My Attempt at Pho Ga (Chicken Version of Vietnamese Beef Pho)

Ingredients: Pho rice noodles, chicken dark meat, green onion, ginger, cilantro, basil, mung bean sprouts, lemon, chicken stock

Spices: Coriander powder, 2 black cardamom pods, fennel seeds, ground cinnamon, whole cloves

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Preparation Notes

-In a pot, boil water and add the pho rice noodles. Boil until the noodles are soft

-In a separate pot, toast ginger and onion (my stock had onion infused so I skipped the onion) as well as the listed spices. Deglaze with chicken stock and simmer for preferably, long periods of time (>1 hour). After the 1 hour mark, add chicken dark meat the simmering pho broth and cook until the meat is done. Add soy sauce for the salt. When done, transfer the broth to a container separate from the noodles

-Prepare the pho toppings. Cut lemon into squeezing wedges. Cut the green onions into small pieces. Tear basil and cilantro leaves from the stems. Portion out the bean sprouts. Assemble the bowl with toppings, noodles and chicken

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Remarks & Tips

-I did not have Pho Ga before so I did not have a reference for how it should taste but I think it could definitely benefit from some improvements

-Next time, I should add sugar and maybe use a bit less of the powder spices as they are more concentrated in flavor. Additionally, I should toast some onion even if my stock already had some infused. Normally, I do not use measuring spoons but I think it might be necessary here

-My lemon wedges were large so they somewhat overpowered the flavor of the broth. I could cut smaller wedges next time

-The broth, as its simmering, will reduce and taste very strong, water it down slightly if needed but it is fine as it will be diluted when served with the noodles

-I followed two online recipes as closely as possible