Chicken Pho

What's not to love about pho? It's savory, maybe slightly spicy or sweet (or both), super comforting, and most of all, just delicious.

We had been wanting to make pho at home for a while, like a long while, and just hadn't yet. I think I was partly intimated to make it and like a lot of things, made it a much more involved process in my mind. This weekend we decided to have a pho date night. I looked around at some recipes and that helped me to get a solid idea of ingredients. I winged the rest, which is my favorite way to cook and bake.

That shared, this recipe is all about "abouts" and not about precision at all. I think that's part of the beauty of cooking, creating a creation all of your own. It's an experience.

The Ingredients

If you look at the ingredient list below, it might feel like a lot. If you need to pick up all of these for your initial make, it is - we needed to get a good amount. Once you do the initial buy though you'll be well setup for your next pho creation.

Making The Pho

First, get the chicken started. Then while that cooks you'll make the broth and noodles.

The chicken you will make on the stove top in a frying pan or cast iron. Once the pan is on the stovetop set the temperature slightly more than medium. Add olive oil so that there is a thin layer on the pan. Next, you'll add in the cubed chicken breast. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, a little garlic powder, a good sprinkle of lemon pepper, and a light sprinkle of cinnamon. Stir the chicken as needed until it finishes cooking to your liking. I like to cook it until it's slightly charred.

While the chicken is cooking add the chicken broth to a large pot and set the temperature to medium. Add in the vegetables as they are ready. I pull the mint leaves off of the stem and then chop the leaves. Cook the broth for about 15-20 minutes, it doesn't have to boil.

In another large pot, bring water to a boil and add a bit of olive oil and salt. Add the noodles and cook following the directions for the noodles. You will want to time the noodles so that they finish cooking just before you are ready to prepare the bowls.

Once everything is cooked, add noodles to two bowls (or however many you are making) and pour the broth over the noodles, add the chicken, plus garnishes. Once the bowls are served add soy, sriracha, fish sauce, and hoisin sauce to taste.

Recipe Mentions

The recipe makes 2-3 servings. You can easily double the recipe for meal prep or batch prep. You can even freeze the broth for a quick dinner make. If you do this, I would wait to add the green cabbage until you're ready to eat the pho. Once you are, add the cabbage to the broth and cook for 10 minutes or so on medium to medium high.

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