Do you want to know what I dislike? Being ill on the weekend.I spend all week preparing myself for a peaceful couple of days without worrying about Software Quality practices, and then I find myself coughing and with a gravel-like voice that would make Bea Arthur go "Damn, girl".

Not wanting to waste an opportunity, I figured this weekend would now be best to make a soup. Not chicken noodle, which, although tasty, is kinda passe. For me I wanted to do Chicken Pho. Or rather , Chicken phở.

Chicken phở is, most likely, an American variation of the traditional Vietnamese soup. There's no standard, so as long you have a broth with a bit of citrus and a touch of fish sauce. Then there should be rice noodles, onions and bean sprouts. Everything else you can probably use your best estimation, personal taste or both.

UPDATE: I think now it's fairly clear that what I've made here is not Pho. So all of the above? Disregard. This is Asian style chicken soup. You guys have convinced me.

As penance, I intend to make an actual pho sometime in the upcoming months. Any thoughts on where I should start?

Broth

• bones from 1 whole rotisserie chicken
• 12 cups of water
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 Tablespoons of olive oil
• 1/2 head of broccoli
• 1 cup white wine,dry
• 1/8 cup lime juice
• 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tablespoon peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Soup Ingredients

• 1 yellow onions, sliced
• 1 head of broccoli florets
• 1 oz of dried morel mushrooms
• Meat from one whole rotisserie chicken
• 1 lb rice noodles
• 2 cups of chopped green onions
• Basil, to taste
• Sliced jalepenos, as desired
• Bean sprouts, as desired
• Cilantro,to taste
• Slices of lime

Remove the meat from your whole rotisserie chicken. Set the meat aside, and place the bones in a large stock pot. Add twelve cups of water and set over low heat.

Place your onions in a medium skillet. Add a touch of oil and fry the onions until carmelized. Add the onions to the stockpot.

Raise the heat under the stockpot to medium high. Add the broccoli, white wine, lime juice, fish sauce, bay leaf, peppercorns and salt. Bring the broth to a boil, and the lower the heat to low, allowing the broth to get to a simmer. Simmer the broth, partially covered, for at least one hour, but 4-5 would be better, as the longer time will help draw out as much of the flavors into the broth.

When you're ready to use the broth for the soup, strain out as much of the solids as you can.

To the broth, add the sliced onions, the broccoli florets, dried mushrooms and the chicken meat. Maintain soup at a simmer.

Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles as per instructions. When complete, add to the broth as well. Bring the broth up to medium heat and cook for 10 minutes. Add the two cups of chopped green onions.Ladle into your serving bowl.

Add basil, cilantro, jalepenos and bean sprouts as you see fit. Top with a slice of lime and chile sause or hoison sauce.

Serves 8 - 10

Technorati Tags: Food & Drink, Recipes, Soup, pho