You can make this aromatic, deeply flavorful, and authentic pho ga or Vietnamese chicken pho soup at home! Made with roasted aromatics, a handful of spices, and a whole chicken, this Vietnamese chicken noodle soup will be your go-to comfort soup of the season.
When I was young, whenever it would rain my mom would cook me a hot steaming bowl of phở ga. The first slurp of the warm, richly aromatic, chicken pho broth instantly warmed my heart and gave me immediate comfort.
I love the intricate dance of flavors that her pho ga recipe has. The richly aromatic and sweet pho chicken noodle soup topped with fresh herbs, bean sprouts, and a squeeze of lime is honestly the best combination to have ever been invented.
This chicken pho recipe was one of the very first recipes that my mom taught me to make on my journey through Vietnamese cuisine. My mom’s pho chicken noodle soup recipe may require a little patience but the end result is 100% worth the wait. If you love Vietnamese noodle soups, check out my bun bo hue and my bun rieu recipes!
Table of Contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This warm, comforting and deliciously authentic pho chicken noodle soup is the best for those cold winter months.
- All of the ingredients you will need for this chicken pho soup are easily accessible online! The links to “hard to find” ingredients are linked below.
- This chicken pho recipe is very easy to follow with my step-by-step instructions with photos, and a tips and tricks section.
🍽 Kitchen Equipment
For this chicken pho recipe, you will need the following items of kitchen equipment.
- 8 qt Stock Pot: I used an 8-quart stock pot for this chicken pho recipe. You will need a large enough stock pot that can hold all the aromatics, whole chicken, and broth.
- Baking Sheet: you will need a baking sheet to broil your aromatics
- Skimmer: a skimmer is used to skim the scum off the top of the broth for a clean delicious chicken pho broth.
- Spider Strainer: a spider strainer will help you scoop out all the aromatics once the chicken pho soup is done cooking.
- Large tea bag: you will need a large tea bag to steep your pho spices and remove them after 45 minutes.
🛒 Ingredients
All of the ingredients for this pho ga recipe can be found at your local Asian grocery store or online!
Chicken Phở Broth
- Pho Spice Mix: this contains coriander seeds, fennel seeds, a Vietnamese cinnamon stick, black cardamon pods, whole cloves, and whole star anise pods.
- Yellow Onions: are one of the main aromatics that are roasted and add sweetness to the broth.
- Daikon: another aromatic that adds an additional gentle sweetness
- Ginger: adds a slightly peppery and sweet aromatic to the chicken pho noodle soup
- Whole Chicken + chicken breast: my mom’s secret ingredient is always adding more chicken to add more chicken flavor to the broth.
- Chicken Bouillon Powder: chicken bouillon powder is a common ingredient in Asian cooking. It adds more chicken flavoring to the broth. You can find chicken bouillon powder at your local Asian grocery store or online.
- Palm Sugars: adds a subtle caramel, smoky, maple sweetness to the Vietnamese chicken noodle soup. You can find palm sugar at your local Asian grocery market or online.
- Salt: a dash of salt highlights the other flavors of the ingredients.
- Fish Sauce: this wouldn’t be an authentic Vietnamese pho ga recipe without fish sauce. I recommend using Three Crabs fish sauce.
Serve
- Pho Noodles: if you can find fresh pho noodles in the refrigerated aisle of your local Asian grocery store I highly recommend using them. However, dried pho noodles work as well.
- Cilantro and Green Onion: diced cilantro and green onion scatter the top of the broth for a fresh herbal flavor
- White onion: sliced white onion gives the Vietnamese chicken noodle soup a sharp bite that balances well with the warm savory broth.
- Thai Basil: adds a slightly spicy, licorice-like flavor that highlights the broth.
- Bean sprouts: adds a refreshing crunch and texture contrast
- Jalapeños (optional): if you prefer a spicy chicken pho then add jalapenos slices.
- Limes: adding a fresh squeeze of lime juice over your bowl of chicken pho instantly brightens up the flavor
- Hoisin Sauce and Sriracha: if you want to sweeten your broth and add a hint of spice then add about a teaspoon of two sauces.
✨ Substitutions
For a traditional chicken pho noodle soup recipe, there are only so many ingredients that go into the broth. However, I’ve listed a few substitutions for you below that you can use alternatively and still create an authentic pho ga recipe.
- Pre-made spice kits: if you want to forego making your own spice kit, there are pre-made spice kits that are sold at Vietnamese grocery stores or online.
- Phở Ga Soup Base: instead of using chicken bouillon powder, you can alternatively use a pho ga soup base that is normally sold in Asian grocery stores or online.
- Dry Pho Noodles: if you cannot locate fresh pho noodles, dry pho noodles will work just as well.
📝 How to Make Chicken Phở
This Vietnamese chicken noodle soup recipe is a lot easier than it looks. I recommend reading the instructions and tips before you begin.
Aromatics and Spices
- Roast the spices. Place the spices on a medium skillet over medium heat. Lightly toast the spices, stirring occasionally until fragrant about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool, then place the spices in a tea bag.
- Broil aromatics. On a foiled-lined baking pan, add the wedge-cut onions, 2-inch cut daikon, and sliced ginger. Broil at 450 degrees until the tops of the onion and ginger are slightly charred, about 15-20 minutes.
Broth
- Par boil the chicken. Add the whole chicken and chicken breast to a large soup pot and cover it with water until it covers the chicken. Bring to a boil and immediately remove the chicken and pour out the water. Rinse the chicken. This step allows you to get a clear broth.
- Cook the broth. In a large 8-quart soup pot, add the rinsed whole chicken, chicken breast, daikon, onions, ginger, chicken bouillon powder, salt, and palm sugars. Then add water leaving about 1 inch off the top of the pot. Heat on high heat until the broth reaches a boil, then continue boiling for 3 minutes. Skim the scum off the top of the broth.
- Sit for 45 minutes. After 3 minutes, immediately turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the broth sit for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Once cooled, slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Add spice mix. Add the spice mix tea bag and 1 cup of water. Heat over high heat until the broth reaches a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, then remove it from the broth. Make sure the spice mix only stays in the broth for up to 45 minutes max!
- Add to taste. Once the spices have been removed, add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and any additional salt to taste. Then using a spider strainer, remove all the aromatics out of the broth.
Serve
- Cook the noodles. Cook the pho vermicelli noodles according to the instructions on the packaging.
- Assemble. Portion the noodles into a bowl, then add the broth, sliced chicken, diced cilantro and green onion, and a dash of black pepper. Serve with a side of herbs, bean sprouts, jalapeños, and limes. And lastly, top with sriracha and hoisin sauce.
⭐️ Tips for the Best Phở Ga
- Pre-made spice kits. If you do not want to buy a pack of each spice individually, there are pre-made spice kits that are sold online. These work just as well as making your own spice kit from scratch and will save you some time.
- Broil aromatics in batches. For a more even char on all of your aromatics, you can alternatively broil your onions, daikon, and ginger separately.
- Parboil the chicken. Parboiling the chicken first and then rinsing the chicken dramatically saves you time skimming the scum off the top of the pho ga broth. It also ensures a clean broth. I recommend watching the chicken closely and draining the water the second it reaches a boil and then thoroughly rinsing the chicken before placing it back into the pot.
- Turn off the heat after 3 minutes of boiling. When you add all the pho ga broth ingredients to the stockpot, set a timer for the second the chicken pho broth reaches a boil. You only want to boil the chicken for 3 minutes to prevent it from overcooking.
- Only steep the spice mix for 45 minutes max. When you add the spice mix, set a timer for 45 minutes. Since you have to bring the soup back to a boil and then simmer it for 30-35 minutes, different cook times may vary. However, the rule of thumb to remember is that the spice mix can only be in the chicken pho broth for 45 minutes.
- Add fish sauce and salt to taste. Once you remove all of the aromatics and spices from the pho ga broth, add fish sauce and salt to taste. These are the finishing touches that will be based on your taste palette, so add a little at a time.
🥡 Storage Instructions
This chicken pho noodle soup is best served immediately. However, you can make this pho ga recipe ahead and store this chicken pho recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
💬 Frequently Asked Q’s & A’s
Phở or pho is a Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat. Pho is one of the most popular Vietnamese dishes and it is sold in restaurants worldwide.
Overall, pho is very healthy. When you eat a bowl of pho with lean chicken and fresh herbs and bean sprouts you will be getting a lot of iron, zinc, selenium, B vitamins, fiber, magnesium, potassium, protein, vitamin C, vitamin K, vitamin E, vitamin A, antioxidants and carbs.
Think American chicken noodle soup but with 10x more depth and flavor. Vietnamese chicken noodle soup is made with a blend of roasted aromatics and spices and topped with fresh vegetables and herbs.
The main difference is the type of protein the broth is made with. Pho ga is made with a whole chicken and pho bo (beef pho) is made with thick cuts of beef bones.
Chicken pho noodle soup is quicker and easier to make usually only taking about 2 hours whereas beef pho soup requires overnight cooking for the flavor of the beef to permeate the broth. Thus chicken pho has a mild balanced flavor whereas beef broth has a richer, and stronger flavor.
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👩🏻🍳 Recipe
Phở Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Pho Soup)
Ingredients
Spice Mix
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 Vietnamese cinnamon stick
- 2 black cardamon pods
- 4 whole cloves
- 10 whole star anise pods
Broth
- 3 large yellow onions large wedge cut
- 1 daikon about 16 inches, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- ½ lb ginger peeled and sliced vertically
- 1 whole chicken + 1 large chicken breast
- 4 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder
- 6 pieces (95 g) palm sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon salt
- 18 cup (4.5 quarts) water
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
Serve
- 1-2 packages pho rice vermicelli noodles preferably fresh
- Cilantro diced
- Green Onion diced
- White onion thinly sliced
- Thai Basil
- Bean sprouts
- Ngo Gai (culantro)
- Sliced Jalapeños optional
- Limes sliced
- Hoisin Sauce
- Sriracha
Instructions
Aromatics and Spices
- Roast the spices. Place all of the spices on a medium skillet over medium heat. Lightly toast the spices, stirring occasionally until fragrant about 2 minutes. Set aside to cool, then place the spices in a tea bag.
- Broil aromatics. On a foiled-lined baking pan, add the wedge-cut onions, 2-inch daikon pieces, and sliced ginger. Broil at 450 degrees until the tops of the onion and ginger are slightly charred, about 15-20 minutes.
Broth
- Parboil the chicken. Add the whole chicken and chicken breast to a large soup pot and cover it with water until it covers the chicken. Bring to a boil and immediately remove the chicken and pour out the water. Rinse the chicken. This step allows you to get a clean broth.
- Cook the broth. In large 8 qt soup pot, add the rinsed whole chicken, chicken breast, daikon, onions, ginger, chicken bouillon powder, salt, palm sugar. Then add water leaving about 1 inch off the top of the pot. Heat on high heat until the broth reaches a boil, then continue boiling for 3 minutes. Skim the scum off the top of the broth.
- Sit for 45 minutes. After 3 minutes, immediately turn off the heat, cover the pot and let the broth sit for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Once cooled, slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Add spice mix. Add the spice mix tea bag and 1 cup of water. Heat over high heat until the broth reaches a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn down the heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes, then remove from the broth. Make sure the spice mix only stays in the broth for up to 45 minutes max!
- Add to taste. Once the spices have been removed, add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and any additional salt to taste. Then using a spider strainer, remove all the aromatics out of the broth.
Serve
- Cook the noodles. Cook the pho vermicelli noodles according to the instructions on the packaging.
- Assemble. Portion the noodles into a bowl, then add the broth, sliced chicken, diced cilantro and green onion, and a dash of black pepper. Serve with a side of herbs, bean sprouts, jalapeños, and limes. And lastly, top with sriracha and hoisin sauce.
Notes
- Pre-made spice kits. If you do not want to buy a pack of each spice individually, there are pre-made spice kits that are sold online. These work just as well as making your own spice kit from scratch and will save you some time.
- Broil aromatics in batches. For a more even char on all of your aromatics, you can alternatively broil your onions, daikon, and ginger separately.
- Parboil the chicken. Parboiling the chicken first and then rinsing the chicken dramatically saves you time skimming the scum off the top of the pho ga broth. It also ensures a clean broth. I recommend watching the chicken closely and draining the water the second it reaches a boil and then thoroughly rinsing the chicken before placing it back into the pot.
- Turn off the heat after 3 minutes of boiling. When you add all the pho ga broth ingredients to the stockpot, set a timer for the second the chicken pho broth reaches a boil. You only want to boil the chicken for 3 minutes to prevent it from overcooking.
- Only steep the spice mix for 45 minutes max. When you add the spice mix, set a timer for 45 minutes. Since you have to bring the soup back to a boil and then simmer it for 30 minutes, different cook times may vary. However, the rule to remember is that the spice mix can only be in the chicken pho broth for 45 minutes.
- Add fish sauce and salt to taste. Once you remove all of the aromatics and spices from the pho ga broth, add fish sauce and salt to taste. These are the finishing touches that will be based on your taste palette, so add a little at a time.
- Storage Instructions: This chicken pho noodle soup is best served immediately. However, you can make this pho ga recipe ahead and store this chicken pho recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
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