I totally loved pushing for healthy eating in 2014, and although in the first few weeks it was difficult to cut out the carbs/sugars/fatty fats, I got used to it eventually and now when I eat out of the healthy norm my body has become adapted to, I feel sick. Which in my opinion is a good thing, like a bad hangover reminding me of the consequences of drinking too much.

Anyway, here’s a twist to chicken soup. Pho to be exact, and we do a lot of it here in San Francisco. It almost seems like there is a Pho eatery opening up everywhere I turn and that’s fine. Since I can’t get enough of the chicken Pho, I decided to find a recipe online I could supplicate, and here it is:
1 ½ lbs (approximately) bone-in skin-on chicken breast
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 3×1″ piece peeled ginger
1 jalapeño, seeds removed and diced
6 cups chicken stock
2 whole, star anise
3 whole cloves
3 Tbs. fish sauce
1 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste
6 oz rice noodles

1.) Toppings – thinly sliced red onion, basil, cilantro, lime wedges, sriracha sauce and jalapeno.
2.) Heat oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chicken breasts skin side down. Cook chicken breasts until browned then remove, about 3 -4 minutes. In the same pan, sauté diced onion until translucent, about 2 -3 minutes.
3.) Add ginger, chicken stock, star anise, cloves, fish sauce, sugar and browned chicken in the pot. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside to cool slightly.
4.) While the chicken is cooling remove the star anise, cloves and ginger and discard. Add in rice noodles to soften. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and gently pull the meat off the bone. Once the rice noodles have softened return the pulled chicken back to the pan.
5.) Taste pho broth for salt and adjust flavor with fish sauce if needed. (Don’t be afraid, fish sauce is a little funky but it is that funky umami that makes dishes like this so delicious)
6.) Ladle pho into bowls and serve with lots of herbs like cilantro and basil, thinly sliced red onion, lime wedges and jalapeno.
Serves 2 to 4

{photo and recipe source, click here}