serves
4–6
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Mid
serves
4–6
people
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
Stock
- 1 small chicken; or two chicken frames from leftover roast chicken and 500 g chicken mince
- 4 red shallots, unpeeled
- 5 cm piece ginger, unpeeled
- 1 star anise
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 4 whole cloves (or 1 black cardamom pod)
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp rock sugar
- 3½ litres water
- salt and MSG, to taste
To serve
- 2 chicken breast fillets
- 200g flat rice noodles (banh pho, if you can get it), cooked
- sprigs of Vietnamese mint
- 2 sprigs coriander
- 2 sprigs sawtooth coriander
- 2 sprigs rice paddy herb (ngo om)
- fishwort
- bean sprouts
- spring onion, sliced finely
- 1 onion, sliced finely, soaked in cold water
- chillies, sliced
- limes, cut into wedges
Instructions
Put the red shallots and ginger directly onto a gas burner (or electric stovetop, if you’re not too precious) until the skin blackens. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove and discard the burnt skin.
Put the star anise, coriander seeds and cloves into your pressure cooker, and toast over low heat until the seeds become fragrant.
Add the chicken, red shallots, ginger, fish sauce, rock sugar and water. Seal the pressure cooker and cook for 45 minutes, reducing the heat if steam escapes rapidly from the release valve.
Remove the pressure cooker from the heat and allow depressurising. Meanwhile, poach the chicken breasts and slice finely.
Arrange noodles in the bowls and top with the sliced, poached chicken. Place the herbs, bean sprouts, spring onion, onion, chilli and lime on a serving plate.
Once the pot has fully depressurised, remove the lid and strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve. Add salt and MSG to taste. Add the stock to the bowls and serve.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
