Chicken Pho
Jalapenos are the most popular chile peppers in the US. This is probably due to the availability and versatility of the chile. Jalapenos have a balanced combination of flavor and heat.
The demand for these have caused breeders to develop a broad range of varieties. You can now get jalapenos with various heat level and sizes. These can be used in salsas, stuffed, or eaten straight with cheeseburgers (my personal favorite).
Ingredients:
1 5-lb chicken, quartered
1 onion, skin intact, quartered
3 1 inch pieces of ginger
4 quarts cold water
1 tablespoon salt or fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
freshly ground black pepper
1 lb dried pho noodles (Vietnamese rice noodles)
1 lb mung beans
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup basil, roughly chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 limes, sliced in wedges
2 jalapeños, thinly sliced
Asian chili garlic sauce and/or hoisin for serving
Instructions:
In a large stock pot, place the chicken, onion, ginger, water, salt/fish sauce, and sugar. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove the chicken, allow to cool for a moment, but let the soup stock continue to simmer on the stove. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, debone the chicken and shred. Place the shredded chicken into the refrigerator while the rest of the meal is cooking. Place the bones and the skin back into the soup pot and continue to simmer for about 3 hours. Strain the soup stock into a large pot or dutch oven, add the fish sauce, and cook over high heat until the liquid reduces to roughly 12 cups. Season to taste with additional fish sauce and freshly ground black pepper, if necessary.
Soak the noodles in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes, or until soft.
Bring a pot of water to boil. Salt it generously, then drop in the softened rice noodles and cook for about 3 minutes. Drain. Do the same for the mung beans, blanching them briefly.
Divide the rice noodles, mung beans, and shredded chicken into bowls, and ladle chicken broth into each bowl. Garnish with scallions, basil, cilantro, jalapeño slices and chili sauce. Serve immediately.
From kitchenconfidante.com