Pho Gá

Simply put, Pho is the shit. If like me you enjoy noodles, meat and hot soups/broths, then there is no reason for you to not have at least tried Pho once in your life.
This Pho with chicken is amazing, and will have you going back for more and possibly wanting to whip this up once a week. Although I haven't placed it in the menu, you can always spice this up with some chilli flakes, which I do all the time.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

• 1.35kg whole chicken
• 6 whole spring onions
• 1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 bunch coriander, chopped
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, crushed
• 1 tbsp sea salt
• Crispy fried shallots
• 3-4 litres chicken stock
• Fish sauce, for seasoning
• 450g packet of dried rice vermicelli, cooked as packet instructs

Garnishes

• Thai basil sprigs
• Bean sprouts
• Limes, cut into wedges
• Jalapeño chillies, stemmed and thinly sliced into rings

Method

1. Bring a large pan of water to the boil over a high heat. Add the chicken, spring onions, ginger, and salt, and boil for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover the pan and let stand for 15 minutes. If chicken is larger then let it stand for 10 minutes longer.
2. Just before the chicken is ready, prepare a large ice-water bath. As soon as the chicken is done, remove it from the pan (discarding the cooking liquid) and immediately submerge in the ice bath. Keep it there for about 20 minutes, until the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove from the water and pat dry. Pull the meat from the bones, discarding bones and skin. Shred using your fingers and you should have about 900g of meat.
3. In a large saucepan, bring the stock to the boil over a high heat.Taste for seasoning and add fish sauce, if needed.
4. Prepare the garnishes on a platter and place on table.
5. Divide the rice noodles evenly among warmed soup bowls. Top each serving with the shredded chicken, then divide the sliced spring onions and coriander evenly between the bowls. Ladle the hot stock over the top and springle with fried shallots. Serve immediately, accompanied by the garnishes.
6. Eat!