Slow Cooker Chicken Pho

This slow-cooked take on a Vietnamese classic builds deep flavor from chicken, ginger, and spices.

Active Time: Slow Cook Time: Total Time: Servings:

30 mins 8 hrs 10 hrs 10 mins 6

Crafting a deeply flavored, well-balanced chicken pho usually demands hours of hands-on simmering and skimming — but this slow-cooker riff delivers all the depth with little fuss. This simplified version of the beloved Vietnamese soup starts with an aromatic broth made with collagen-rich chicken wings and a blend of traditional pho spices including star anise, cinnamon, and coriander. After an eight-hour simmer that builds a clean and clear broth, slices of chicken thigh are gently cooked in the fragrant broth and served with soft rice noodles that absorb all the flavors. The result is a comforting bowl of pho that tastes like it’s cooked all day — which it did, while you were doing other things.

How should I serve chicken pho?

Chicken pho is best served over long rice noodles and piled with your choices of fresh toppings like matchstick carrots, mint and basil leaves, and sliced Thai chiles.

Notes from the Food & Wine Test Kitchen

The browned onion and caramelized ginger add sweetness to the broth. Don’t take the onion too far, into charred territory, or it will add bitterness to your broth.

Suggested pairing

Serve this pho with a juicy, lightly herbal red, such as Giacomo Mori Chianti.

Make ahead

The pho broth can be prepared through step two, cooled completely, and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three days or in the freezer for up to six months.

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion, unpeeled and halved crosswise

• 1 tablespoon canola oil

• 1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, unpeeled and cut into thick slices (about 1/3 cup)

• 4 whole cloves

• 1 stick cinnamon stick

• 1 whole star anise

• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds

• 2 1/2 pounds chicken wings

• 2 quarts lower-sodium chicken broth

• 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

• 1/4 cup fish sauce, divided

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving

• Cooked rice noodles, matchstick carrots, fresh mint and basil leaves, and thinly sliced Thai chiles, for serving

Directions

1. Place onion halves, cut sides down, in a medium skillet over medium high; drizzle oil into skillet, and add ginger. Cook, leaving onions undisturbed and flipping ginger occasionally, until caramelized and deeply browned, about 6 minutes for ginger and 8 minutes for onion, adding cloves, cinnamon, star anise, and coriander during final 15 to 20 seconds of cooking to quickly toast the spices. Transfer the aromatic mixture to a 6- to 7-quart slow cooker.

2. Add chicken wings, chicken broth, brown sugar, and 3 tablespoons fish sauce to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until broth is flavorful and infused with seasonings, about 8 hours. Pour the broth mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a heatproof bowl; discard solids.

3. Return strained broth to slow cooker. Add chicken thighs; cover and cook on high until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Stir in lime juice and remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce. Serve with rice noodles, carrots, mint, basil, chiles, and lime wedges.