Vietnamese Chicken Pho (Pho Ga)
Serves: 4
An easy Chicken Pho recipe (Pho Ga), just like my mother's recipe. Make an authentic and delicious Vietnamese Chicken Pho in less than 30 minutes with your Instant Pot or pressure cooker! Instructions for stovetop, Instant Pot and pressure cooker.
Ingredients
For the broth
- 8 shallots, or 2 small onions, peeled and left whole
- 4 cm (1 ½ inch) ginger, unpeeled and sliced in half lengthwise
- 1 ½ kg (3 ½ lb) whole chicken
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 star anise
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons MSG, optional
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce, plus more to taste
To serve
- 200 g (7 oz) flat rice noodles, per person
- onion, thinly sliced in half moons (optional)
- spring onions, (scallions) finely sliced
- coriander, (cilantro) finely chopped
- Thai basil, roughly torn
- bean sprouts
- red chillies, finely chopped
- lemon or lime, cut into wedges
- hoisin sauce
- Sriracha
Instructions
Instructions for Stove Top
- Place the chicken in a large pot.
- Add just enough cold water to barely cover the chicken.
- Bring the pot to the boil and then reduce to medium heat or a gentle simmer.
- Meanwhile, chargrill the shallots (or onions) and ginger in a grill pan on high heat until they are slightly charred. You could also char the vegetables over an open flame if you have a gas stove, or under the grill (broiler) in the oven.
- Add the chargrilled onions and ginger to the pot, as well as the cinnamon stick and star anise.
- Simmer for about 1 to 1.5 hours, or until the chicken is tender and the meat falls away easily from the bones. The cooking time depends on the size of your chicken.
- During this time, regularly skim off any impurities which come to the surface of the stock, and top up with boiling water if the broth has reduced a lot. I try to maintain the same water level from start to finish.
- Once the chicken is tender, remove the chicken to a large bowl, and let it cool a little before shredding the meat.
- Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a clean pot and return to the heat.
- Season the broth with the salt, sugar and fish sauce. Add the MSG, if using.
- Simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
- Taste for seasoning. If the broth is too strong or concentrated, add some boiling water. I generally make the broth quite concentrated at the start because it is easier to dilute the broth than to add flavour to a weak broth.
- Divide the noodles between 4 large bowls with a handful of shredded chicken on top of each.
- Ladle the hot broth into each bowl and serve with the fresh herbs and accompaniments.
Instructions for Instant Pot
- Follow the instructions as for the stove top until Step 5.
- Press the Manual button and cook under high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and let the pressure decrease naturally for 10 to 15 minutes. If the pressure hasn't been completely released after this time, turn the valve at the top to release any remaining pressure.
- Skim off any excess fat.
- Follow Steps 8 to Step 14 as for the stove top.
Instructions for Pressure Cooker
- Follow the instructions as for the stove top until Step 5.
- Make sure that there is enough water to just cover the chicken, but that the liquid not does reach the 2/3 level mark, i.e. the pot should not be more than 2/3 full.
- Cook according to the manufacturer's instructions, but it should take about 15 minutes at high pressure.
- After this time, carefully release the pressure before removing the lid.
- Skim off any excess fat.
- Follow Steps 8 to Step 14 as for the stove top.
Kitchen Notes
- PHO NOODLES
Pho is traditionally served with flat rice noodles. They come in various widths, and the size used depends on personal preference. Thin flat rice noodles are perhaps more common in restaurants, but I personally prefer the wider noodles (about 1 cm width) because they have a softer, silkier texture when cooked. - HOW TO COOK RICE NOODLES
The instructions will vary from brand to brand, but I generally soak my dried rice noodles first in a large bowl of cold water for about 30 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Using a noodle strainer or large slotted spoon, cook one portion of noodles at a time in the boiling water. The timing will vary depending on the type of noodles that you have used, but anywhere between 30 to 60 seconds should be sufficient. The noodles should be soft but still have a bit of bite. Strain the noodles and place them in the serving bowl. The noodles will continue to cook once you pour over the soup broth. - HOW MUCH BROTH PER PERSON
For a generous serving, I like to give each person approximately 600 ml (about 2½ cups or 3 large ladles) of broth. This should give the cook an idea of how many noodles per serving, keeping in mind that the noodles will absorb some of the broth once added, and you want enough broth in the bowl for some slurping action. - MAKE IT WITH MORE VEGETABLES
For a non-traditional, yet a frequent variation of this recipe in my home, I like to add vegetables to the finished broth, such as:
* carrots, thinly sliced
* bok choy or pak choy, sliced if large
* broccoli, cut into small florets
* baby corn, sliced - FOOD STORAGE
All of the components of this dish should be kept separately in the fridge. - OVEN & STOVE TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website have been tested on an induction stove and/or with a conventional oven (i.e. an oven without fan). All recipes on this website use temperatures for a conventional oven, unless otherwise mentioned. Convection ovens (i.e. fan-forced ovens) are typically 20°C/70°F hotter than conventional ovens, but please check your manufacturer’s handbook. - CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.