a sprinkle of black pepper.

Raise the heat and bring the broth to a rolling boil. Do a final tasting and make any last-minute flavor adjustments. Ladle about 2 cups of broth into each bowl, distributing the hot liquid evenly to warm all the ingredients. Serve immediately with the garnishes. Use the ginger fish dipping sauce with the pieces of chicken meat.