Enough's Vietnamese Pho ga (chicken soup) inspired broth

Why is chicken soup so good?

So, what makes chicken soup and chicken broth so good? Google returns 49.5M results, and when combined with vegetables and spices becomes a health powerhouse. We'll just cover a few like:

1. Being rich in essential fatty acids and protein to help your body build and repair healthy muscle, bone, skin and blood cells.

2. It’s a rich source of minerals like iron

3. When chicken broth is made with onions, garlic and ginger, not only are you adding flavour, but also a dose of phytonutrients- great for supporting a well-functioning immune system, and reducing inflammation in the body

4. The Beauty Chef loves it for it's time-honoured role as a remedy for treating connective tissue (collagen and elastin) related ailments including concerns with skin, joints, digestive tracts, lungs and muscles; as well as being rich in skin-loving amino acids, sulphur and glycine; an essential for the body to continue self-supplying the 'master' anti-oxidant, gluthathione

5. The same amino acids and collagen benefits mentioned above can assist with strengthening (and some say growing) hair and nails

Health benefits aside, chicken soup is universally loved and great for you (provided you keep an eye on the sodium levels), so we've created a chicken broth recipe of our own in homage to Lisa's parents - a Vietnamese phở gà inspired broth - it’s based on a noodle soup dish made by Lisa’s parents and the ultimate expression of nurturing and love. We hope you love it as much as we do.

We'll start with a simple chicken broth base, and add some beautiful aromatics including ginger, star anise, black cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and coriander seeds to lend the broth its distinct warm phở flavours.

Ingredients

Chicken broth base (will make approximately 5L)

• 1 whole chicken (~1.6kg), or 1-2 chicken bones/carcasses

• 8 spring onions (scallions), white part only (reserve the green for garnishing)

Aromatics

• 1 large brown onion, unpeeled

• 1/2 garlic bulb, unpeeled

• 100g piece of ginger, peeled

• 3-4 star anise

• 2 cardamom pods

• 1 small cinnamon stick or cassia bark

• 50g coriander seed
  

To season

• 1 tablespoon sea salt

• 100ml fish sauce

• 50g caster sugar
  

Optional (if you want to recreate phở gà)

• Chicken meat from whole chicken (if using)

• -Rice noodles (fresh or dry, just follow the packet instructions)

• Fresh herbs like Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, bean sprouts, fresh red chilli

Method

1. Crush the spring onion into a paste in a mortar and pestle. Quickly rinse the chicken or bones to remove any blood or bone splinters. Place the chicken/bones in a stockpot (approximately 10L capacity) and add enough cold water to cover chicken. Bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer for 15-20 minutes, skimming the surface to remove any impurities. Remove the chicken/bones. If using whole chicken, set aside to cool - you'll be able to remove the meat for later (or use as a sandwich filling or bulk up a salad).

2. In the meantime, roast the onion, garlic and ginger over an open flame (over the gas stovetop, bbq flame or under the grill) until the skins are blistered and aromatic. Rinse off any burnt bits and add whole to the broth.

3. Dry roast the star anise, cardamom pods, cinnamon (or cassia bark), and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan (i.e. don’t add any oil) over medium heat until fragrant. Tie the spices in a square of muslin (cheesecloth) and add to broth.

4. Bring to the boil and then turn down to gently simmer broth for further 4-5 hours until liquid has reduced approximately 20%.

5. Taste and season using sea salt, fish sauce and caster sugar.

Broth can be consumed immediately on its own, or served with chicken meat from the whole chicken, rice noodles and green onion, or frozen in batches to use in place of store-bought stock for instant flavour and nutrition.