I will never forgive myself for waiting this long to make pho. For TOO LONG I've been too intimidated to make it, because of how complicated the process is, and how long it takes. While that may be true for beef pho (which is truly a very involved process involving many hours and different cuts of bones and meat in order to make a rich stock), chicken pho can be prepared in about 3 hours. And yes, that is a relatively "short" process. The good news is that most of the time is spent passively waiting in agonizing suspense while yummy smells fill your house with the promise of hot soupy saltiness. Or, you could alternatively spend 3 hours hovering over a simmering stockpot. Not that that's what I do or anything...
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| Pho ga with lime wedge, thai basil, jalapeno, cilantro, sliced onions, and scallions |
Key things to this recipe
-you need a ginormous stockpot. The one we used was about 3 gallons.
-you need a free range chicken. Allegedly. I've only made this recipe once so I can't truly say I've done taste comparisons, but every recipe and native Vietnamese cook swears by this step. Unfortunately, a free range bird will be about 2-3 times more expensive, but since this pot will make at LEAST 10 bowls of pho, it breaks down to less than $1 per bowl
-you need spices that you might not already have in your pantry (clockwise from top left, coriander & fennel, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod (?), star anise, cloves)
-you need garnishes. Maybe not all of them, but at the bare minimum, you'll need sliced onions, lime, cilantro, +/- thai basil and scallions. If you like it spicy, sriracha or sliced jalapenos is indispensable, and if you like some sweetness, you should have some hoison on hand, also :)
-like pad thai, you need to soak the noodles for at least 30 minutes or so in cold water before serving. Otherwise you will be hungry and have no one to blame but yourself for not following directions.
Recipe (and pics to drool over!) after the jump.
