Phở Gà
Phở gà
Hanoi's chicken phở, born of the beef-rationed Mondays and Fridays of 1939 — a clearer, lighter broth of ginger and charred shallot that argues with nobody.
By Vietnamese Cookbook Kitchen · March 2, 2026
Hà Nội & the Red River DeltaFrench Indochina era, 1883–1945
Phở- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 90 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Intermediate
Phở gà has a birthday, more or less. In 1939 the colonial administration, managing wartime beef supplies, ordered Hanoi's markets to go without beef on Mondays and Fridays — and the phở shops, rather than close two days a week, put a chicken in the pot. Purists were appalled; the essayist Nguyễn Tuân never forgave the substitution. But the meatless-Monday workaround outlived the rationing that forced it, because Hanoi discovered the chicken version was not a compromise at all. It was a different argument entirely — paler, quieter, and, on a hot June morning, frequently the better one.
Where beef phở builds a cathedral of spice, the chicken bowl practices restraint: ginger, charred shallot, coriander seed, and a broth that must stay absolutely clear. A chicken broth clarifies through stillness — skim early, then never let it boil. The whole bird poaches just to doneness and comes out; its frame stays behind to finish the work. Serve it with rau răm and a confident squeeze of lime, and let the beef partisans have their Tuesdays.
Pull the chicken the moment the thigh reads 74°C and let it finish in its own heat — a bird that simmers until "done" has already given its texture to the pot.
Lời đầu bếp · A word from the kitchen
Ingredientsnguyên liệu
Serves 4
Broth
- 1.4 kgwhole chicken — about 3 lb — the smallest, most free-range bird you can find; gà ta, the lean Vietnamese heritage chicken, is the ideal this recipe chases
- 500 gchicken wings or backs — about 1 lb, for body — a whole bird alone makes a thin pot
- 80 gfresh ginger — a hand-sized knob, halved lengthwise
- 3shallots — unpeeled
- 1 tbspcoriander seeds — toasted; chicken phở wears its spice lightly — no clove, and star anise only if your hand is very restrained
- 30 mlfish sauce — 2 tbsp, plus more to season
- 15 grock sugar — about 1 tbsp; ordinary sugar works
- 2.5 Lwater — about 10 cups
Bowls
- 400 gdried flat rice noodles (bánh phở) — 14 oz, medium width; fresh noodles if your market has them
- 3scallions — whites sliced into fine rings, greens cut long
- 1 handfulfresh cilantro and Vietnamese coriander (rau răm) — rau răm is the northern signature here; cilantro alone is acceptable
- 1lime — in wedges
- As neededsliced bird's-eye chili and black pepper — at the table
Methodcách làm
Step 1: Char the aromatics
Blister the ginger and shallots over an open flame or under a broiler until the skins blacken in patches, then scrape off the burnt paper. This char is most of the broth's depth — chicken gives you clarity, the charring gives you somewhere to go.
Step 2: Start the pot cold
Rinse the chicken and wings well, cover with the cold water, and bring just to the edge of a boil. Skim the grey foam patiently for the first ten minutes — everything you remove now is cloudiness you never have to apologize for later.
Step 3: Poach, don't boil
Add ginger, shallots, coriander seeds, rock sugar, and fish sauce, and drop the heat until the surface barely shivers. Poach the whole bird 30 to 40 minutes, until the thigh reads 74°C (165°F), then lift it into a bowl of iced water for five minutes to set the skin.
Step 4: Return the frame
Strip the meat once the bird is cool enough to handle, tear or slice it, and put the carcass back in the pot for another 40 minutes. The bird cooks on the clock; the broth cooks on the frame.
Step 5: Season and assemble
Strain the broth, taste, and correct with fish sauce — it should land just short of salty enough, because the bowl finishes the job. Cook the noodles, divide among bowls with the chicken and scallions, and ladle the broth over boiling hot.
Đồ nghề · The tools
Equipment
Tall stockpot (12 qt+)
Nồi hầmPhở is a marathon of bones and water, and a wide pot evaporates your broth away. Go tall and narrow — the depth keeps a lazy simmer lazy for six hours.
Shop on Amazon →Portable gas burner
Bếp ga miniLẩu is not lẩu if someone has to keep walking to the stove. The tabletop butane burner turns a pot of broth into a two-hour dinner party.
Shop on Amazon →Charcoal grill / grill pan
Vỉ nướngNướng means fire, and lemongrass pork wants char and smoke. A small charcoal grill is the true answer; a screaming-hot cast-iron grill pan under a cracked window is the honest apartment one.
Shop on Amazon →Fine-mesh skimmer
Vợt vớt bọtClear phở broth is not a trick, it is patience with a skimmer — take the scum off early and often and the pot rewards you with glass.
Shop on Amazon →Fine sieve / muslin
Rây lọcFor straining broth crystal-clear, squeezing coconut milk, and working tamarind pulp through into pure sour. Line it with muslin when the recipe says “clear” and means it.
Shop on Amazon →
Equipment links are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. Disclosure.
Questions from the kitchen
Can I make it with just thighs instead of a whole bird?
Yes — use 1 kg of bone-in, skin-on thighs plus the wings, and poach 30 minutes. You lose the breast-versus-thigh negotiation at the table, but the broth gives up nothing.
Why is my broth cloudy?
It boiled. A chicken broth clarifies through stillness — once bubbles roll, the proteins you skimmed emulsify into the liquid and no amount of later straining brings the shine back. Bare shiver, lid off.
Is phở gà just phở bò with the beef swapped out?
No — the spice cabinet changes with the animal. Beef phở carries star anise, clove, and cinnamon; the chicken version runs on ginger, charred shallot, and coriander seed, and drinks lighter on purpose.
Nấu tiếp · Cook next
Keep the burner on
PhởPhở & Noodle Soups·255 min·Advanced
Phở Bò, the Hanoi WayPhở bò
Hanoi's morning bowl built the slow way — charred onion and ginger, toasted spices, and a beef broth kept at a shiver, never a boil, for three hours.
PhởPhở & Noodle Soups·220 min·Intermediate
Hủ Tiếu Nam VangHủ tiếu Nam Vang
The Phnom Penh–style noodle soup of the Mekong world — clear pork-and-dried- seafood broth, chewy noodles, shrimp, quail eggs, and a slick of fried garlic oil.
PhởPhở & Noodle Soups·225 min·Intermediate
Bún Bò HuếBún bò Huế
Huế's lemongrass-annatto noodle soup — beef shank, pork hock, and a fermented-shrimp depth handled honestly for kitchens far from the Perfume River.