Vietnamese Chicken Pho; Daring Cooks October
I was pleasantly surprised and a little fearful when I learned that Jaden of Steamy Kitchen would be the host for this months Daring Cooks assignment. I have been reading Jaden’s blog for quite some time now and totally love it!! She is funny, writes great stories, makes beautiful photographs and well, the recipes are the ones you should try for yourself!!
The October 2009 Daring Cooks’ challenge was brought to us by Jaden of the blog Steamy Kitchen. The recipes are from her new cookbook, The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook.
The fearful therefore was because I feared she would give us a recipe that would be incredibly difficult to make, but I was then – again – pleasantly surprised when I found out that the challenge would be to make Chicken Pho, a classical Vietnamese noodlesoup. I love Vietnamese food in general and I think noodle soups are one of the best inventions around! We went to Vietnam in 2007 and were blown away by the country, the people and the food. There is something about Vietnamese food that makes it so delicious. I’ve never been able to truly recreate the exact taste of the food you can get there, so now having the chance to actually use the correct spices and such, was fantastic.
I made the broth using cubes as I didn’t have time to make ‘real’ chicken broth, but I will for sure have a go at Jaden’s longer version when I am a little less stressed for time. But even with this broth the taste was absolutely amazing! We both totally loved it. The recipe was quite easy to follow and really doesn’t take a lot of time. Sure you have to wait untill the broth is done cooking and all the flavors have gone into the chicken and into the broth, but you can do other things in that time.
This is definitely, definitely a recipe that we will be making again and again. Tom especially liked the fact that he could basically add the things he wanted at the table and having all those little bowls filled with fresh greens on the table made it look very… well, very asian I guess… 
Vietnamese chicken pho
Yield: 4
Ingredients:
For the Chicken Pho Broth;
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce
1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)
For the Accompaniments;
2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice
Directions:
- To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.
- In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.
- Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.
- Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
- Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.
- Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.
- Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.
Recipe from Steamy Kitchen
Now on to the wonton wrappers…
I had only ever made dumplings once for a Daring Cooks challenge, way back in June but that involved making our own wrappers, so I was happy that for the dessert wrappers we could use storebought wonton wrappers.
So I went to the local toko to see if they had wonton wrappers and upon my question the girl behind the counter says ; no, we don’t sell those… I ask her if she knows where I would be able to find them and she tells me she doesn’t know… to then proceed to tell me that she does have wonton ‘sheets’… which are – in fact – the wrappers I was looking for… Now where did that go wrong in the translation… ?
It was funnier when it happened, haha…
Making these was really easy. I opted to go for a sort of little pouch rather then the shape that Jaden had made. The reason for that being that I wasn’t so good in getting rid of the air inside the wonton’s with fabulous effects once you put them in the oil. They puffed up to enormous heights! So far that I was afraid they would pop open! I liked the shape of these little ones much better and they tasted fabulous too.
The only thing I found was that you have to eat them straight away. An hour after baking they become a bit too chewy, while fresh they are wonderfully crunchy. I could have been a little bit more creative with the filling, but due to time constraints wanted to stick to the chocolate suggestion from Jaden.
This is so easy to make however that I am sure I will be making those again in the future!
All in all a very successful Daring Cooks, with two fabulous recipes that are both going to be repeated and repeated and repeated!
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
Gorgeous photographs! I’m a bit sad cause my result from making the long version of pho ga, was only “meh”. Very disappointing! You and all the other Daring Cooks who’s had successes with this challenge has encouraged me to give it another try.
And I just have to say, I love the look of your wontons – absolutely mouthwatering!
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Your pho looks wonderful!
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yum yum… so perfect for the rainy weather here…
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This is just what I need right now that I have a cold. AAAH! This is torture :-p Great job my friend
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Your Pho looks fabulous and that wonton dessert is so irresistible! Great shots too!
Cheers,
Rosa
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Wonderful photos especially that one with all the little bowls, it sure sounds like you enjoyed it even using stock cubes, do try the long version it is even better. Bravo on a smashing result and the wontons with this are so good and your ones looks smashing. Cheers from Audax in Australia.
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Your photos are incredible: I know…I sond like a broken record
I was very happy to see how easy this recipe was too, but SO good!
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Mmmmm! Nice job! It’s so hard reading everyone’s pho posts today as it is rainy here and I ate all my pho already. I must go home and make more. Your wontons looks beautiful!
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Jaden is such a talented lady and so are you!!! I am going to try those wonton wrappers….yum!!!
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I love your pictures, they make me want to come eat pho at your house
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Love your pics from Vietnam. Everything looks delicious!
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Beautiful pictures! Your pho and wontons look so mouthwatering!
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Well done on the Challenge Simone – you make the soup look fantastic. I can almost taste it from here! And I share your pain about things getting lost in translation – it happens to me all the time too!
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Great job with this. Love all those photos too. You are much more daring than I am and very worthy of being part of the Daring Kitchen!
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The pho looks really awesome! Isn’t it a real neat idea to have the fresh ingredients & customize to every one’s choice? I think all food should be like this:-) I have fallen in love with your dessert.
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This looks fabulous, Simone! Great photos, as always. And I love the wontons!
BTW — we used the longer version of the pho recipe athttp://steamykitchen.com/139-vietnamese-chicken-noodle-soup-pho-ga.html (as recommended) — and that’s the recipe that doesn’t mention toasting the spices. Should have just done it anyhow, as I think it makes all the difference.
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Wonderful pictures. Lovely presentation.
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Your pho looks spectacular, pristine and appetizing. How wonderful that you actually got to visit Vietnam, I have been dying to go but haven’t gotten a chance to yet. I like the wontons in little purse shapes and even if chocolate isn’t more creative that doesn’t mean it’s any less tasty. It looks like you had quite a meal.
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Great-looking pho! I’m realizing it’s been a while since I last had pho, and I’m going to be craving now!
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wow, looks lovely. I had test tasters on hand to help me out. Basically i followed the recipe, went by smell and then put the stock on the table for them to dish…then i hoped for the best and was happy i had leftovers fom the night before lol
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Gorgeous Pho and lovely pics
) Love the one with the Asian woman..
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I’m glad you got to recreate an old favourite =D. Everything looks flawless!
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Oh my goodness, I’d never be able to tell from the photos that you didn’t make the long version. Everything looks just gorgeous!
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Great job with the pho and the wontons! Lovely photos and it all looks super delicious…
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Great job! Your pho ga and your chocolate wontons look lovely!
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Vietnamese food always incorporate the freshest ingredients-healthy food indeed!
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Your photos so beautiful! I especially really enjoyed your pictures from Vietnam. Thanks for sharing.
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Your pho, wontons and food photography all are stunning. I look forward to looking at the rest of your blog. Thank you for checking out my first Daring Cooks post!
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oh my goodness…Your photos are amazing!!!! thank you for trying the recipe! xo jaden
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Well done Simone! The pho looks very delicious and authentic! I love the wonton wrappers too with chocolate!
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Fell in love with your photos. Colorful and outstanding. Great job!
Regards
Kris
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Love your pics and style! I really enjoyed this challenge, too. Your extras really give your post a punch!
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You put out a beautiful spread of food. I just love how Vietnamese food looks when served. It always seems so complex in flavor yet also so fresh in appearance.
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Your pho AND dumplings came out so beeeeauuutiful!! Nice work!
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Sometimes one has to cut corners! I have found some “home made” stocks at the supermarket that I use when there is no time for the real thing. Theya re not the same, but are better than a cube. I have to try the pho now that the weather is getting cold.
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I so love your lovely pictures!!! Your Pho looks fab & so tasty!!!
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Stunning photos, as usual!
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Your shots are amazing! I so wish i will be able to travel just like what you’ve been doing. I’ve read your recent travel altho’ i must admit i was just lurking around your blog=;). Vietnam is one of my must visit, hopefully soon. I enjoyed reading your blog esp. the lost in translation that was funny=;)
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Simone (junglefrog) — October 15th, 2009 at 22:26
If you get the chance; Vietnam is really worth visiting… Lovely people and beautiful country!
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I succeeded in exploding my wontons *L* That’s funny about the “sheets”… it really does make you wonder!
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Terrific job, Simone! I wish I could visit Vietnam someday…
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Your photos are wonderful! Great job on the pho.
How wonderful to have visited Vietnam.
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great photos!! I can tell your trip to vietnam must’ve been awesome just by the few pictures you posted up. Cheers!
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Simone, onec again..your photos completely capture the essence and beauty of this soup, and yours turned out stunning – love the mise en place photo! LOL@ wonton sheets..been there at many Asian markets in the area. Love the shape of your wontons too. When are you coming to NY to teach me how to take photos like yours?
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Pho is one of favourite soups…I go out for a bowl at least weekly! Fab pics Simone.
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Your Pho looks yum!! I like to eat it. Simone, thank you for your share!!
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