I have never really been a trend setter.
Trendy? Sure.
Trend follower? Okay, yeah. I’m not ashamed. I won’t deny it.
But, I have never really been the first on the scene with the latest and greatest.
I had a flip phone longer than some probably thought was socially acceptable and I resisted the iPhone for a long time due to a fear that I would ruin it in the first 24 hours. I drive a ten year old car. And, I don’t own a crop top. (And, that’s okay.)
But, something funny happened around the start of the year… I found myself ahead of the curve.
I was watching the Today Show and each anchor was sipping from what looked like a coffee cup. But instead of lattes, the cups contained the newest craze to hit NYC: Bone broth.
This winter, shops were popping up all over the city that offered warm cups of ($4.00!) broth that New Yorkers were drinking like Starbucks. Bone Broth is made with any animal bones that you roast and simmer for hours with vegetables. The broth is touted for it’s vitamins and minerals to help boost immune systems, relieve joint and gut pain, and to brighten skin and shine hair.
I have been making Bone Broth in my home every other week for almost two years.
And, not to be trendy. Or, even for the vitamins and minerals… although, that’s a nice bonus, I suppose. How’s my hair look?!
But rather, to take complete advantage of a whole chicken and ensure that nothing is wasted, not even bones.
After enjoying a whole chicken’s meat, I place the bones in a large pot or crock pot with whatever vegetables I have in the fridge and let it simmer for the good portion of a day. Once cool, I freeze the broth in mason jars with plenty of room for expansion. It’s great to have on hand because we make soups and risotto often. I cannot remember the last time I had to purchase broth or worry about the massive amounts of sodium in store bought broth.
The most recent good dent in our broth was to hop on another trend: Pho.
Pho is big. The chefs I work with make it often as it’s a common college request. My urban friends gush over it. My sister-in-law even claims that she and her husband are “pho-natics.” And, they aren’t alone: If you look up “#pho” on Instagram you will find over one million tags to filtered pho-tos.
It’s popularity is well deserved, but it is actually pretty simple. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup that typically contains broth, long, skinny noodles, herbs and meat.
And, with my homemade broth and already cooked chicken, I made it even more simple. However, while simple to make, it’s flavor is anything but.
This Pho is a symphony of flavors. There’s the deep, slightly sweet but spicy broth, bright herbs, and crunchy garnishes that literally sing with every bite.
The perfect transition to early spring soup.
- 8 Cups of Chicken Broth
- 4 Cups of Water
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped in large pieces
- 4 cloves of garlic, roughly minced
- 3 whole cloves
- 1 inch knob ginger, thinly sliced
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 TBS fish sauce
- Salt and Pepper
- 5 Ounces Pho Rice Noodles (I used ramen because it's what I had. Even linguine works just fine.)
- 12 ounces cooked chicken, roughly chopped
- Garnishes: cilantro, green onions, lime wedges, green onions, thinly sliced jalapenos, etc.
- Stir broth, water, onion, garlic, clove, ginger, cinnamon stick and fish sauce together in a large stock pot. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.
- Cook the noodles according to the package. Drain and rinse immediately to stop the cooking. Set aside.
- Prepare the garnishes.
- Add the chicken to the broth to heat back up.
- When ready to serve, place noodles in serving bowl then cover with the hot broth and chicken. Top with garnishes and serve right away.
The garnishes are one of my favorite things about Pho. You can really make it your own and create lots of flavor elements. Common toppings are green onions, cilantro, chili peppers, lime wedges, and bean sprouts. Adam loves to add sirracha for some more heat. I added kimchi to this one for color… and because kimchi is the bomb.com.
Pho reals.
