Chicken and mushroom pho with carrot noodles
Serves: 6
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
Photograph by Martin Poole
Chicken and mushroom pho with carrot noodles
Serves: 6
Prep time: 25 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
181Kcal
Fat
5gr
Saturates
1gr
Carbs
13gr
Sugars
10gr
Fibre
6gr
Protein
22gr
Salt
1.9gr
Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley
Sisters Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley's approach to healthier eating is straightforward, healthy and refreshing: they use only natural, wholesome ingredients.
See more of Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley’s recipes
Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley
Sisters Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley's approach to healthier eating is straightforward, healthy and refreshing: they use only natural, wholesome ingredients.
See more of Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley’s recipes
Ingredients
- 2 litres homemade chicken stock or good-quality vegetable stock
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 large onions, finely diced
- 5cm root ginger (about 40g), grated
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- sea salt
- 3 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 3 whole cloves
- 3 star anise
- grated zest of 1 unwaxed lime or lemon
- 6 large chicken thighs, bone in and skin on (we use organic)
- 4 large carrots
- 200g green beans, halved
- 2 x 120g packs shiitake mushrooms, halved or thickly sliced
- 200g beansprouts
To serve
- 1 red chilli, finely sliced
- 3 limes, quartered
- 2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
- 2 tbsp chopped basil leaves or Thai basil
- 3 handfuls of coriander, roughly chopped
- a handful of radishes, sliced
- 4 spring onions, sliced
- a splash of tamari (gluten-free soy sauce)
Step by step
Get ahead
Make up to the end of step 2 up to 1 day ahead; cool, cover and chill. Remove the chicken and shred; chill. To reheat, bring back to the boil before continuing with the recipe.
- In a large pan, add the stock, cinnamon, onions, ginger, garlic, a pinch of sea salt, fish sauce, cloves, star anise and lime or lemon zest. Bring to a medium simmer.
-
Add the chicken thighs, reduce the heat to a low simmer; cook for 25-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Meanwhile, use a spiralizer or julienne peeler to make the carrot noodles. Or use a regular vegetable peeler, pressing down harder than usual to slice the carrots lengthways into wide pappardelle-style ribbons. Cut the long strands in half to make them easier to eat.
- Arrange the chilli, lime quarters, mint, basil, half the coriander, radishes and spring onions in separate dishes as accompaniments to the pho, along with the tamari in a bowl.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it to a plate to rest for 10 minutes, then shred using two forks – return the skin to the broth; keep the bones for stock. When ready to serve, strain the broth and season. Return to the pan, bring to a simmer, then add the halved green beans and shiitake mushrooms; cook for about 3 minutes. Add the beansprouts and simmer for 1 minute.
- Add the shredded chicken to warm through along with the carrot noodles and the rest of the coriander then turn off the heat and serve. Divide the pho between 6 bowls and let everyone help themselves to the accompaniments.
Chef quote
This fragrant Vietnamese pho is simple to make and satisfying yet light, using noodles made from carrots rather than traditional egg noodles. It’s also a great way to use up leftover chicken.
