Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup/PHỞ GÀ

Recently I have been sick for so long, so I thought, when people got sick or their children got sick what  kind of dinner which will easy to eat and you still feel that you are trying some new and authentic cuisine just like your family are out dating, right?

Vietnamese usually comes with a lot of vegetable. This recipe is so easy and so pungent, onion is to kill all the germs and virus, on top of that lime juice is vitamin C, will be the last to put in the bowl.

Since my friends are so hungry with Rice Noodle so much, I decided to made this dish for them. And boy! They cannot stop eating. I heard that the real Vietnamese they serve really big bowl. I mean REALLY BIG BOWL. May be x3 our size! So, if any could eat more than one, do not question yourself! You are fine!

- Daisy

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I hadn't tried Pho until very recently.  I grew up having delicious Thai noodle soups so I never felt the need to expand my noodle soup repertoire until maybe 3 years ago when the bahn mi craze hit NYC.  Suddenly there were Vietnamese restaurants popping up left and right.  And even then I was reluctant to try it.  I mostly stuck to the wonderful bahn mi sandwiches that were so great.  

Then the day came when I felt miserable but it was during midterms so I couldn't sulk off back to my mom's place for her to nurse me back to life like she usually did.  I was living on St. Marks then and was just down the street from Baoguette so I hauled my ass down and got some Pho.  At first I was skeptical of the basil and the abundance of lime.  Thai noodle soups usually didn't contain any basil and although we added lime, it is nothing near the amount most Viets put into their noodle soups.  

But then I tried it.  And it was awesome.  

I will always love my Thai noodle soups but the flavor profile of Pho is definitely out of this world.  The beef broth.  The lime.  The basil.  GLORIOUS.  The Vietnamese sausage that's on the menu at Baoguette is also crazy good with lots of mint.  

I'm a little sad I missed my mom making this, especially knowing how good her regular noodle soups are.  I'm sure this dish was fantastic, especially in light of all of this Hurricane business.  So jealous of my sister right now.

- Darin

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Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

PHỞ GÀ

For 4-5 Servings

For the Noodles and Broth:
3 1/2 Lbs Chicken, preferable Organic
3" Ginger
2 1/2 Tbsp Salt
3 Tbsp Rock Sugar (kinda hard to find if you don't have an Asian Super near you so just substitute equal amounts of sugar)
2 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
2 1/2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Large Yellow Onions, quartered
1 package of Dry Rice Noodle, soak in hot water for at least 20 mins before you're ready to eat.
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup Salt

The Spices:
1 Tbsp Coriander Seeds
1 Tbsp Black Peppercorn
1 Tbsp Cumin Seeds
5 Star Anise
1 Whole Cinnamon Stick
7 Cloves

The Garnishes:
1 Onion, peeled and sliced very thin
1 Lb. Bean Sprouts, 3/4 to be blanched and leave 1/4 raw
4-5 Jalapeño Peppers, seeded and chopped
Lime Wedges
3 -5 Tbsp chopped Green Onion
2-4 Tbsp Cilantro, chopped
2 cups Thai Basil, leaves only
Thai Sriracha Sauce and Hoisin Sauce

1) Rub the chicken with salt and rinse well.

2) Cut out the thick oily yellow skin at the neck of the chicken and the bottom of the chicken (my mom means the butt).

3) Get a big pot of water boiling and boil the chicken for 3 minutes.  Make sure that there is enough water to completely submerge the chicken by an inch.

4) In the same pot, boil another 18-20 cups of water and put the chicken back in along the quartered onion and bring to a simmer (this means low and slow people!). At the same time toast the spices until it fragrant, about 7 minutes.  Add to the pot and continue simmer the broth until everything incorporates, about 45mins to an hour.

5) Take out the chicken and let it cool before slicing into pieces.  If you like some chicken in big pieces, like the drumstick, you may leave them individual.

6) Boil the noodles according to package directions, usually only 2 mins.  This process is much easier if you use a Chinese Colander and boil the noodles in single servings.  Make sure to have soaked the noodles in hot water for at least 20mins before.

7) In another pot, boiled water and add 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and 1/4 cup salt.  Blanch the bean sprouts for 2 minutes, then the sliced onions for 2 minutes.

8) Assemble the dish.  Add in the noodles first and top with the blanched bean sprouts, chicken slices, onion, hoisin sauce and Sriracha sauce, cilantro and green onion, all to your liking.  Then pour in the broth and squeeze a wedge of lime over the entire dish.  Add the Thai basil, some fresh raw bean sprouts and jalapeño pepper.  Enjoy!