Pho (Vietnamese Chicken Soup)

This recipe has a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps, but none of them are difficult. Printable Recipe

Ingredients for soup base:

• 1 medium hand ginger, sliced in half along its length to expose the flesh

• 4 whole shallots

• 3 quarts chicken stock

• 4-5 pounds bone-in chicken thighs, skins removed (about 9 thighs) See note.

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Procedure for soup base:

1. Arrange an oven rack 4 inches from broiler and preheat broiler on high.

2. Place the ginger and shallots on a foil lined baking sheet and broil both sides until lightly charred.

3. Combine the ginger and shallots with the remaining ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Cover the pot, turn off the heat, and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes.

4. Remove the thighs from the broth and allow to cool. Discard the shallots and ginger. See note.

5. Debone and roughly chop the chicken, then return it to the broth.

Ingredients for soup:

• Soup base

• ½ cup dried wood ear mushrooms (1 ounce)

• 1 red onion, thinly sliced

• 2 cans bean sprouts, drained

• 6 ounces rice noodles

• 3 cups baby bok choy, thinly sliced

• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and membranes removed, thinly sliced

• 1 ½ cups fresh cilantro leaves

• 1 bunch green onions, bias sliced (about 7)

• 2 limes, quartered

• Fish sauce, for drizzling

• Soy sauce, for drizzling

• Toasted sesame oil, for drizzling

• Sriracha, for drizzling

Procedure for soup:

1. Heat the pho base to a gentle simmer.

2. Put the mushrooms in a medium heatproof bowl and ladle in enough broth to cover the mushrooms. Allow to rehydrate for 10 minutes.

3. Place the onion slices in a strainer and then, while holding it above the pot, ladle the hot broth over them until they become slightly translucent and softened. Transfer to a bowl.

4. Place the noodles in a medium bowl and add enough hot tap water to cover. Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes to soften. Drain and return to bowl.

5. Use scissors to snip off and discard the tough portions from the mushrooms, then cut the rest into strips. Add the mushrooms and soaking broth to the soup.

6. Add the bok choy to the soup and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

7. Arrange the remaining ingredients into a serving station. Put a handful of noodles and a few tablespoons of bean sprouts in each serving bowl and ladle soup over them. Sprinkle and drizzle on the desired combination of toppings and serve.

Notes:

1. We recommend reserving the chicken skins for another use, such as making chicken chips or schmaltz.

2. If you taste the cooked shallots and they still have some flavor left to give, you can roughly chop them and add them to the soup base.