This month the Daring Cooks are cooking up a noodle recipe from Jaden from the Steamy Kitchen in celebration of her new cookbook, the Steamy Kitchen Cookbook. Jaden has provided us with a recipe for easy Chicken Pho that cooks up quickly and tastes great!

This quick version of Pho uses store-bought chicken stock that is spiced up and enriched with an entire chicken breast. It’s amazingly easy to make, is ready in under an hour, and tastes just like the real thing. It has all the elements of a good recipe. Try it out, you’ll love it!

Pho:

Equipment:

• Frying pan
• Large stockpot
• Tongs
• Strainer, sieve or colander
• Bowls for serving

Preparation Time: 45 cooking time + 15 minutes to cook noodles based on package directions

Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the Chicken Pho Broth:
2 tbsp. whole coriander seeds
4 whole cloves
2 whole star anise
2 quarts (2 liters/8 cups/64 fluid ounces) store-bought or homemade chicken stock
1 whole chicken breast (bone in or boneless)
½ onion
1 3-inch (7.5 cm) chunk of ginger, sliced and smashed with side of knife
1 to 2 tbsps. sugar
1 to 2 tbsps. fish sauce

1 lb. (500 grams/16 ounces) dried rice noodles (about ¼ inch/6 mm wide)

Accompaniments:

2 cups (200 grams/7 ounces) bean sprouts, washed and tails pinched off
Fresh cilantro (coriander) tops (leaves and tender stems)
½ cup (50 grams/approx. 2 ounces) shaved red onions
½ lime, cut into 4 wedges
Sriracha chili sauce
Hoisin sauce
Sliced fresh chili peppers of your choice

Directions:

1. To make the Chicken Pho Broth: heat a frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise and toast until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Immediately spoon out the spices to avoid burning.
2. In a large pot, add all the ingredients (including the toasted spices) and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 20 minutes, skimming the surface frequently.
4. Use tongs to remove the chicken breasts and shred the meat with your fingers, discarding the bone if you have used bone-in breasts.
5. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce or sugar, if needed. Strain the broth and discard the solids.
6. Prepare the noodles as per directions on the package.
7. Ladle the broth into bowls. Then divide the shredded chicken breast and the soft noodles evenly into each bowl.
8. Have the accompaniments spread out on the table. Each person can customize their own bowl with these ingredients.

Another week, another lesson for the apprentice. What was on the menu? Roasting!

Roasting has got to be one of the best kept secrets of chefs. Complex flavors, beautiful colors, a myriad of textures, all taken care of by the oven and some patience. Sure there is a little matter of prep work, but in real cooking that cannot be omitted.

It all started with me discussing what we would be cooking, lists of ingredients, and the lack of techniques. Initially my apprentice was a bit underwhelmed by the complexity of the techniques and even, at one point, asked if we could do something else. I tried to assure him that, while the techniques are basic, they are well worth learning.

The main technique in a good roast, in my opinion, is time. If you give the roast time to cook (and rest) it will almost always come out properly…unless you overcook it. Some side ingredients of our dinner were potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, and onions; yes, I got the apprentice to eat onions!

I know there isn’t much excitement to preparing this meal, the excitement comes during the eating.

Here’s a quickie dinner we had on Sunday. Marinated chicken kabobs served over multi-grain rice with a Greek inspired salad. This one was real quick and can be prepared ahead of time; my day went something like this:

I put together a quick lemon juice and oil marinade, chopped up some boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and mixed them all together. I let it sit in the refrigerator while I prepared the rice. I picked up this interesting eight grain rice while I was at 99 Ranch. The rice cooked up just like brown rice and had no problems with the rice cooker either, must have been that fuzzy logic working for me again.

I grilled up the kabobs on an indoor grill (OH THE HORROR!) Actually, the grill worked almost as good as the outdoor variety and gave off about as much smoke. You don’t get the same smoky, char-broiled grill flavors, but what do you expect from grilling indoors?

A Greek inspired salad finished off the dish. Chopped greens, olives, and pea greens all served up on a hummus covered pita and finished up with a lemon yogurt dressing.

There’s not much of a recipe here, but I’ll share my yogurt dressing. The eater was threatening to drink the leftovers before I convinced her to save it for another salad.

Lemon Yogurt dressing

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Salt and Pepper

Mix everything together and correct seasoning. If you want a thinner dressing, add just a little bit of water or more lemon juice.

Serve over mixed greens, burgers, fries, or whatever else you can think of

This will last about a week in the refrigerator.