VIETNAMESE CHICKEN PHO

This broth is one of the most famous of all soups to come out of Vietnam.  To make a soup like this you have to take time to make a deep, flavoursome stock.  You also need fresh, fragrant herbs, tender noodles and to finish always fresh lime.

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 chicken, (free range)

20 g of ginger, unpeeled

2 onions

5 star anise

1 tsp coriander seeds

150g daikon radish,

3 Tbsp of fish sauce

50g of palm sugar

1 tsp salt

Garnish

200g rice noodles

10ml hoisin sauce

10ml sriracha

1/2 bunch of Thai basil

1/2 bunch of coriander

500g of bean sprouts

6 spring onions, finely sliced, sit in ice cold water to keep crisp

2 red chillies, finely sliced (seeds removed if like)

2 limes, quartered

6 Tbsp of crispy shallots

Method

Begin by making the broth.  You will notice a few techniques for this stock which will make your pho even more authentic.

Blacken the ginger and onion over an open flame if possible.  Don’t be alarmed by this technique as it is commonly used to infuse a wonderful smokiness to your ingredients. Blacken the ingredients for around 5 minutes or until the juices run from the onion and the ginger is black all over.  Rinse under cold water to remove the blackened outside layer.

In a dry fry pan, gently roast the spices over medium heat for around 2 minutes or until fragrant. Remove and wrap up in small piece of cloth and tie with string.

In a large pot add 3 litres of water to the boi and add the whole chicken, the blackened ginger and onion, the bag of spices and the piece of daikon. Bring to the boil then reduce to a gentle simmer for 1 hour.

Once the hour has passed, remove all the ingredients from the pan and carefully skim away the foam and impurities from the surface of the broth.

Remove the chicken from the stock and set to one side.

Add the fish sauce, salt and sugar to the broth and leave to simmer for a further 30 minutes

Soak the rice noodles in lukewarm water for 20 minutes, then drain and place in a pan of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain well and leave to cool

Take a handful of noodles and place into a bowl, adding a small handful of bean sprouts. Slice the chicken and place on top. Now pour the broth into the bowl, leaving a small amount of room for the herbs.

Pour over the hot stock and sprinkle over some spring onions.

Serve with fresh lime, hoisin sauce and of course sriracha chilli.