Un-Pho-getable Pho Ga

Un-Pho-getable Chicken Pho aka Phở Gà

My all time favourite Vietnamese dish is Pho! I can eat pho for breakie, lunch and dinner because it's so good Pho you! 

What's not to love, the beautiful broth that has been simmering away for hours & hours, resulting in a delicate broth yet full of flavour served with juicy chicken and fresh rice noodles just warms up the belly! It always hits the spot! 

I find myself always craving Pho! But the reality is as a busy working mum I simply don't have the time to make this dish as frequently as I would like. Sure, I can head down to my local Vietnamese restaurant to get my fix, but I also like being able to make this dish to enjoy at home as well. So I made it my mission to figure out the best way to make chicken pho in the least amount of time as possible without losing the integrity of the dish.

I was able to achieve this using what I believe is one of the best kitchen inventions ever - a stove top pressure cooker! Pho real! The result is my 45 minute in a pressure cooker Phở Gà recipe! It's not just good, it's Pho-nomenial!

Time: 45 min pressure cooker + prep

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 small free range whole chicken, thoroughly washed (about 1.3kg)
• 12 cups water (3 litres)
• 1 large brown onion, peeled and halved
• 1 med-large carrot, cut in half
• 1 x 5cm knob (thumb size) ginger, peeled and roughly sliced
• Spices:
• 1 cinnamon stick or equivalent size cassia bark
• 5 star anise
• 5 cloves
• 1 tbs coriander seeds
• Seasoning:
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tbs white sugar, plus extra to taste
• 2 tbs fish sauce, plus extra to taste
• To Serve & garnishes:
• Fresh rice noodles 
• Green spring onions, thinly sliced
• Coriander leaves, picked and chopped
• Red Spanish onion, thinly sliced
• Thai basil leaves, picked
• Bean sprouts
• Limes, cut into wedges
• Chilli, sliced
• Sriracha chilli sauce
• Hoisin sauce

Method:

1. Heat spices for 1-2 minutes in the pressure cooker pot on high heat to release the fragrance be careful not to burn. Remove from pot and set aside.
2. In the pressure pot, add chicken breast side up and 12 cups of water (3 litres). Add salt and bring the pot to boil (will take about 5 minutes). NB: this was the amount of water I needed to fully submerge my chicken in a 6.5 litre pressure cooker.
3. Once the pot is at rapid boil, using a ladle skim the foam & scum off the surface to remove the impurities (this process will take about 5 minutes).
4. Remove pot from heat, add onion, carrot, ginger, pho spices and sugar and lock on the lid to secure. 
5. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes, then reduce down to low pressure for 30 minutes. NB: I use this waiting time to prep all my garnishes for serving.
6. Once time has elapsed turn off heat and release pressure (be careful with the escaping steam). Remove the chicken from the pot and shred or slice the meat. Set aside. 
7. Strain the broth into another pot through a sieve lined with a muslin cloth or thick paper towel. Return the pot to the stove and add fish sauce and simmer on low heat to keep warm. To balance out the broth add additional sugar & fish sauce to taste as required.
8. To assemble:
• In a bowl, add cooked rice noodles and layer with cooked chicken. Ladle a generous amount of the hot broth over the top and garnish with spring onions, coriander & onions
• To serve: at the table add beansprouts, Thai basil, fresh chilli, lime and dipping sauces. Enjoy!

Cook's Notes:

• Pressure cooker - I use a stove top pressure cooker (not a standalone electric pressure cooker), I find I have better control of the heat and it comes to pressure quicker. I've been using my WMF Pressure Cooker 6.5L for years which I absolutely love. Cut's cooking time in half! 
• Timing - why 45 minutes? I tried 30 minutes in the pressure cooker, but found it misses the depth of flavour. The extra 15 minutes made all the difference.
• To wash or not to wash - I need to emphasise the importance of washing the chicken to remove the greasy film from the chicken. In order to achieve a nice clear broth that isn't cloudy or murky we need to remove as much of the impurities as possible. Therefore it is essential to wash the chicken and skim as much scum from the broth as possible before locking on the lid.
• Free range chicken - I like to use lilydale free range chicken because I like the taste and texture of the chicken (also its readily available from the supermarket).
• Straining the broth - strain broth through a sieve lined with muslin cloth or if you can't get your hands on it, you can use a thick paper towel.
• Seasoning - After broth is strained, add additional fish sauce or sugar to taste to the broth. It should have a nice balance of savoury chicken flavour saltiness from the fish sauce and sweetness from the onion and carrots.