real life test kitchen: mom's pho ga
Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup
I moved away from home five years ago. At the time, I was glad to do so. No more Vietnamese food. All the pizza and hamburgers I wanted. However, I was sorely disappointed two years later, when my parents moved across the country. I ended up missing Vietnamese food. The lightly sauteed water spinach with thinly sliced beef, rice-based sweets and tropical fruits. My mother, a chef, always labored over dinner and it was always deceptively complex. Or so I thought.
Now I live in an area of California, sadly, that does not have a Vietnamese restaurant. So, I’ve honed my Vietnamese cooking and it is actually pretty simple. It’s a little piece of home when I can’t make the trek to my parents house. I often have to substitute ingredients, because the Asian store near here is woefully inadequate.
This weekend, I used some chicken bones I had to make some pho ga, or chicken noodle soup, Vietnamese-style. It takes a long, long time to get the broth just right, but you can always cheat and use chicken bouillon with some spices. The recipe is on the next page. Forgive my lack of exact amounts. I truly am a chef’s daughter. — P. Kim Bui
Kim Bui, who lives on the Central Coast of California, runs All That and A when she’s not trying to be an interior designer, chef or prize-winning journalist.
Chicken stock
Chinese five spice (anise star, cloves, pepper, fennel and cinnamon)
Fish sauce
Rice noodles
chicken (I used vegetarian chicken, as all my chicken went toward some chicken salad)
Bean Sprouts
Cilantro, mint (optional)
Lime (optional)
If using chicken stock, simmer over low heat for 5-plus hours, adding roughly 3 tbsp fish sauce (I add more) with roughly 1/2 tbsp Chinese five spice. My mother also adds some MSG, but people are picky about that these days.
If using pre-made chicken stock, simmer stock for roughly 30 minutes.
To prepare rice noodles, boil quickly, and run over cold water to prevent sticking. Divide noodles into bowls and pour broth over them. Add shredded chicken, bean sprouts, and other toppings to taste.
Another piece of home, condensed milk with water, is pictured.
[...] This week, I posted a recipe of my Mom’s pho ga, a vietnamese noodle soup. Yum. It was the first time I made it from scratch, and it came out reasonably well. Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
My favorite food in the world! Never made it though, but I’m gonna now!
I love how recipes are posted on Shelteriffic. I just wanted to make a suggestion for the chicken pho. I’ve started using a pressure cooker to make chicken stock and it’s a big time and energy saver. I just throw a whole chicken and some water into the pot, boil it for about 20 minutes, remove the meat, remove the pot lid and simmer with spices and fish sauce for a few more minutes.
You can call it environmentally friendly pho.
thanks!