Let me start by saying, this is not authentic phở. This is “I need something that tastes good, is fast, has noodles, and kind of tastes like phở.” AKA Quickie Faux Phở. It does the job in a pinch when you can’t get the real thing. Kind of like what those 15¢ packs of ramen are compared to real ramen—not really even in the same class, but it only takes 15 minutes to make and sometimes that’s what’s important.
What is Phở?
Well basically, phở is the best food on earth (sorry pizza, it’s true). Phở is a Vietnamese noodle soup made with a super lush bone broth, tender meat, and a whole lot of delicious fresh toppings like Thai basil, cilantro, bean sprouts, lime, and thinly sliced jalapeñ0. The flavors are absolutely divine and it will cure any ailment you have, physical, emotional, or spiritual.
Why Not Make Authentic Chicken Phở?
I’ve had many people ask me to make phở for the blog over the years, but I’ve avoided it, despite my deep love for the amazing soup. We have a large Vietnamese population here in New Orleans, so it’s just too easy to get a giant bowl of super authentic, perfectly made phở for really cheap. I’d rather do that once in a while than gather all the ingredients and go through the laborious process to make it myself at home. Sometimes effort > savings, ya know?
But then one day I accidentally discovered that adding five spice blend to chicken broth makes a tasty concoction that tastes awfully similar to phở, and here we are. If you’d rather try your hand at making the real thing, I suggest checking out Steamy Kitchen. Jaden has two great chicken phở recipes, one for a slow cooker and one stove top.
Anyway, are you ready to see how to get phở flavor but FAST?
Quickie Faux Phở
Servings 4Ingredients
SOUP
- 6 cups chicken broth* ($0.78)
- 1/2 Tbsp five spice blend ($0.15)
- 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded or chopped ($1.50)
- 8 oz. wide rice noodles ($1.75)
TOPPINGS
- 1 jalapeño ($0.14)
- 1 lime ($0.50)
- 2 green onions ($0.20)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.20)
- Sriracha to taste ($0.15)
- Hoisin sauce to taste ($0.15)
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth, five spice blend, and chicken pieces to a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the noodles and continue to boil until tender** (about 4-5 minutes).
- While the noodles are boiling, slice the jalapeño and green onions, and cut the lime into wedges.
- Spoon the broth, noodles, and chicken into four bowls. Top with a couple wedges of lime, a few slices of jalapeño and green onion, and a few sprigs of fresh cilantro. Serve with sriracha and hoisin on the side.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Faux Chicken Phở – Step by Step Photos
Phở is all about the broth, so use the best stuff you can find–homemade if possible. You’ll want about 6 cups for this super fast, small-batch version.
Five spice blend is what transforms a regular chicken stock into a faux phở. The five spices in this blend are anise, ginger, cinnamon, fennel, and black pepper–a very similar mix of spices that you’d use if you were making a phở broth from scratch, and that’s why this works. It’s a huge short cut. I used 1/2 Tbsp for 6 cups of broth, but you can always add more later if you’d like.
Also add about 1 cup of shredded or chopped pre-cooked chicken. Bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat.
You’ll need some wide rice noodles for your phở. I used half of this package for four servings, or 8oz. total.
You can either drop the noodles right into the boiling soup to cook them, or cook them separately so they don’t get mushy when you store the phở in the refrigerator. If you cook and store the noodles separately, just plop some of the cooked and drained noodles in the bottom of each bowl and ladle the hot broth over top. The noodles only take 4-5 minutes to cook.
While the noodles are cooking, prepare the garnishes. There are a lot of different garnishes that can go into phở, but I kept it simple to keep the price down. The three things that are critical, IMHO, are lime, cilantro, and jalapeño. I also did green onion because I had it on hand, and I like to add sriracha and hoisin.
To serve, start your bowl with the broth, noodles, and chicken.
Next, drop in a couple lime wedges, add a few slices of jalapeño and green onion, and a few sprigs of fresh cilantro.
Finally, finish it off with the sauces. If you’re a phở fanatic like me, you know that the longer these things sit in the broth, the better it gets. So, by the time you get to the bottom of that bowl you’re in absolute heaven. Leftovers are also pretty amazing.
It might not be the real thing, but I certainly wouldn’t say no to a big bowl of that Quickie Faux Phở!
<3 pho! One of the things I miss most since moving back to the midwest is how difficult it is to find a good bowl of pho out here. I'll have to give this a shot and see if it satisfies the cravings! We differ on essential toppings, though–my favorites are the thai basil and bean sprouts.
I probably won’t try this recipe, but I just wanted to comment because phở is a major bone of contention in my household… I know that sounds a little weird. When my boyfriend took his current job we had to move into a rural community that is 2 hours from the closest place you can get an authentic bowl of phở and is possibly the biggest downside to our choice of locale. Anyway, I’m super jealous that you are surrounded by phở. I’ve tried to make it about a dozen times now, tried many recipes some of which came from Vietnamese people and some which didn’t, I’ve tweaked recipes based on what I’ve learned, I’ve hybridized recipes, etc. I’ve never been able to accurately replicate the complex flavour of phở. It frustrates me but I haven’t given up. Of course each batch takes about 6 months to consume because I make so much broth that I have to freeze it. If you ever do decide to give it a whirl be prepared for a difficult task.
another PS: I might have missed this in the post, but a quick pronunciation lesson for anyone who is uncertain: phở sounds like the beginning part of “f*ck”, and doesn’t rhyme with faux. Why you mighty see jokes like “phở-cking awesome!” :)
Thanks for sharing the pronunciation lesson!
I always giggle when I pass the phở place in the Asian strip malls. It’s called ‘Phở King’.
They knew what they were doing, and I love it. :P
Or you could say “fuh” instead of “f*ck”. Just. Why?
I grew up eating my mom’s phở bò, or beef phở, so here is a recipe from Andrea Nguyen that tastes very close to that! If you have the time and no access to delicious restaurant phở, this is totally worth it. PS Andrea’s cookbook Into the Vietnamese Kitchen and her blog is awesome! http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2008/10/pho-beef-noodle-soup.html
You can kick the pho flavor up another notch by adding fresh basil as one of the toppings. Thai basil works best but regular Italian basil would work in a pinch too! Great recipe, Beth!
Wow!! This is fantastic!! This is delicious, easy to prepare, and I feel so healthy when I have it. The unique blend of fresh lime, jalapeños, chillies, spring onions add an awesome taste to the dish. Just try it and enjoy this delightful recipe. It’s yummy.
I am losing my mind over this!! It’s so simple… Ugh, I hope this nips those pho cravings!
I love how you described phở as the best food on earth, since I’m a Vietnamese, which makes sense, and the pictures look so yummy as well. I wonder if I could do the same thing but use beef broth and roasted beef instead to make a beef phở ?
I would guess that it would work just as well! :)
Love this! I tried something similar in the crockpot recently but bought the spices from Whole Foods’ bulk section – for less than a dollar total! I’ll have to try the five spice blend next! http://www.chaotickitchenette.com/home/easy-crockpot-chicken-pho
Sounds good. Can’t wait to try it without the jalapeño and Sriracha. Nobody at my house can eat spicy food. I am sure it will be delicious.
We do a version with beef stock and a spice sack filled with black peppercorns, cinnamon stick, cardamom, basil, and anise seed. I also add a tbsp each of hoison and ginger paste, a dash of lemon juice (in place of lemongrass), and some chopped onion. After we boil the broth for an hour, we slice raw sirloin very thinly and put over top the cooked noodles in the bowl–then add the hot broth on top. If you do it right, the hot broth will cook the raw beef right in your bowl. (Then of course all of the garnishes) OMG SO GOOOOOOOOD.
I fully admit I was a little doubtful about the recipe at first. Gah, I’m off to the grocery store. This recipe superceded what I was planning on making for dinner, and no other food will do. I’ll post pics on IG and rate it when I make it, but how on earth can it be less than a five?
Beth, you have no idea how happy you made me just by spelling phở right. I guess I’ve just seen too many people who are careless when it comes to handle dishes from other cultures. And hey, thumbs up for the recipe! It’s not authentic but heck, if one has to settle for instant ramen sometimes, why not Quickie Faux Phở?! ;)
Looks like a pretty good recipe. Took several minutes to load past the opdivo ad. A little annoying to have it not let you scroll.
I will be a hit with my son and d-i-l with this recipe, Beth. They lived in San Fran and could always get Pho. Your bowl of goodness looks yummy!