Chicken pho

Ultra satisfying on a cold fall day, a good bowl of soup can do wonders. So warm up with this recipe.

Ingredients:

2 whole chicken legs

2 onions

1 large carrot

1 branch of celery

2 tsp coriander seed

2 tsp whole clove

2 cinnamon stick

4 star anise

2” fresh ginger

3 tbsp fish sauce

6 shitake mushrooms, sliced

6 cremini mushrooms, cut into small cubes

½ cup enoki mushrooms, cut into 1” segments

1 cup Brussel sprouts, outer leaves reserved and cores quartered

½ pkg (250g) medium rice noodles, cooked (we do this by pouring boiling water over the noodles, the letting them sit until still a little toothsome, strain and rinse well under cold water)

Condiments:

1 bunch green onions, sliced

2 cups bean sprouts

Several sprigs Cilantro

Several sprigs Thai Basil

3 limes cut into segments

Hoisin Sauce

Siracha

First you need to make the base stock and cook your chicken. Heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large pot over high heat. Once almost smoking add the chicken legs and cook 3-5 minutes on each side to brown them well. Remove from pan and add 1 onion, the carrot and celery and cook to caramelize. Add 1 tsp each of coriander and cloves and 1 cinnamon stick and cook for 1 minute longer to toast the spices. Add the chicken legs back in and cover with water. Bring to a boil and turn down to a simmer. Cook the stock for 1-2 hours or until the chicken is very tender. Strain the stock and reduce by half. Shred the meat from the chicken legs, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Roast the ginger and the remaining onion peel left on, cut in half in a hot oven to caramelize, add to the stock with the star anise, stems from the mushrooms, coriander stems and the other remaining dry spices. Top up with cold water, bring to a simmer and reduce by ¼.

Strain and add the chicken meat and fish sauce. Cook at a simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the shitake and cremini mushrooms and the brussel sprout cores and cook 10 minutes longer. Cool slightly and season to taste.

To serve, place a handful of the rice noodles at the bottom of each bowl. Add the enoki mushrooms and brussel sprout leaves over top and ladle the soup over top. Serve the condiments nicely arranged on a large plate in the middle of the table. Dress your soup how you like it and enjoy!