WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS
Phở gà is the chicken version of Vietnam's famous beef noodle soup, named for its slippery rice noodles, bánh phở. We made ours by breaking down a whole bird into parts that packed more snugly in the Dutch oven and lessened the amount of water needed to cover the chicken, which shortened the time it took to reduce the liquid to a concentrated broth. With parts, we could also remove the white meat when it was cooked. Covering the pot for the majority of the cooking time prevented evaporation. To keep the broth clear, we skimmed the scum from the broth, simmered the broth gently, and strained it through cheesecloth. In keeping with northern Vietnamese diners’ preference for a savory and lightly spiced broth, we flavored ours with coriander seeds and cloves, adding the spices after we removed the chicken breasts from the pot. Before cooking, we soaked our noodles to remove starch from their surfaces so that they wouldn't stick together. We like this phở served with s