My Take on Vietnamese Pho
I adore Pho soup. It’s full of flavour, packed with delicious ingredients, and has a nice little hit of heat. It’s amazing during the winter months.
I used chicken for mine but thinly sliced beef is more traditional so choose the meat you enjoy or keep it veggie!
This one is not difficult but takes time xx
Serves 4
For the soup base
- 450g shiitake mushrooms, roughly chopped
- 1 whole carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 red onion, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced *
- 2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, diced
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 stalk of lemongrass, pounded with the back of a knife, then roughly chopped
- 4 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1/2 bunch fresh coriander, leaves roughly chopped
- 1 bunch of sweet basil, leaves roughly chopped
- 3 chillies roughly chopped
- 2 heaped tbsp of chilli paste such as sambal oelek, harissa Or Chipotle – I used Chipotle as I had it in my fridge but choose your own. Sambal Oelek is the traditional paste used for this dish. You’d find it in any of the Asian shops around.
- 120ml soy sauce *( I use gluten free tamari)
- 1 tbsp sesame oil*
- 1 tbsp fish sauce*
- Salt, to taste
For the veg dressing
- 60g sambal oelek
- 60ml soy sauce (for gf use tamari)
- 60ml apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil *
- 30g dark brown sugar
For the medley of vegetables
- Carrot
- Red pepper
- Shitake or chestnut mushrooms
- Fresh spinach
- Mangetout
- Mini corn
Chicken
- 3 free-range/ organic chicken fillets
Noodles
- Dragon noodles, fresh ramen, lo mein or rice noodles (I used rice noodles)
- Lime wedges, coriander, scallions, chilli slices and sesame seeds* for garnish
Please note all foods marked with * are allergens. You can remove these from the dish if required.
Method
In a large saucepan sautè the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, ginger, chilis and lemongrass for 10 min on low heat.
Add in 2 litres water with coriander, basil and a sprinkle of salt to taste.
Bring to boil then simmer for 30 min.
Drain out the veg and put the stock back in the pan. Add the sesame oil, chilli paste, fish sauce, and soy sauce and put it on a very low simmer while preparing everything else.
Put chicken breast in oven at 180C covered with foil for 25 min
Chop up all the vegetables and put them in a baking tray. Mix up the vegetable dressing and mix it through the vegetables. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes at 180.
Cook noodles as per packet Instructions
Take chicken out of the oven and shred.
To serve
Place noodles in bowls, top with chicken and pho soup. Top with vegetables and garnish with scallions, coriander leaves, chilli slices and sesame seeds. Slice some lime into wedges to squeeze over before serving.
Enjoy!!
