In this Vietnamese Chicken Pho (Pho Ga) recipe, you’ll learn how to make a home-cooked, authentic Vietnamese chicken noodle soup.
- Learn how to clean your chicken properly before making the Chicken Pho broth
- Learn how to prevent dried, tough chicken meat
- This soup is lighter, easier to cook than its more well-known cousin, Vietnamese Beef Pho.
- You can make Chicken Pho in the slow cooker too!
How to clean chicken for Chicken Pho
The quality of the chicken directly affects how your broth tastes. Look for organic, free-range birds. It’s worth the extra few dollars.
To make the best tasting Chicken Pho, you must clean your chicken properly. The skin of raw chicken is full of extra guck, minuscule feathers, dirt, peeling skin and even powdery bone fragment. I know, it’s not appealing to write about or even read, but it’s the reality of raw poultry. All the stuff you don’t clean off your chicken, goes right into your precious Pho Ga broth.
Exfoliate the chicken!
To clean the chicken, I exfoliate the skin with kosher salt. Kosher salt is large and grainy enough to give the chicken a good rubdown. Just take a handful of salt:
And rub all over the chicken.
Rinse, and pat the chicken dry.
Much better, right?
This extra step that only takes 2 minutes, ensures a clean chicken for a clean broth.
Parboiling chicken also ensures a clean, clear Chicken Pho broth
Before actually making the pho ga broth, you’ll want to vigorously boil the chicken parts. Bring a potful of water to a boil. While the water is boiling, carve your chicken into parts: drumsticks, thighs, breasts, wings and the body.
When the water comes to a hard, rolling boil, add the chicken parts. Return the pot to a rolling boil and keep the heat on high. Let boil vigorously for 5 minutes. You’ll see grayish and white scum rise to the top of the pot. Keep watch on pot to make sure it doesn’t boil over! This vigorous, hard boil cleans the chicken even further. That scum is not good eating!
After 5 minutes, drain the pot into a large colander to catch the chicken. Rinse the chicken with cold water. Quickly wash the pot, scrub the sides to get rid of any scum. Add the chicken back into the pot, and refill pot with clean water.
Now, you can make your Chicken Pho broth! Those two extra steps for cleaning chicken is not absolutely necessary, but it will give you the cleanest, best tasting Chicken Pho soup you’ll ever have.
Secret to juicy, succulent chicken meat for eating
In this recipe, an entire chicken is used for making soup, and for slicing to serve with the Chicken Pho. The chicken is simmered for about 2 hours to make the broth. After 2 hours of cooking, the meat is dry, rubbery and tasteless.
Instead, we will remove the chicken breasts (or thighs if you prefer dark meat), about 20 minutes into cooking, so that they’ll stay succulent and juicy for your bowl.
Vietnamese Chicken Pho Recipe (Pho Ga)
Ingredients
For the Chicken Pho Broth
- 1 unpeeled onion halved
- 4 inch piece unpeeled fresh ginger sliced into 1/4" slices
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 3 1/2 pounds whole chicken organic preferred
- 2 pounds chicken wing tips, bones or chicken feet
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar or 1" chunk of rock sugar
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 tablespoons whole coriander
For the Chicken Pho Bowls
- 1 1/2 pounds dried rice noodles
- 1/2 onion very thinly sliced (shaved)
- 2 stalks green onion chopped
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, leafy tops only
For the Table
- 1 pound bean sprouts
- 1-2 jalapeño chiles sliced
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- 1 bunch fresh Thai basil
- Asian sriracha chile sauce optional
- Hoisin sauce optional
Instructions
Make the Chicken Pho Broth
- Place oven rack on upper 1/3 position. Turn oven on to broil (low). Place ginger slices and roast for 10 minutes, until softened and browned.
- Fill a 12-quart, or larger, pot halfway with water. Bring to a boil. In the meantime, use the kosher salt to exfoliate the chicken, rubbing the salt all over the chicken to clean the skin. Rinse all of the salt off. Cut chicken into thighs, drumsticks, breasts, wings.
- When water is boiling, add the chicken pieces, including the 1 pound of wing tips/bones. Return water to hard boil and keep heat on high. Boil vigorously for 5 minutes. Drain water into sink, using a large colander to catch the chicken parts. Rinse each piece of chicken with cool water. Wash pot, scrubbing away any scum. Return chicken to pot, add in the roasted ginger and onion, add the coriander and cloves, and refill pot with clean water (about 6 quarts).
- Bring water to boil over high heat, then turn the heat to low to keep a steady simmer. Use a skimmer to remove any scum that arises to the surface. Simmer for 20 minutes, then remove the chicken breasts and thighs, and let cool for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin. Remove the meat from the bone. Slice the meat and reserve for the bowls. Return the bones to the simmering broth.
- Continue to simmer broth for an additional 1 1/2 hours. While the broth is cooking, it's a good time to prepare the noodles, and also the herbs for the table so you have everything ready.
- When broth is done, use tongs or spider to remove the chicken parts, onion, ginger and spices to discard. Strain the Chicken Pho broth in a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Return broth to the pot. Season broth with fish sauce and sugar. Taste, and adjust with additional, if needed. Turn the heat to low, to keep the soup hot.
Soak the Noodles and Prepare for the Table
- Soak the dried rice noodles in hot tap water for 10 minutes. They'll soften just a bit, and become more opaque. Drain the noodles. In the meantime, bring a separate pot of water to a boil.
- Prepare the bean sprouts, basil, jalapeño, limes and sauces for the table.
Assemble the Bowls
- When you're ready to serve, prepare:-Pot of chicken pho broth on low heat, soup ladle nearby.-Sliced chicken meat -Hot boiling water for the noodles, soaked/drained noodles on counter, ready to cook. Have tongs and a small sieve or spider ready.-Line up 6 large bowls - Divide shaved onions, chopped green onion and cilantro leaves between the bowls. -Herbs/sauces at the table.
- You'll cook the noodles in batches. One batch per bowl. The noodles only cook for 20 SECONDS. Any longer than that, the noodles will overcook and become gummy. Add a batch of noodles to the spider. Lower the spider into the boiling water for 20 seconds. Lift and shake off excess water. Add cooked noodle to a bowl. Repeat for remaining bowls. Ladle Chicken Pho broth and add sliced chicken pieces into each bowl. Serve immediately.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
Stay in touch with me in our 
I don’t know what happened, I followed the recipe step by step but the broth was so salty we couldn’t eat it. I tried putting potatoes and extra water to tone down the salt which did help a little bit but was still too salty to eat. I think 1 cup of kosher salt is just way too much, I probably should have started with less and added more as needed. I will try this recipe again and do just that.
I believe the Kosher salt is just to “exfoliate” the chicken skin and is meant to be washed away. Give the recipe another shot, it’s delicious!
Love the tips for cooking. My mom still tells me that chicken breast sometimes needs to be cooked for a very long time to ensure it’s soft, but thanks to this recipe and directions I know that it’s the opposite. It’s an extra step to debone the breast, but I try buying my chicken at stores that would do it for me. I don’t follow the recipe 100%, but that’s how it is with any directions for just about anything. The basics are what’s truly important, the rest is open to your creativity and taste.
I’m noticing your recipe has changed significantly since the last time I made this. It used to have a cilantro bunch and star anise included. Do you have your old recipe? It was my favorite!
Hi Ali – we’ve revised recipe and made it better! I don’t have the old recipe any more- Sorry!
I loved the old recipe too! Jaden, do you mind posting it as well as a variation? Why no star anise? I especially like it in the soup!
1 whole organic chicken (4-5lbs)
1 whole onion, unpeeled and cut in half
3-inch chunk of ginger, unpeeled
(A) Broth spices
2 tbl whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 tbl sugar (or rock sugar)
2 tbl fish sauce
small bunch of cilantro stems only, tied in bunch with twine
(B) Accompaniments at table
1 lb dried rice noodles (about 1/4″ wide)
2 cups bean sprouts, washed & tails pinched off
cilantro tops – leaves and tender stems
1/2 cup shaved red onions
1/2 lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha hot sauce
Hoisin sauce
sliced chili
I had heard that Pho is a delicious soup but that it was “bland”. I’m going to give making it a try. I love Asian soupsl
I have been cooking Chinese cuisine for 40 years, having lived in Taiwan for 4 years with my family and watching my Mom prepare family feasts. In the last few years with the blossoming of Pho restaurants I have discovered the wonders of the Vietnamese cuisine. I have prepared Beef Pho a half dozen times and have found your hints and directions invaluable. I am preparing Pho Ga today….and I am wondering why the spices for the crockpot version are different from the stove top version. (which I am preparing)…is this an omission or by design?
Hi Bob, I like to give different options for different recipes -Jaden
Jaden is a true queen of class. Take note.
Interesting but a little complicated for making chicken soup ..I have tried many ways and my best recipe is very simple : remove all skin from the chicken … keep the bones in (a whole chicken is the best)… bake it with a lot of water onion carrot celery garlic and I let that rest after it’s baked at 350 for about 2 hours. I let it rest to room temperature . I put it in my refrigerator the next day I remove any fat that conceals. it is the best broth you will ever ever have and it is so much better than boiling
You’re dumb, this is a Vietnamese rice noodle soup dish. Not your American chicken noodle soup.Â
It’s best soup ever!!!!
could you save the broth and how would you do it?
Hello! You can freeze the broth. I save extra large yogurt containers for freezing soup.
Yes! I freeze it all the time!
Is there any dalt added to the broth? I see that 1/2 cup salt is used to exfoliate the chicken but should salt get added anywhere else along the recipe ?
You’ll add fish sauce to soup, which is salt.
I would LOVE to make this soup! Tell me, what dO I do with the fat in the chicken stock?
Well, I discard some of the fat. I like my soup to have a bit of fat in it.
I made your beef pho crockpot recipe today and turned out great. Was wondering if you had a chicken pho crockpot recipe as well.
Thanks!
Hi Barbara! I don’t, but great idea to add to my list.
I’ve been nurturing this stock today for hours, I tweaked it by adding fresh chilli, carrots, celery and spring onions (they all needed eating up so why not! thats what i love about homemade stock). I’ve just drained it and pulled all the meat off the bones for my dog for later 🙂 I am a HUGE fan of cooking like this cos I just love pho and ramen, but I’d never have thought of cutting the breast off and cooking it seperate.. amazing!! so now I have dinner for me (and the dog), a beautiful stock leftover and a smile on my face for how good my house smells! Thankyou thankyou x
Made this last night for a quick weekday meal (I boiled a chicken in water over the weekend so I had unseasoned broth sitting in my fridge). It was amazing and easy…. We will not be going out for pho anymore. Thanks for the recipe!!
I keep taking some of the original spices and seeds with me when I clean up the scum. How do I stop that? Should I have put all of my ingredients in a mesh bag?
Yes, that would solve your problem. – jaden
I plan on making this, and I had a couple questions.
” Turn heat to high – let it come to boil, then immediately turn heat to low.”
Should it still be simmering, or as low as it can possibly get?
Instead of just taking out the chicken breast and shredding it, can I also strip some of the dark meat too? I hate to waste it. After boiling for so long it will definitely be unpalatable. And I have no pets to feed it to 😀
So if I take out some or most of the dark meat but still leave some on, will the broth still have a really good flavor?
I will post back on how it turns out. I love your site btw, been going here for recipes for years, I’d say a good 1/5th of my cut and paste recipe book is Steamy Kitchen 🙂
Hi Chelsea –
-Simmering is fine.
-Yes, you can strip some of the dark meat too. 🙂 The broth will be just fine if you strip some of the meat, and leave some on. If you want to use all the meat, then add more chicken bones to the recipe. Maybe an extra 2-3 wings (or whatever is on sale).
Thank you so much!!! Jaden
I need a little clarification please.
“You’ll see lots of foam and “stuff’ come up to the surface. Drain, rinse your chicken of the scum and wash your pot thoroughly. Refill with about 4 quarts of clean, cold water.”
Does this mean you’re getting rid of the original broth, and starting over with the 4 quarts of clean cold water?
Hi Ermie – Yes, that’s what it means. The “original broth” really isn’t broth yet – it’s just scummy water. All of the flavor and nutrients in a broth come from long simmering. The scummy water has no flavor, so don’t worry about pouring it down the drain. Starting over with clean water will ensure that your broth is clear, clean and free from impurities that was on the surface of the chicken.
Cool, thank you for the quick reply. I am halfway done gathering all the ingredients.. I’m off to the local Asian grocery this morning to pick up the rest. Will let you know how it turns out. I can’t wait.
Jaden, I remember my mom cooking this and she use to clean the chicken, then nic the bones, and place the bones over night to seeming to get the marrow flavor. Your thoughts.
Thanks
Hi Carla – Sounds like your Mom makes an amazing chicken pho! I haven’t tried that method before. Jaden
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I followed your recipe tonight , and my wife and I were transportated back to Vietnam, where we enjoyed many bowls steaming pho. The taste is completely authentic.
Thanks Jaden. I went with skin on so will let you know how it turns out.
As an aside what do you do with the chicken that you use to make the stock?
Hi Matt – Some of the meat is reserved to add to the bowls. But as for the rest of the chicken, once the chicken is used to make the stock, it’s pretty much spent. Personally, we shred the meat off the bone and share with our 4-legged family members.
Hi Jaden,
Just wondering if you skin the chicken or if you use that in the stock?
Hi Matt – you can do either. I personally love the skin on for a richer stock.
Hi,
Just want to drop a note to say I tried your recipe and it turned out great!
Didn’t know it was so easy to make my own pho and the broth turned out so clear I didn’t have to scoop out any gunk at all.
Thank you for sharing this!
My hubby and I decided on the first taste that this is a keeper and we will be making lots more of it!
Do you put salt in the chicken before you cook it? I’m asking this only because of the chicken breast since they are thick and only cook for 15min, the flavour of the broth might not temper the meat.
Hi Marlene – I do not salt the chicken (but you are welcome to). Asian noodles are salted already (unlike Italian pasta, where you add salt to the water), and the broth is plenty flavorful.
Thank you for this recipe. This is the best homemade soup I’ve had, and easily on par with the vietnamese restaurants around here.
I made just a few changes. Perhaps listing them will help others:
– I wasn’t going to be home for a while so I simmered it overnight. I’m not sure if that deepened the flavor though.
– the next morning I couldn’t detect the spices as much so I added two more star anise and 3 more cloves.
– For garnish I used basil, thinly sliced white onion, green onions, cilantro, and serrano peppers.
– i added about a tablespoon of 3 crabs fish sauce to each bowl, along with a pinch of MSG.
It was wonderful!
Great Doug! Thanks for letting us know your tweaks 🙂
I made this exact recipe last night and it was delicious!! I can’t believe I was able to make Pho. Thank you so much for the simple directions. I will definitely be making this again!!
You are so very welcome Chi!
Nice recipe, in Indonesia its call “Soto” very delicious hmm
yummmiiii!! :-*
Thank you for your post! I was planning on making this today, but alas! I forgot the Ginger hahaha! I am now going to be making it after work tomorrow 🙂
The first time I tried Pho was 2 days ago at a fairly local restaurant in Manchester! Best meal ever! And I was shocked that is was incredibly filling and under 600 cals! Wooop! Good start to the New Year ha!
The only thing that worries me is the boiling of the chicken. Its cooked in water the whole time and I have never done anything like that! Going to keep the pieces fairly small just to thaw the worries! Other than that I am looking forward to making this indeed!
Thanks again! Bringing you well wishes for 2015! X
This recipe is the bomb.com. OMG. The broth was so flavorful and rich that I thought I could pour more water in it to make more soup! lol. Awesome. I’m coming back to your website for more recipes 🙂 Keep ’em comin’.
Thank you Gina!!!
I wanted to pop in to say hello and thank you. I admire your writing method. Informative+entertaining=Not your boring run of the mill recipes.
I’m from the Bay, Silicon Valley and I am blessed with a multitude of Vietnamese PHO restaurants and Asian Markets. I’ve decided to venture out and make my own PHO. I’m pretty good at thin beef Phở tái and wanted to try PHO Ga/chicken. I’m into a health kick right now aka bodybuilding and this PHO is what my body wants, craves, needs. By the way I’m a SpanishAmerican.
Thank you
Angel
thanks for the tip on the color of the fish sauce. Does these Three Crab sauce taste strongly like fish? Or is it just a little flavor which getting added to the noodle soup? I am not that fish fan ;-), I hope you understand,
thank you
It adapts to the flavor, just put in a dash or two or just use some salt. I personally put in a bit, but i ended up adding more… the fish sauce is salty enough to bring out the ginger and onions. I did like a tablespoon and a bit of salt instead of the 2 tablespoon or u can leave the soup as is with a bit of salt.
But in my opinion its not that fishy… it makes the soup a bit sweeter and less bland.
I was searching for a good vietnamese noodle reciept so long. Can`t wait to try it out 🙂 it looks so good on the pictures
mmmm….yammy
mmmm….yammy 🙂
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I’m trying to access your Pho Beef Soup recipe and the link is not working…
Which link are you trying to click that isn’t working, Katie? Try this link address: https://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html
One of my kids fell ill a few weeks ago, i found that making him this made him feel better after!
Answer part 1:
This step is parboiling the bones only to remove impurities. You can throw in the sweetbreads with it to do the same thing to them since most probably have some funk to remove too. Only add the bones and optionally sweetbreads for this step.
Answer part2:
You were to have removed the breast meat from the bones before parboiling the bones in the previous step. You have boneless breast meat now which you add to the pot and then remove after 15 mins of cooking to be cooled and shredded. There shouldn’t be any bone to speak of since it should all be in the pot not with your shredded chicken. 2 chicken breast should be plenty for a few bowls of pho since most of your bowl of soup should be comprised of the noodles and more or less a handful of chicken on top. Not to mention you are forgetting all the meat in the drumsticks and thighs which should also be shredded along with the breast meat.
Hope this helps.
“Pho” rhymes with “Duh”…
great remedy when sick.
Hi Jaden,
I am not too bothered about having cooked meat with my pho as a lot of it goes to waste, so can I do without the whole chicken and substitue with chicken backs? Surely there is more flavour in the bones?
Thanks!
Chicken backs, wings, necks are perfect. The more you break up the bones, the more flavorful and rich the stock. I usually use a large cleaver and hack at the bones, exposing as much marrow as I can.
Help! I need a little clarity.
I’m a little confused about the stages of the cooked chicken. Question one: “When the water boils, add chicken sections (not breast) and boil on high for 5 minutes. You’ll see lots of foam and “stuff’ come up to the surface. Drain, rinse your chicken of the scum and wash your pot thoroughly. Refill with about 4 quarts of clean, cold water.â€
So you have cut off all the meat, and just put the skeletal bits and whatever you pull off in there? (What do you do with sweetbreads? Omit?) Or are you adding everything EXCEPT the breast, but all chopped up?
Question two: “Add chicken, chicken breast meat, onion, ginger and all of (A) in the pot and cover. Turn heat to high – let it come to boil, then immediately turn heat to low. Prop lid up so that steam can escape. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken breasts, shred with your fingers when cooled and set aside (you’ll serve shredded chicken breast with the finished soup).â€
Ok, surely I’m not adding in all the chopped bones & such back in with the chicken breast? Am I? How do you ensure you don’t get dangerous bits of bone mixed in with the meat? Just carefully pull out the breasts and use the stock strainer to trash the rest once the stock is ready? And are you only going to use the shredded chicken breasts for the soup? (How do you have enough meat?)
Thanks for anything you can add. I’m dying to learn to make this, but this is new territory for me.
Hi Sahron,
Did you get a reply to your questions? I had the same ones, if you did could you let me know.
Best
rahul
I actually had exactly the same questions as Sahron Dodge above her post is dated 1/8/12 12.18 pm. I did not see an answer to her need the same help re the chicken.
Thanks
Rahul
Hi
Great recipe! Can you please clarify if the recipe means throw away the meat on the bone at the end ‘discard solids’
I love that. It’s just a chicken soup but it becomes more special. Everybody must like it.
these recipe is very will made, and one of these days i will make make one…
I love that. It’s just a chicken soup but it becomes more special. Everybody must like it.
Superb recipe. Can’t get enough of this soup! It’s nearly a meal by itself.
Hi Jaden!
Love your recipes! I just made the pho broth in the crock pot (per your crock pot adaptation) and it seems a little bland to me. Should I add fish sauce? Salt? Both? It definitely needs some seasoning to bring out the flavors, but I don’t want to kill all those lovely flavors either.
Thanks!
You can add extra fish sauce or salt for a bit more flavor. Add little by little until you are happy with it.
Hello there! I would like very much to try your Pho ga recipe, But I can’t find fish sauce here! CAn I leave it out or substitute? Thanks from Portugal!
Wow this looks so good! How many calories do you reckon there are in a bowl of this stuff?
Thanks for this recipe! This recipe is perfect! I liked it so much, I made a second batch for my boyfriend, who was home sick. He swears the pho made him well. Score!
Hi Jaden,
I am searching and searching your site for the Pho recipe that had all the lovely step by step pictures and can’t find it!! I am planning on making it this weekend and someone in my office was asking for the recipe, can you point me in the correct direction? I will be lost without your pho-king awesome recipe!!!!
Hi Jaden,
Thank you for the great recipe. I wrote a post on my blog about it 🙂
http://foodandphotography.blog.com/2012/02/20/pho-ga-vietnamese-chicken-noodle-soup/
Hello there, I discovered your website via Google even as looking for a related matter, your web site got here up, it seems good. I’ve added to favourites|added to bookmarks.
Help! I need a little clarity. 🙂
I’m a little confused about the stages of the cooked chicken. Question one: “When the water boils, add chicken sections (not breast) and boil on high for 5 minutes. You’ll see lots of foam and “stuff’ come up to the surface. Drain, rinse your chicken of the scum and wash your pot thoroughly. Refill with about 4 quarts of clean, cold water.”
So you have cut off all the meat, and just put the skeletal bits and whatever you pull off in there? (What do you do with sweetbreads? Omit?) Or are you adding everything EXCEPT the breast, but all chopped up?
Question two: “Add chicken, chicken breast meat, onion, ginger and all of (A) in the pot and cover. Turn heat to high – let it come to boil, then immediately turn heat to low. Prop lid up so that steam can escape. After 15 minutes, remove the chicken breasts, shred with your fingers when cooled and set aside (you’ll serve shredded chicken breast with the finished soup).”
Ok, surely I’m not adding in all the chopped bones & such back in with the chicken breast? Am I? How do you ensure you don’t get dangerous bits of bone mixed in with the meat? Just carefully pull out the breasts and use the stock strainer to trash the rest once the stock is ready? And are you only going to use the shredded chicken breasts for the soup? (How do you have enough meat?)
Thanks for anything you can add. I’m dying to learn to make this, but this is new territory for me. 🙂
This is the first time I’ve made a Vietnamese recipe. And one thing I can say, it’s not bad at all. Will definitely add this to my list of chicken broth recipe which includes some of those that I like in chickenbrothrecipes.com.
Hi, did this recipe from from Andrea Nguyen’s “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen” cookbook? (It’s very similar.) Nguyen recommends a way to store the chicken breasts while the stock simmers. How do you recommend the meat be stored?
Let the breasts cool on a plate. Once they are cool enough to handle, shred by hand then refrigerate until needed.
You have some of the best written recipes I have ever read. Made Pho successfully before but will try out your recipes because of all your trial and errors which will have surely found the best way!
Thank you Stephen!
Great recipe, changed it a bit though and it still came out great.
I didn’t roast the onions and ginger, just used crushed ginger. I also omitted boiling chicken stage.
I started by sautéing ginger with onion and skinless chicken thighs (instead of whole chicken and breast) in a tbsp of olive oil for a minute or two before I added broth and all of (A). Came out gooood and a bit less work.
Wow! Great job on this article. I love to cook and have ventured into cooking Vietnamese food, which is really quite easy; you just need the key ingredients.
I do have a question. When you instruct: “Strain the broth, discard solids”, does that mean get rid of all the dark meat? Or should that be saved for another dish?
Thank you for writing this for the Web community!
Could I make the broth a day ahead, and then refrigerate it to solidify the fat for easier removal? Or would you recommend the skimming method?
Could you leave a comment here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpsHz4muT7Q
and tell everyone how to pronounce Pho?
Thanks.
Yeah! I’ve eaten this pho too! Unfortunately for me, I eat Pho Ga in a the instant bowl one, not the fresh one. T_T I would love to try and make this! Thanks for another great recipe! 🙂
Hi, I see you wrote back in 2007 about writing a revised version to include dark meat. I don’t see that anywhere, my family prefers dark meat as well. Could you just let me know how to go about using the dark meat to actually put in the bowls & not discard. That is the part of the chick I would like to eat.
Hi! I’m making the soup right now and your recipe wasn’t really clear on whether or not to take the skin off the chicken (maybe it is… I have a very fuzzy head right now, lol). I did – I hope I am right!!! It looks delicious, can’t wait till it’s done. Both my baby girl and I have a nasty summer cold and I have always found vietnamese soup to be a cure all!
I like to keep the skin on! Get well soon!
Thanks for the recipe! I love pho and even more when I have a cold–great how it clears up my sinuses and leaves me feeling so much better. Can’t wait to try it!
i love your soup and would like to get more receipe
My question is about discarding all the lovely chicken meat from the thighs and the legs. I really love the sound of this recipe but i find this to be such a waste – does it really not taste very good anymore after all that cooking, or is there some other reason for chucking it?
@dizzi All the flavor and nutrition is in the broth – you can eat it but but the meat will be tough and flavorless
Also, would you mind if I use your picture on our blog if I site you as the source? Just wondering… thanks 🙂
No prob at all!
We tried this recipe out last night. Made the broth on the first day and enjoyed the soup on the second day. Turned out truly amazing! Thanks for your tips! We posted a link to you on our blog!! Best wishes!
Loved reading about your pho recipes! Informative and fun. We have a relatively new ‘Asian Bistro’ restaurant in my Tucson neighborhood (Hot Wok), and last week I tried their pho w/chicken–I swear they must put in a whole chicken breast!–and this week I had it with chicken AND vegetables. Have tried to ‘figure out’ the array of flavors and was glad to see, thanks to your recipes, that I was right about the anise. I think I have a new favorite food! I love soup I can eat with a FORK; that’s how thick this is. Huge bowl: I eat my fill there and come home with enough for two more times! For $6.95, if you can believe that!
will be visiting in Tucson where is this place?
I am in process of making the Pho Ga. Your instructions are good and tips about Fish Sauce appreciated and very helpful. It would be helpful to edit your instruction to suggest placing the anise, coriander in a herb bag. Otherwise, it is very difficult to skim the top at any time because the coriander is floating at the top. I knew better, but didn’t think it through. I am excited to finally have a source of recipes that will help me learn to cook in the Vietnamese way. My husband and I have two favorite Pho’s in our city of Chula Vista, CA and notice the food attracts folks of many ethnicities. It is just plain good and healthy.
Follow to a “T” and it turned out delicious for a special anniversary dinner. The ginger doesn’t APPEAR charred after 15 mins (to my eye), but the flavour is something else and the skin comes off easily. I added probably 1 tablespoon more fish sauce and a handful of salt at the end as it tasted a bit thin. Well-liked by all, and my first time making a from-scratch broth! Thank you for sharing.
Just wondering why you boil the chicken, then dump the water and boil again?
Thanks
to clean the chicken of all the grime, guck, bits and blood. Produces a cleaner broth. jaden
great recipe, and relatively easy to make.
wondering if you have any thoughts on adding more star anise/clove/coriander seed to the broth? any reasons not to? was thinking that more spices = even more flavor but curious if that’s not the case here.
No necessarily true – those spices are very strong spices and more can overpower the entire chicken soup ~jaden
Do you know how to make the spicy soup. BUN BO HUE, the spicy sauce that we can add to the pho soup?
yes I do…but haven’t posted a recipe for it yet! you might want to check http://www.vietworldkitchen.com
Oops, sorry. I meant to post the above comment under the beef Pho recipe…
Thanks so much for your brilliant recipe. My boyfriend and I are now officially Pho zombies – we can’t go a whole week without making Pho!!
I wanted to ask you why your recipe suggests simmering the broth UNcovered? Does it effect the flavor some how?
Thanks again…
Susanna and Zack
Simmering uncovered uncovered concentrates the broth, since some evaporates. You can cover, just leave a crack open (I usually prop the lid up with chopsticks. ~jaden
Your recipe gave life to my unplanned creation of Vietnamese soup. The spices you gave in your recipe made all the difference from a so-so soup, to a great soup. Thank you
Tony
Hello there! Thanks for the yummy Asian receipes! I am wondering if you are able to find the recepie for another Vietnamese chicken soup. I think it is like a congee and it has rice and shredded chicken, and you top it with cilantro? I have been trying to find this recepie forEVER!!!
Here’s a Chinese version using turkey
https://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/11/24/turkey-congee-rice-porridge
and beef
https://steamykitchen.com/blog/2007/11/16/congee
and Andrea Nguyen just posted this:
http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2009/04/chicken-and-rice-soup-with-ginger-dipping-sauce.html
not exactly what you’re looking for, but still a great chicken rice soup dish
~jaden
I always cook my chicken in a colander inside the pot.
helps keep the bones and scraps out of the broth.
Okay so clearly I did something wrong because the broth wasn’t as yummy as I have had at restaurants. I roasted the chicken first and then used the bones with meat left on it and it just wasnt as good. Does the uncooked chicken make a huge difference in flavor?
Yes. Absolutely! You’ve got to start with uncooked chicken. ~jaden
It needed a bit more salt for our taste. We added fish sauce to the point of swimming with the fish, and then added salt. Great foundation recipe. Thanks.
YUMYUMYUM I love PHO. I remember years ago, soon after I first tasted pho and wanted to find out how to make it, I wandered into the Asian grocery, and having no idea what was in pho, I found this *gasp* pho boullion cube and tried to make the broth. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what it tasted like. Anyway, this weekend, years later, I tried this recipe and YUMYUM I was a happy girl!
yvdiazfw qjizxeg atlo tywg gzhelx xmirw sbtid
I have been looking all over the net to find this recipe. Now i found it, thanks so much. I can’t wait to try this recipe. This is my husband’s favorite Vietnamese dish next to the charboiled pork.
hello this recipe look very good but the A and B are thoes the steps in doing the pho? im confused
I looked all over the Web for a Pho Ga recipe and ended up cooking this one. Your directions were very clear. The soup was FANTASTIC. One issue: once we char the onion and ginger we added it to the broth to simmer, but that isn’t clearly stated in the recipe. Since making this I’ve browsed your blog and enjoy it very much. Thanks!
I love your blog, the pictures are so vibrant! I love pho and I’ve considered making it but it always seems like so much work and at 5 bucks a bowl, it seems like the work outweighs the cost of getting it at a restaurant. One question: boiling the chicken and discarding most of the meat seems like such a waste to me! Any suggestions on how to use the meat that is discarded?
Yes you always do Jaden!!!!!!!!!!!
Beautiful presentation. Andrea Nguyen’s book is really tops, I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly.
The rock sugar is essential here, or at least that’s what Mom bludgeoned me with growing up. Also, she would stud her onion with cloves prior to roasting it over the flame of our gas range.
Also, one time I covered a chicken with a five-spice rub (basically 5-spice powder, fish sauce, and a bit sweetened Chinese black vinegar), roasted it, then stripped off all the meat (reserving the shredded breast meat to garnish the soup – I ate the legs and thighs when it came out of the oven, of course), and then used the carcass as the kick start for the Pho Ga stock. It was an interesting diversion, with a dark, complex broth.
Nice and clear broth. 🙂
Mine always ends up dark b/c I prefer all the beef pho spices since pho ga is always so bland to me.
Looks absolutely delicious!
I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, I love pho, OH YEAH I LOVE PHO !!!
Biggles
Oh my, this looks wonderful! I love eating pho, and have great memories of sitting on tiny stools at food stalls in Vietnam, having pho for breakfast. I use the same brand of fish sauce, by the way; I think it’s absolutely the best. Terrific post!
crazy! i was totally craving pho ga last week and made myself a batch too! it was my first time making it and i didnt’ think there was enough flavor so i threw in some dried chili peppers, anise seed, more cloves and garlic. not your traditional pho ga but still TASTY. guess i’ll have to post my recipe too 🙂
Jaden,
Can’t wait to try the Pho Ga! Modern Asian is a great idea. Our favorite recipe in that vein at the moment is Vietnamese Grilled Beef and Basil rolls (click my name above if you are interested). We substitute basil for the la-lot leaves that are traditional, since I have no idea where to get them.
Is charring the onion and ginger a traditional technique? I have never tried it. Great site, and beautiful photos!
No, Jaden, I’ve not been to Egypt, so I’ve never been to de’Nile … 😉
BBO- so I still have my angelic aura of innocence?
W&S- hollywood is exactly just like in the movies – even the tran svestite hook ers approach you
LPC- you’re in denial phase
Ellie- really really its not hard nor that time consuming. Let it simmer the evening before while you’re watching tv of something
Retno- thank u!
Alisha- good luck and i hope you post your photo/recipe. let me know when its up and i’ll link to it
Melinda- I’ll be sure to tell my husband you encouraged me to have an affair!!! LOL
MW- yes definitely i’ll have to try that. recipe pls?
Dwiana- thank you and welcome to our crazy little crumb of the web
Anh- Her book is absolutely the best – I am trying Bun Bo Hue next
Tiger-next time I’m in CA, you are flying down for some ramen with Melting Wok, Rasa Malaysia and Wandering Chopsticks
Steeped- pho-shizzle.
PHO. You know, I didn’t even know what pho was until a two years ago when C (my boyfriend) and I decided to try out a little dive after a movie. I didn’t know how to pronounce it properly until a year ago. I called it “fo’,” as in “Let’s get some pho fo’ sho’.”
I was just thinking about Soto Ayam when I read this, and MeltingWok gave it a word too. The shredded chicken meat, bean sprouts and noodles in a clear broth just made your Pho Ga almost like Soto Ayam. You don’t have to find a Malaysian lover to try Soto Ayam- I remember Rasa Malaysia’s site has a recipe for it 😀
*Swooorp….swoorp*….eating like how a Japanese savors it’s ramen…yum!
Confession: I am not a fan of chicken noodle soup. But yours does make my mouth water! Now I am dreaming of a particular shop that sells one of the best pho ga I have tasted.
I also love Andrea’s book – the best so far about Vietnamese Cuisine!
Hi I am new blogger… stopping by at your website oh may may I fall in love with your website. Those pictures are so beautiful which that encourage me to learn more of taking pictures. And also your food is so fabulous. I am adding your web on my website so I can visit more often.
If you like Pho Ga, you might want to try making Soto Ayam (Malaysian/Indonesian style), same technique you used like cooking the Pho Gac broth, with added cardamon and cinnamon sticks. Eaten with rice vermicelli, fall-off-the-bone shredded chicken meats, loads of bean sprouts, rich flavorful slow-cooked chicken broth and finish off with some sweet soy green chili paste..yumsssss !! 🙂
It looks so good! I always say that; but it really does!
Rasa Malaysia mentioned pandan leaves. I have been told this is a wonderful fragrant alternative to vanilla. Have you ever used it to make cupcakes/muffins? It is suppose to turn the batter bright green. Sounds cool and different.
I think you are going to have sleeze around a Malaysian man or his grandma and get a recipe for me. OK? Thanks.
Pho is my husbands absolute favorite food. I am going to try this recipe as a suprise for him. Wish me luck! and thank you for the beautifully inspiring photos. Pho never looked so good!
Your blog is so cool. I linked your blog in my site.
Pho! Oh how I love you!! This is my must-have dish when I go out for Vietnamese food, and though I’ve always wanted to try making it at home, the recipe I have for the broth sounds so time-consuming and tiring! I might have to give this a try though…being on holidays with plenty of time on my hands, what have I got to lose? 😀
Trust me, it’s no problem! 10 years online (less than one-quarter of my life) and counting … 😉
You used to live in Hollywood! That is so cool! When I went on a big backpacking trip years and years ago back in my youth, I made a pitstop in Hollywood and loved it! Hehe- it was everything that I had seen in the movies 😉
Hmm, back to the Pho Ga – you’re so patient to make the soup for hours! The tips are great! One day, i’ll muster up the patience to try this!
Looks so good. I’d like a bowl just about now. It’s very early in the morning and i should be in bed but how can i now have a decent sleep without craving for this soup? I should have gone to bed two hours ago. Then i wouldn’t have to bump into this. 😉
Your Vietnamese soup had been something I wanted to have and now I get to view the recipe…. how fantastic it is, thanks Jaden…. your are an angel.
Lynn- towering stack almost ready to topple?
Honest Ape- easier if you just *buy* a can of broth! food coloring makes your hair fall out.
Retno- thats ok…I can use online translators
Elaine- you’re welcome!
LPC- there is therapy for that type of problem!
WMW- mmmm….sounds like Asian version of fast food
Ninja- thank u!
Amy- time for new Fish Sauce!
Jolynna- thank you for coming by
Wow! It looks great. I am hungry, too!
Your site is gorgeous.
I’m a fan of fatty beef pho myself but your chicken pho is making me drool even on a hot day like today. I better toss my fish sauce too, it’s the color of coca cola. ðŸ™
wow! awesome dish ! 🙂
Ahhh….saw someone else posting about Vietnamese food too. I miss the Vietnamese food I usually have when I’m in San Francisco. As usual, your bowl of noodles look great. There is this dry version of wantan noodles with slices of grilled beef. Add in vinegar and some fish sauce and mix it with the Vietnamese Chili Sauce from that squeeze bottle! Best in the world!
Answering your email … so what if I am online 24/7??? 😀
I love a good bowl of Pho. Thanks for sharing this recipe 🙂
Oooh…It looks delicious!. Thank you for stopping by my blog. Unfortunately, I´ve written my recipes in Indonesien. Next time, I will write it down in English. Your food pictures are so good, nice shoots!
I make a really good faux broth, but Pho broth seems beyond my capabilities.
BTW, faux broth is water with brown food coloring and salt in it.
That looks fabulous! I’ll need to put that one in my towering stack of recipes to try.
LPC- haha! Once a lifetime is enough
SueAnn- You’re welcome!
David- let me know how you love it
RM- hmmm…thats a good idea…a Malaysian lover…
Steve- you’re absolutely right. I myself prefer dark meat but my husband likes white meat. I’ve revised recipe to include a note about dark meat.
This recipe sounds great, but it seems a shame to discard the dark meat. That’s the best part! I would shred the thighs and legs and toss the white meat.
Now you will have to find a Malaysian lover so you can make dishes with tamarind, turmeric, shrimp paste, and yes, pandan leaves. (Just make sure Mr. Hair doesn’t see this message!). 😛
Sunday dinner – done and done! Thanks!
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dear, are you, like, trying for Serious Eats Photo of the Day again?? 😉