Vietnamese Chicken Pho Noodle Soup (Pho Ga)
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Chicken Pho, or Pho Ga, is the younger sibling of the well-known Beef Pho.
Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup that everybody knows and loves.
There are two main kinds — beef pho and chicken pho, with chicken pho being simpler to make.
Chicken Pho consists of chicken, flat rice noodles, and an aromatic broth. Often served with a platter of fresh vegetables, herbs and lime wedges, chicken pho, like other noodle soups, can be customized to your liking at the table.
What You Will Need
To make Chicken Pho, gather the following ingredients:
Chicken — For this recipe, I’m using a whole non-free-range chicken.
To make a truly authentic and flavorful Chicken Pho, traditionally, free-range chicken is used. The meat of free-range chicken is chewier, just how the Vietnamese like it. However, it is also more expensive. It’s currently running for about $16 for a free-range chicken at my local Asian store that is half the size of a regular chicken. So…keep that in mind.
You can also use a combination of chicken parts. Dark meat with bone-in and skin-on provides the best flavor for the broth.
Flat rice noodles — You can get them dry in the dry goods aisle or fresh in the refrigerator section. They are easy to find as they are often labeled as Pho noodles. Above is my favorite brand that you can typically find in the refrigerated aisle.
Aromatics — Ginger, yellow onions, green onions and cilantro. These will help make the pho broth smell amazing.
Spices — The spices in Chicken Pho are fewer than the beef version. I’m only using dried coriander seeds here. Coriander is just another word for cilantro. If you have Chinese cinnamon (also known as Cinnamomum Cassia), throw in a stick as well, but it’s not required.
Seasonings — To get that authentic flavor, I will be flavoring the broth with sea salt, fish sauce, rock sugar, chicken bouillon powder, and MSG.
The last two are optional, but highly recommended. If you opt to not use them, simply add more salt and/or fish sauce to taste.
Garnishes — Yellow onions, green onions, and cilantro. Thinly slice and place them on top of the bowl for a beautiful finish.
Optional accompaniments — Vietnamese coriander (rau ram), shredded cabbage, Thai basil, fried shallots, ground black pepper, chili or jalapeno peppers, lime wedges, hoisin sauce, and sriracha chili sauce.
How to Make Phở Gà
Step 1. Roast the aromatics
In a small toaster oven, add ginger and shallots on a baking tray and roast at 400°F for 15 minutes. Lightly dry toast the coriander seeds and cinnamon stick at the bottom of the stock pot that we will be using to make the broth (about 20 seconds).
Step 2. Make the broth
To the pot with the toasted spices, add chicken, roasted ginger, roasted yellow onions, green onions, cilantro, and water.
Bring the pot to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer, uncovered, for one hour.
Remove the chicken. One cool enough to handle, hand shred the meat and set aside.
Remove all solids with a fine mesh strainer until nothing remains but a clean and clear broth.
Season the stock to taste.
Step 3. Prep all the other Ingredients
Prepare the garnishes and other vegetables, if using. Cook the rice noodles per packaged instructions.
Step 4. Assemble the bowl
Add rice noodles to a bowl and shredded chicken. Ladle in hot broth. Garnish with your choice of toppings for a beautiful finish. Serve with your choice of vegetables, herbs, lime wedges and sauces.
Tips for Success
Use a big pot. You will a pot big enough fit the whole chicken and all the extras without overflowing. A 6-quart stockpot for this recipe will do. If you have a smaller pot, it’s ok too. Just don’t put all the water in once. Make the stock with the reduced water and once the chicken has shrunken and some liquid has evaporated, add the rest of the water.
A gentle simmer while making the broth keeps it clear. In Vietnamese cuisine, a clear broth is a happy broth.
Make the broth on the salty side. Once broth hits plain rice noodles, it will be diluted. If you add other vegetable toppings such as bean sprouts and shredded cabbage, which have a high water content, it will further dilute your broth. It’s best to over season the stock and make a salty broth. The final product will then be perfect.
Prepare rice noodles right before serving. These are the type of noodles that you DO NOT want to prepare in advance. These pho rice noodles are extremely delicate. They will break into short segments if overcooked or left to long in hot broth.
How to Eat Chicken Pho
There's no right or wrong way to eat pho. The beauty lies in personalizing the experience to your liking but here is my suggested approach on how to eat pho:
First, take a sip of the broth to appreciate its purest form. No adjustments.
Customize the taste if needed. Feel free to squeeze in a bit of lime juice for acidity, a squirt of hoisin for a savory sweetness and sriracha for a spicy kick. Many young kids, including mine, skip this step entirely, which is a sign of good broth.
If you enjoy the vegetables provided, add them to the bowl. If you don’t like them, leave them out. I like to add a handful of bean sprouts, a ton of basil leaves, and chili/jalapeno peppers.
Prepare a small plate with hoisin and sriracha chili sauce or a lime and pepper sauce on the side to dip the chicken meat.
For me, it’s a three-step eating process. First, use chopsticks to grab noodles with all the herbs and vegetables and enjoy that first bite. Dip chicken pieces in your preferred sauce for the second bite. Finally, follow with a sip of broth. Repeat until done.
Still too Complicated? Try This Quick Version!
Skip the raw whole chicken and use store-bought rotisserie chicken. This is where Costco $4.99 rotisserie chicken shine.
Hand shred the meat and set it aside as toppings.
Use the liquid and bones for the broth and simmer on low for 20 minutes, season to taste and follow the recipe as usual.
Related Recipes
If you enjoy this, you might also enjoy…
Vietnamese Chicken Soup with Glass Noodles (Mien Ga)
30-Minute Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe (Instant Pot Pho Ga)
Vietnamese Chicken Porridge (Chao Ga)
Vietnamese Chicken and Bamboo Noodle Soup (Bun Mang Ga)
Hanoi Noodle Soup with Ham, Chicken and Shrimp (Bun Thang)
Vietnamese Chicken Pho Noodle Soup (Pho Ga)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Roast whole ginger and yellow onions in the oven at 400°F for 15 minutes. Set aside the onions. Slice the ginger into thick coins. Dry toast the coriander seeds and cinnamon stick (if using) at the bottom of a large stock pot until fragrant (about 20 seconds) .
- To the stock pot with toasted coriander, add chicken, ginger, yellow onions, green onions, cilantro, and water. Bring the pot to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer. Cook, uncovered, for one hour.
- Remove the chicken. One cool enough to handle, hand shred the meat and set aside. Remove all solids with a fine mesh strainer until nothing remains but a clean and clear broth. Season the stock to taste.
- Prepare the garnishes and other vegetables, if using. Cook the rice noodles per packaged instructions.
- Add rice noodles to a bowl and shredded chicken. Ladle in hot broth. Garnish with your choice of toppings for a beautiful finish. Serve with your choice of vegetables, herbs, lime wedges and sauces.
