PHỞ

By far Vietnamese Pho is one of my favorite soups. I love the flavors created by all the spices in it that I would never imagine in a soup before.

Given the opportunity I am always down to go eat a big bowl of this fresh comfort food, but sometimes I don't feel like going anywhere and prefer making it at home. Although there were just 2 times that I made it ever! Ha!

Ingredients:

• 3 quart filtered water;
• 1 chicken leg quarter;
• 1 shallot;
• 1 cup cooked rice noodles;
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger (sliced);
• 2 star anise pods;
• 3 cardamom pods;
• 3 cloves;
• 1 stick cinnamon;
• 2 allspice pods;
• fish sauce to taste.

Garnish:

• Thai basil;
• bean sprouts;
• sliced chili or jalapeno peppers;
• fresh cilantro leaves;
• lime wedges;
• Hoisin and/or Sriracha sauce.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F and roast the chicken leg quarter for approximately 30 minutes. I do enjoy cooking the meat this way for soups because of the flavors it provides.

Fill up your pot with 3 quarts of water, add in your chicken and spices and let it cook at a low to medium heat for about 30-40 minutes. It is best to use cheesecloth for the spices as well, so that you don't have to take them out individually once the broth is cooked.

When that is done, remove the chicken leg quarter out of the pot and discard the bones and skin, cut the meat.
Fill up your soup bowl with this amazing and flavorous broth, chicken slices, rice noodles and garnish, squeeze in lime juice, add in a little bit of sriracha and/or hoisin sauce.