Tasty Vietnamese noodle soup - here made with a whole chicken
| Servings | 4 Portions |
| Tags | Chicken | Family Dinner | Main Course | Soup | Vietnamese |
| Allergens | Fish |
| Cook Time | 120 min |
A good soup that has been simmered for a long time and has drawn out the flavors from both the chicken and various spices for a long time. There are lots of different variations, but I made this fairly simple variation and thought it was very successful. Possibly a bit too much water, but I chose to reduce the broth 20 minutes before serving to get closer to what I expected from the soup.
What's perfect about this soup is that everything can be prepared a long time in advance and then thrown together quickly (heat the broth, cook the noodles and prepare the toppings) in small portions. The broth almost only gets better after it has rested a bit and then reheated.
It is also great to freeze the broth/soup to take out and reheat quickly for a meal that then involves minimal work for very good results.
When I took the photos, I bought a whole 1.3kg chicken and in total I thought it made 4 fairly large portions of this recipe. If you are not a big eater, you can calculate that this is enough for 6 portions without major problems. But I am hungry and a bit fat so it will be 4 portions for me.
I choose to pick up the chicken when it is finished cooking and let it sit in some ice water for a while. This is mostly so that the chicken is easy to remove the meat from, but also a little to interrupt the cooking so that the chicken does not become too dry.
More Images
Ingredients
Directions
- Roast the star anise, cinnamon, fennel seeds and cloves for 1-2 minutes in a dry frying pan over medium heat until they start to smell aromatic. Save for later.
- In the same frying pan - fry the peeled and halved onion and ginger for a few minutes until they get a little color and start to soften slightly.
- Cut the ginger into small slices when it has cooled slightly.
- Clean the chicken and place it in a larger saucepan (at least 5 liters). Add the roasted onion and ginger.
- Add water, salt and sugar (note - not the fish sauce) and bring everything to a boil.
- Cook for 5 minutes (skim the soup when necessary), then reduce the heat and simmer covered for an hour.
- Remove the cooked chicken and place it in ice water.
- Add the roasted spices and fish sauce to the soup and simmer for 30 minutes without the lid.
- Pick the meat from the chicken (and possibly throw the chicken bones back into the soup for even more flavor).
- Strain or remove bones, spices, onion and ginger from the soup.
- Taste and simmer for even longer to reduce the amount and concentrate the flavors if necessary.
- Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package. Usually 3-5 minutes.
- Slice the green onion and chili into thin slices.
- In a deep bowl - place pieces of chicken, bean sprouts and cooked noodles in the bottom.
- Sprinkle over the green onion, chili, lime wedge, coriander and Thai basil.
- Pour over the hot soup.
- Serve with accompaniments such as hoisin, sriracha, chili and why not some roasted onion(?).
Nutrition Facts*
| Total | Serving | 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 3247.71 kcal | 811.93 kcal | 63 kcal |
| Carbohydrates | 223.22 g | 55.8 g | 4.33 g |
| Fat | 124.24 g | 31.06 g | 2.41 g |
| Protein | 303.12 g | 75.78 g | 5.88 g |
| Sugar | 28.35 g | 7.09 g | 0.55 g |
| Salt | 29.9 g | 7.47 g | 0.58 g |
* The nutritional information provided is approximated and calculated using the ingredients available in the database. Info will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
