Cockerel Pho by Chef Jerry Mai

Serves

4-5

Prep

20

Cooking

210

Pho is a favourite Vietnamese soup that has come to be loved by people world wide. Most people favour the beef pho but I feel the chicken pho has so much more flavour and depth. Having a bowl of pho is like having a hug from deep down inside. The cockerel in this recipe gives the broth so much flavour and the tender chicken pieces has a lovely texture and sweetness.

Ingredients

Ingredients
• 1 Fook Wong Cockerel Chicken
• 1 Brown onion
• 100g Ginger
• 50g rock sugar
• 1 Tblspn sea salt
• 3 Tblspn fish sauce
• 1kg fresh Pho noodles

Spices
• 10g Cassia bark
• 15g Coriander seeds
• 20g Star anise
• 1 Black cardamon

Garnish
• 1/2 cup Coriander, cleaned and rough chop
• 1/2 cup Spring onion, cleaned sliced thin
• 1 small Brown onion, peeled and sliced thin

To serve
• Hoi sin
• Sriracha chilli sauce
• 500g Beanshoots
• 100g Thai basil
• 1 lemon cut into 4
• Sliced red chillies, as much as you like

Method

In a 5L pot place the whole chicken in and fill with cold water, turn on high heat. Bring the water to the boil and skim any scum that rises to the top, turn the heat medium low and leave to simmer. Continue to remove the scum as this could make the stock go cloudy if left in and always have the stock on a medium boil otherwise this could also make the stock go cloudy.

Turn a stove on high heat and roast the onion and ginger over the flames until charred and cara-melised. Remove from heat and leave too cool. Peel the outer burnt layers of the onion and wash the char off the ginger and slice in half.

Place the ginger and onion in the chicken stock.

In a small pan over medium heat toast the spices until they are aromatic. Tie the spices into a muslin then place into the stock.

Add the rock sugar and salt to the stock.

Simmer the stock for about 3 hours or until the chicken is tender, remove the chicken and leave to cool. Simmer the broth for another 30mins, then turn heat off.

Mix the garnish ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Remove the chicken meat from the bones and tear into small chunks, if you like eating skin then leave on the flesh otherwise you can discard the skin.

Let’s put the pho together! Heat a small pot of boiling water and using a noodle basket or similar colander/sieve dunk the noodles into the boiling water for 10-15 seconds to soften and heat the noodles, shake off any excess water and place in a large noodle bowl. Do each serve of noodles separately. Top the noodles with the shredded chicken and herb garnish then ladle the pho stock over the bowl. Serve immediately!

I like to have the bean shoots, Thai basil, sriracha chilli sauce and Hoi sin on the table for people to help themselves and customise their bowl to their tastes.

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