Enjoy this comforting, nourishing, and satisfying gluten-free meal any day of the week.
Serves 4
Ingredients for the instant pot: I used a 5.7 litre pot (6 litre pot will also be fine).
1 whole medium chicken
1 large onion
4 star anise
2 lemongrass stalks- ends trimmed and bashed to release their flavour
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp of coriander seeds
2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger
4 cloves of garlic
2 litres of filtered water
Salt to taste
Ingredients for the rest of the pho:
A pack of shiitake mushrooms- sliced
2 carrots - shaved into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
1/pack of Thai basil
1/2 pack of coriander
Brown rice gluten-free vermicelli noodles - 1 nest per bowl.
3 shallots - finely sliced
2 large red chilli's sliced
Instructions:
Place all of the ingredients for the instant pot in the pot and cover with the water and cook under high pressure for 30 minutes, then leave on the keep warm function for another 30 minutes. This gives the stock more time to grow in flavour.
Remove the chicken with large serving implements of your choosing (be careful- it will fall to pieces) and place on a plate to cool slightly.
Put the remaining stock through a sieve into a large bowl and remove all of the solids and discard.
Taste to see if it needs any more salt and marvel at the complex Southeastern flavours that you've just created in liquid form. Pour the stock back in the instant pot on 'keep warm' and add the sliced shiitake mushrooms, carrot ribbons and sliced shallots- just to poach them a little.
Boil the kettle and put your brown rice noodles in a bowl and cover them with boiling water to soften, it takes about 4 minutes. (To save on washing up I just use the same bowl I used to sieve the stock). Run the noodles through cold water in a sieve when done to stop the cooking process otherwise they will be gluey and unpleasant.
Whilst those veg are poaching in the stock and the rice noodles are softening prepare 4 bowls (or however many you're making- it makes great leftovers) and pull the meaty bits off the chicken carcass and divide between the bowls. Add the Thai basil to each bowl and also divide the cooked noodles between each bowl.
Ladle the stock into each bowl over the chicken, basil and noodles and aim to divide the poached veg in the stock equally in each ladelful.
Sprinkle with fresh coriander and sliced red chilli and serve immediately.
If you have leftover stock, store it in a jar in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. It makes amazing carrot and coriander soup with a twist.
Enjoy.