Vietnamese Chicken Pho (Pho Ga)
A fragrant Vietnamese chicken noodle soup simmered with charred ginger, onion, and warm spices, topped with herbs and lime.
Pho ga is the gentler cousin of the more famous beef pho, built on a lighter broth that still gets real depth from charred onion and ginger, star anise, and cinnamon simmered slowly with the chicken itself. It's the kind of soup that tastes like it took all day, even though most of that time is hands-off simmering.
Poaching a whole chicken breast in the broth keeps the meat lean and tender, and shredding it back into the bowl means you're getting real protein rather than a token garnish. Rice noodles make this naturally gluten-free, and the pile of fresh herbs, bean sprouts, and lime you add at the table lets everyone adjust the dish to taste.
This is comfort food in the truest sense: warm, restorative, and easy to eat slowly. Leftover broth keeps well and only gets better after a day in the fridge.
Ingredients
For the broth
- 1.5 lb bone-in chicken breast or thighs
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 yellow onion — halved and charred
- 3 inches fresh ginger — halved and charred
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
For serving
- 8 oz dried rice noodles
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1 cup Thai basil and cilantro leaves
- 1 lime — cut into wedges
- 2 scallions — thinly sliced
These ingredients are common at South Asian grocers; a well-stocked international supermarket usually carries them too.
Instructions
- 1Char the onion and ginger halves under the broiler or over a gas flame until blackened in spots, then rinse off the loose char.
- 2Combine the chicken, broth, charred onion and ginger, star anise, and cinnamon in a pot. Bring to a simmer and cook 25-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- 3Remove the chicken, shred the meat, and strain the broth, discarding the solids. Stir the fish sauce into the broth and season to taste.
- 4Cook the rice noodles according to package directions and divide among bowls.
- 5Top the noodles with shredded chicken, ladle the hot broth over, and serve with bean sprouts, herbs, scallions, and lime wedges on the side.