Vietnamese Pho Inspired Whole30 Chicken Soup😍

It’s officially soup season and I’ll be eating this Pho Inspired Whole30 Chicken Soup on repeat all winter long! Traditional Vietnamese Pho is a beautiful labor of love that transforms affordable ingredients into a flavorful soup. It’s traditionally cooked low and slow with a whole chicken (bones too), roasted ginger and onion, and spices like cloves, star anise, and cinnamon. I leaned on one of my Vietnamese chefs, Andrea Nguyen for inspiration to make this Chicken Pho Inspired Whole30 Soup and use a pressure cooker to make this weeknight-friendly.

I have also included stovetop instructions to those that don’t have one! I simmered this soup for 90 minutes, as I found it to be the right amount of time to add flavor to the broth but still have juicy and tender chicken (cooking it longer resulted in tougher chicken for me). This makes about 6 servings, so is great for meal prepping lunches for the week! Just keep your broth and zoodles separate so they don’t get soggy. I find to get the best texture from the zoodles, I don’t cook them, and just have the hot broth warm them, but feel free to add them to the broth to cook for a minute or two if you like them softer. Here’s a link to the Instant Pot I have! -> https://amzn.to/2NBGmsT 

Serves 4-5.

Ingredients:

For the Whole30 Chicken Pho:

• 4 lb whole chicken (free range young chickens are best here)

• 8 cups water

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 4 cloves

• 4 star anise

• 2” piece of ginger, sliced (skin on)

• 4 garlic cloves

• 1 ½ white onions, sliced

• 2 zucchinis, spiralized into zoodles

• 2 tbsps fish sauce

• Juice from 1 lime

Toppings:

• Cilantro

• Jalapeno

• Sriracha

• Hoisin sauce (omit for Whole30)

• Lime

• ½ white onion, thinly sliced

Directions:

For the Instant Pot Whole30 Chicken Pho:

• Turn the Instant Pot to saute and add the onions, ginger, and garlic cloves to the dry pot. Toast for 4-5 minutes until charred (do not stir).

• Add the coriander, cinnamon stick, cloves, and star anise and toast 1 more minute.

• Pour in 1 cup of water and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

• Hit cancel on the Instant Pot and add in the chicken with the rest of the water and season with a good pinch of salt.

• Set to high pressure (manual) for 10 minutes with a 20 minute natural release.

• Carefully transfer the whole chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly.

• Strain the broth and skim the fat on the top layer. Season with fish sauce, lime juice, and salt and taste to adjust seasoning. It will need a good amount of salt to flavor the broth properly since we just started with water.

• Remove the chicken from the carcass and shred into strands.

• Place into a bowl with the zoodles and pour over the warm broth. Top with the toppings and enjoy!

For the Stove-top Whole30 Chicken Pho:

• Add the onions, ginger, and garlic cloves to a dutch oven with a tight fitting lid. Dry toast for 4-5 minutes until charred (do not stir).

• Add the coriander, cinnamon stick, cloves, and star anise and toast 1 more minute.

• Pour in 1 cup of water and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

• Add in the chicken with the rest of the water and season with a good pinch of salt.

• Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 90 minutes.

• Carefully transfer the whole chicken to a cutting board and let cool slightly.

• Strain the broth and skim the fat on the top layer. Season with fish sauce and lime juice and taste to adjust seasoning. It will need a good amount of salt.

• Remove the chicken from the carcass and shred into strands.

• Place into a bowl with the zoodles and pour over the warm broth. Top with the toppings and enjoy!