Easy Weekday Chicken Pho

My family is crazy for pho.

It’s raining outside…pho.

It’s snowing outside…pho.

I feel a little cold coming on…pho.

I don’t know what I’m in the mood for…pho.

You get the picture.

Unless it’s scorching hot out, the one food we can all almost always agree on is pho. And while we enjoy trying different versions of pho around town, sometimes it’s a weeknight, there’s homework to get done, laundry to fold, a doggie to be walked…that’s when I turn to my Easy Weekday Chicken Pho recipe.

I sometimes post little sneak peeks of whatever’s cooking in my kitchen on my Instagram feed and I know both of my daughters were checking their social media accounts during school yesterday because when I picked them up from school they both asked, “Are you making pho?” (Here’s the photo I posted)

My response yielded a resounding, “YES!” (In my head I was giving myself fist bumps and high fives, while secretly judging them for being distracted by their phones at school. But I bit my tongue and refrained from expressing my disapproval of their classroom phone use. It’s not often I have unanimous agreement about dinner with my kids. Instead, I patted myself on the back. “She shoots. She scores!!!”) I’m just going to assume they both checked their Instagram AFTER school or between classes. Of course they did!

Making pho at home doesn’t require a lot of hands on work, you just need to make sure you have the right ingredients handy (as with any recipe). Be sure to plan a visit to the market before launching into making Easy Weekday Chicken Pho. Here in Salt Lake, we’re fortunate to have several well stocked Asian food markets. While you can find pretty much all the ingredients in my chicken pho recipe at any grocery store, I find that some items are actually better priced at my local Asian market, like star anise, cinnamon, rice noodles and all of the produce I’ve listed in the recipe, including the herbs. The only ingredient I go out of my way to find is good, organic chicken.

One of the best reasons to make pho at home is that you get to add your favorite veggies. For me baby bok choy is essential to a perfect pho, but that is strictly personal preference. If you can’t find baby bok choy or you prefer different options, some good alternatives are Chinese cabbage, broccoli and carrots (or whatever sounds good to you). Just be sure to add your veggies at the very end so they retain their color and crispness.

You’ll begin making your pho by preparing the stock. In a large stock pot, place your onions, carrots, celery, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, cloves and peppercorns. The longer it simmers, the more flavorful your stock will be, but you will also lose the amount of stock in your pot the more it cooks (evaporation and such), so you’ll want to add a bit more broth or water at the beginning if you plan to cook it longer – use your judgement here.

About 20 minutes before your stock is done cooking, begin boiling some water for your rice noodles. Cooking the rice noodles separately is an essential, necessary step. Don’t worry it’s just one more pot to wash, and your stock will remain clear and free of added starch, while the noodles will retain their firm consistency, rather than becoming soggy. Trust me, I’ve tried cooking the noodles in the stock and I was disappointed with the results. Follow the directions for cooking the rice noodles per package directions, drain, rinse with cold water and set aside in a colander.

Meanwhile, once your stock has simmered for about 45 minutes, remove the chicken to a cutting board or shallow dish and use two forks to shred the meat. Remove all of the vegetables and aromatics from the stock and strain it until it’s clear. Place the shredded chicken back into the strained stock and continue to simmer while adding the bok choy or whatever vegetable(s) you are using. For bok choy, you’ll only need to simmer the broth a minute or two to slightly wilt the leaves. Other vegetables, like carrots and broccoli, will require a little more time to reach the achieve the perfect texture (crisp, but not raw).

To serve, place desired amount of noodles into a good size bowl, ladle the pho over the noodles, and top with garnishes, including basil, cilantro, sliced jalapeños, sliced scallions, lime juice, siracha and hoisin sauce.

This recipe can easily be adapted to a vegan version by substituting the chicken broth with vegetable broth, and replacing the chicken with tofu (added at the end) or simply increasing the amount and variety of vegetables.

Here’s to Easy Weekday Chicken Pho straight from your own kitchen. Enjoy this one, friends!

Print Recipe

Easy Weekday Chicken Pho

The key to delicious and easy chicken pho is in cooking the stock with flavorful aromatics including cinnamon stick, ginger, star anise, cloves and peppercorns. While the hands-on portion of this soup is minimal, the stock needs to simmer for about 45 minutes to obtain a rich, aromatic flavor. Take the time to shop for fresh ingredients and you will be rewarded with restaurant-worthy flavor. This recipe can be adapted with vegetable broth, tofu and/or a variety of vegetables for a vegan version.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time45 mins

Course: Entrees, Soup

Servings: 4

Author: Jackelin

Ingredients

• 12-14 cups chicken stock I use Better Than Bouillon; replace with vegetable stock for vegan version
• 1 large cinnamon stick
• 4 star anise
• dozen or so peppercorns
• 4 cloves optional
• 4 slices about 1/8 inch thick of ginger, peeled
• 2 2 small or one large onion peeled and sliced in half
• 2 stalks celery
• 2 carrots peeled
• 2 skinless chicken breasts or tofu for vegetarian version
• 2 cups loosely packed bok choy leaves or vegetable(s of choice, ie. Chinese cabbage, broccoli, carrots)
• About 8 ounces of rice noodles thin or thick - your choice
• Garnishes: cilantro leaves Thai basil leaves, sliced scallions, sliced jalapeños, lime wedges, Siracha sauce, hoisin sauce

Instructions

• Begin by preparing the stock. In a large stock pot, place onions, carrots, celery, cinnamon, ginger, star anise, peppercorns, chicken and chicken broth and bring it all to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer, cover and let it cook gently for about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on how much time you have (the longer it simmers, the more flavorful your stock will be, but you will also reduce the amount of stock in your pot  through evaporation). If cooking longer, you may want to begin with a couple of cups of extra stock or plain water.
• About 20 minutes before your stock is done cooking, begin boiling some water in a separate pot for your rice noodles. Cooking the rice noodles separately is an essential, necessary step. Don't worry it's just one more pot to wash, and your stock will remain clear and free of added starch, while the noodles will retain their firm consistency, rather than becoming soggy. Follow the package directions for cooking the rice noodles, drain, rinse with cold water and set aside in a colander.
• Meanwhile, once your stock has simmered for about 45 minutes, remove the chicken to a cutting board or shallow dish and use two forks to shred the meat. Remove all of the vegetables and aromatics from the stock and strain it until it's clear (discard the vegetables). Place the shredded chicken back into the stock and continue to simmer while adding the bok choy or whatever vegetable(s) you are using. For bok choy, you'll only need to simmer the broth a minute or two longer to slightly wilt the leaves. Other vegetables, like carrots and broccoli, will require a little more time to reach the right consistency (crisp, but not raw).
• To serve, place desired amount of noodles into a good size bowl, ladle the pho over the noodles, and top with garnishes, including basil, cilantro, sliced jalapeños, sliced scallions, lime juice, siracha and hoisin sauce.
• Enjoy!