Chicken Soup for the Soul

Passport & Plate - Vietnamese Chicken Soup (Pho)

Vietnam | Wednesday, February 4, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
3 French Eschallots roughly chopped
Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 Chicken Breast (no skin) in small cubes
2 liters Water
3 Green Shallots roughly chopped
Small Handful Razor Leaf Coriander (use regular coriander if unavailable)
1 Brown Onion cut into half rings
Small Handful of Mint
Bean Sprouts
Fresh Rice Noodles – these are readily available from most Asian grocers and well worth sourcing. They are far better than dried noodles and will keep in the fridge for about a month.
2 teaspoons Fish Sauce (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
2 teaspoons Pork Salt (to taste) this is available at Asian grocers. If unavailable you can substitute with chicken salt.
½ teaspoon Sugar

 

How to prepare this recipe
In a large saucepan fry the eshallots in hot oil gently for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken (and a little more oil if required). Don’t worry if brown bits start to stick to the bottom – the colour will add flavour! Fry for about 5 more minutes.
Cover with 1.5 – 2 litres of water. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Add half a teaspoon of sugar.
Add 2 teaspoons of pork salt. Taste. Add more if required.
Scoop any “scum” from the top of the soup and simmer gently for another 5 minutes.
Load up individual serving bowls with noodles, mint, coriander, bean sprouts, shallots and onion.
Add about ½ teaspoon of fish sauce to each bowl.
Ladle the hot soup over the bowl and garnish with more mint and freshly cracked black pepper.
Slurp the noodles out of the bowls with friends and family. Enjoy!

 

The story behind this recipe
Everything about this day was wonderful – but most of all that I was able to share the experience of my 6 year old son’s first cooking lesson with him. We were in southern Vietnam for Christmas and my family decided to finally come on a cooking class with me, so I could combine my 3 great loves in life – food, travel and family. It is important to me that my son learns as he travels to respect local people, traditions and produce.
We scoured the wet markets for ingredients with our guide. She was a bundle of energy and explained to us all the wondrous sights, smells and ingredients as we passed through. Oh, I could have spent all day wondering back and forth, trying every little morsel!
We made a few dishes on the day but this is the one that we recreate at home regularly. It was explained simply, with ingredients we can readily find and was so quick to do. The whole family had a go and we are now confident enough at home to play with different herbs and seasonings.
At home now it is just a matter of chopping the mint and shallots and we can almost hear the roar of motor scooters rushing past us. Crack some black pepper on top and we can close our eyes and be transported away to the hustle and bustle of Saigon, rush of people, calls of street vendors and excitement of exploring markets and vibrant smiles of locals. Crunch though the beans and we are sitting on the sidewalk on a small plastic stool with locals slurping our noodles once again.
This dish is now our “go to” chicken soup for any illness – of the body or soul. It is our quick Sunday night dinner, our standby to whip up for unexpected visitors, our sustenance when we yearn to travel and don’t have time.
I love that it is something we discovered as a family that we can easily recreate to bring flooding back memories or distant lands and welcoming people.