What is phở gà?
What is your ‘go to’ soup for the fall and winter season? For me, it’s phở gà, and I make it at least once a week. To me, phở gà is the Vietnamese version of chicken noodle soup that reminds me of my childhood. Now that fall is here and winter is just right around the corner, it’s time for soup season, and what better soup to make than a big bowl of gà.
Phở is the most well known and versatile Vietnamese soup, because it can be eaten at breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and customized with numerous additions of condiments and/or fresh herbs . First originated at the end of the 19th century in Nam Dinh, located in Northern Vietnam. Of course, there are other Vietnamese soups such as Bún bò Huế and hủ tiếu (a type of noodle soup), canh chua (sweet & sour soup), just to name a few.
Different types of phở
The variations of phở are endless. There’s phở bò (beef noodle soup), phở gà (chicken noodle soup), phở cá (fish noodle soup), and any combination thereof. Phở broth is unlike any other broth because it has a distinct flavor profile that comes from the addition of cloves and star anise, which has more of a licorice flavor.
How to make phở gà?
Traditionally in Vietnam, phở gà’s broth is made from hours of simmering bone-chicken with ginger, cinnamon, star anise, and cloves. Of course, you can vary the bone-in meat for making a different type of phở broth.
Growing up, I remember my mom taking a whole day to make a pot of phở, so I’ve been hesitant of making it myself. However, thanks to the instant pot, I’m able to enjoy phở more often because it cuts down the cooking time dramatically. Thanks mom for the gift 😘. If you don’t have an instant pot, don’t worry, it can be made on the stove as well, and it doesn’t take a whole day. Not sure why it took so long in Vietnam. Probably because I was young and when you’re young, time moves very slooowwly. But rest assured, I’ve tried it both ways, and they both came out delicious.
How to serve phở gà (chicken noodle soup)?
The broth is served over rice noodles, pieces of shredded chicken, or meat of your choice, and/or beef meatballs. There is always a plate of fresh herbs, a side of hoisin and chili sauce, lemon wedges and bean sprouts that comes along with a bowl of phở. The hoisin sauce adds a slight sweet flavor to the broth. To me, phở is not the same without all the condiments 😂. The common fresh herbs include mint, basil, sawtooth herb (better known as Ngò Gai. (See picture below). It has a similar taste and smell to cilantro. The main difference is that ngò gai has a tougher texture and is more pungent than cilantro. You can purchase fresh saw tooth herb at your local Asian grocery store. Or if you’re ambitious, you can buy seeds here and grow them yourself. If you do grow them yourself, leave me a comment below and let me know how it turned out.
How to store left over phở gà
If you have left over phở broth, you can either store it in an air tight container, or you can freeze it as well. If you’re like me and struggle with pouring soup into a ziploc bag, you can use a baggy rack holder. It will make the process a lot less frustrating.
So cozy up to a big bowl of phở gà…it will fill your tummy and keep you warm this winter season.
Phở gà (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup).
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Cooking Ingredients
- 3 pounds bone in chicken breast or thighs
- 4 cups water
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 star anise
- 1 medium fresh ginger peeled and leave whole.
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- 1 medium turnip peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks.
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 stalks green onion chop up the green part, and leave the white part whole.
- 1 tbsp salt more or less depending on taste.
- 1 tbsp pepper
- 3 tbsp fish sauce more or less depending on taste.
- 1 package rice noodles
Garnishing Ingredients
- Handful of saw-tooth herb (Ngo Gai)
- Basil
- Cilantro
- Sliced onions
- Lemon wedges
- Hoisin sauce and/or chilis
Instructions
Instructions for the broth:
- Sprinkle some salt on the bone-in chicken and gently scrub, then rinse the salt off with warm water and pat it dry using paper towels.
- Place the bone-in chicken in the pressure cooker along with 4 cups of water, salt and pepper.
- Cook the chicken according to the instructions provided in the manual. I cooked the chicken on hi for 30 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, peel the turnip and cut it into large cubes and set it aside for later.
- Cut the green onion to separate the green part from the white part of the onion. Then take the green part of the onion and cut it into small pieces and set aside for later use.
- When the pressure cooker is finished, carefully open the lid and remove the cooked chicken, let it cool, shred it then set it aside.
- After the chicken is removed, add the peeled ginger, ground cloves, cubed turnip, and spice pouch containing the cinnamon stick and star anise in the broth. The cinnamon stick and star anise are placed in a pouch to make it easier to remove them later.
- Place the lid back on and pressure cook the turnip. Turnips are similar to potatoes as far as hardness goes, so follow the instructions in the manual for cooking russet potatoes for cooking the turnip. I cooked the turnip on hi for 2 minutes.
- After 2 minutes, carefully open the lid, remove the spice pouch and add in the chicken broth, white part of the green onion and fish sauce to taste. Then turn the pot on low to simmer while preparing the noodles.
Instructions for cooking the noodles:
- Bring a pot of salt water to a boil, then add in the desired amount of rice noodles. Let the noodles cook until soft. Then drain the noodles into a colander under running water so they won’t stick together.
Instructions for serving pho ga:
- Place the desired amount of noodles in a bowl with shredded chicken and broth. Garnish with fresh herbs (chopped green onions, sliced onion, saw-tooth herb, basil, cilantro), lemon wedge chilis and a side of hoisin sauce & enjoy.
Have a favorite Vietnamese soup? Share it with me in the comments section below. If you like this post, feel free to share it on Facebook by using the button below.
Delicious! Super easy to follow directions, great flavor, and very comforting. We will be making this soup again.
Thank you Josh. I’m so glad you guys liked it.