The easiest way to make delicious chicken pho
Jump to RecipeNot sure exactly why, but the idea of attempting to make pho always intimidated me. Somehow I felt that all the delicious flavor had to the be the result of some ancient cultural magic I was not privy too. When I combined that with the idea of trying to translate it into an easy and workable slow cooker recipe, I shied away. I just couldn’t imagine being able to figure it all out.
But ultimately, curiosity got the best of me. So, I decided to do some research and conducts some trials. The result: this delicious and quite easy recipe. No ancient magic involved. At least not in my version. Can’t speak for what happen in the kitchens of some of the restaurants that make this delicious soup....
Either way, I feel confident saying that this is the easiest way to make delicious chicken pho
Lazy Slow Cooker Chicken Pho Hacks
- In keeping with my usual lazy self, I put frozen chicken breasts right from the freezer into my slow cooker. Some people have expressed concern about the chicken fully cooking this way. I have never had an issue with it, but to be on the safe side, it is always best to have a meat thermometer on hand. Chicken must reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees before it is considered safe to eat. You can find my favorite meat thermometer here. There are even slow cookers out there that come with built-in thermometers which will automatically switch your slow cooker to the warm setting once your meat has reached its desired internal temperature! Click here to see. I don’t have one of these (just mentioning that in case anyone wants to buy me a gift 😂😂).
- I like to use frozen prechopped onion. Just recently, I realized that this is available in the frozen vegetable section of the market and (at my store) it was less expensive than fresh onion. Plus...no tears involved! 😉
- This recipe calls for dried shiitake mushrooms. Allowing them to re-hydrate right in the broth while it cooks adds an intense, earthy flavor. The mushrooms I used were so huge, I wound up removing some of them from the finished product. The rest I cut up into smaller pieces.
- This recipe calls for the cooked chicken breasts to be shredded after cooking. I prefer to shred with two large forks. I have read about some interesting alternative methods, though. One involved a potato masher. The other used the beaters on a hand held mixer. If you have any thoughts on this, please comment below. I am curious!
Lazy Slow Cooker Chicken Pho
Equipment
- 6 qt or larger slow cooker
Ingredients
- 8 cups chicken or bone broth
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 1 oz dried shiitake mushroom
- 1 tbsp mined garlic
- 1½ tbsp fish sauce
- 3 oz rice sticks or thin rice noodles
- 1 tsp dried Thai basil
- 8 oz bean sprouts
- salt and pepper to taste if needed
- chopped scallions
- lime wedge
Instructions
- I always use a slow cooker liner first to save on clean up
- Put broth and chicken breasts into pot
- Add onion, shiitake mushrooms, fish sauce, garlic and basil
- Stir to submerge mushrooms
- Cook on low for 7 - 8 hours
- Remove chicken from pot, shred and return to pot
- If your mushrooms are overpowering the soup (as mine were) you can remove some at this point. If they are in large pieces, I would suggest cutting them in to smaller pieces.
- Add noodles and bean sprouts for last half hour or so of cooking.
- Top with chopped scallions and a wedge of lime (optional)
Nichole says
Can it be cooked on high for less time?
admin says
I have only cooked it only low, so I have no personal experience. However, I think it would be fine on high for 4-6 hours depending on how hot your slow cooker runs. The two important things to check would be that the chicken reaches an internal temperature that is considered safe to easy (165°F) and that the dried mushrooms are soft and cooked all the way through. If you try it, I would love to hear how it goes! Thanks for taking the time to ask!