Gizzi's Chicken Pho with Rice Noodles

When I first tried pho last year I was absolutely amazed how something seemingly so simple could have so much flavour and need very little work. This is now my go-to lunchbox recipe, so much so that I ate it for 4 consecutive evenings at work last week. Cooking for one, hey?

As Gizzi suggests, I take a jam jar full of stock to work, heat it up in the microwave and throw it over some shredded chicken and whatever veg I have in. Rice noodles are ideal as they cook in a minute or two but you could also replace them with spiralized veg if you're looking to up your five a day even more.

You could make your own stock from scratch if you like, but I just pop in some fresh stuff from the butcher's counter. I prefer chicken but you can also do beef if you like. Cooked this way the chicken is so tender it just falls off the bones so makes it so ridiculously easy to shred. Particularly if you have a stand mixer, bung it in on a low speed for 30 seconds and pho's your uncle.

I'm so tempted by every single recipe in Gizzi's 'Healthy Appetite' book, next up has to be the Korean fried chicken which looks pretty special. I just have to make sure I can organise myself in advance so I can leave the wings to brine the day before. 

G I Z Z I ' S   C H I C K E N   P H O   W I T H   R I C E   N O O D L E S
(Recipe adapted from Gizzi Erskine's Healthy Appetite, serves 4)

1 whole medium chicken
400ml fresh chicken stock
2 onions, roughly sliced
3cm piece of root ginger, peeled and sliced
1 bulb of garlic cut in half horizontally
6 black peppercorns
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 lemongrass stalk, bashed
1tsp salt
2tbsp fish sauce
2tsp palm sugar
400g rice noodles

To serve:

2 red chillies, finely sliced
2-3 spring onions, green part finely sliced
1 onion, finely sliced into rings
small handful of coriander
a few sprigs of Thai basil
a handful of beansprouts
1 lime cut into 8 wedges

1. Place the chicken in a large casserole dish with the stock, onions, ginger, garlic, peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, lemongrass, salt, fish sauce and palm sugar. Top up with water to cover the chicken. Bring to the boil then cover and leave to simmer for 1 1/2 hours.
2. Once cooked, take the chicken out and set aside to cool. Strain the stock from the vegetables and reduce down in a saucepan for 30 minutes until it reaches a rich broth. Taste and add more fish sauce or seasoning if required.
3. Shred the chicken once cool enough to handle. Or use the dough hook or beater attachment on a stand mixer and beat on a slow speed to shred the chicken whilst warm. 
4. To serve, place a bundle of noodles into each bowl, pour over the stock and add chillies, onions, herbs, beansprouts and a squeeze of lime. 

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