Chicken Pho - In the Crock Pot!

Do you love the Vietnamese noodle soup known as pho?  I do. I've perused a number recipes for this dish and found myself a bit intimidated by the all the seasonings and the meat bones that go into making the broth.  It seems to make good pho, you need to make a good broth. 

The other day I ran across a recipe on Pinterest for chicken pho, in the crock pot no less.  I thought that could be doable.  First because I never buy chicken pho, it's always beef, I thought I wouldn't get caught up in comparisons. Second, because it's made in the crock pot, how hard could it be!?  Turns out not hard at all.  The only item I didn't have on hand was the star anise which I found in the Badia spice section of my grocery store.

The original recipe Load & Go Spring Slow-Cooker Chicken Pho was posted on Shine food on Yahoo. As usual, I made few changes that I thought would work for me.  One thing I like about this recipe is that everyone in my house liked it, even my daughter who does not like traditional pho.  Also because of the condiments, you can easily personalize the heat in your own serving.

This was super simple and although it is not the same as traditional pho, I think now that I've used it to get my feet wet, I will need to give the traditional one a try.

Crock Pot Chicken Pho

adapted from Load & Go Spring Slow-Cooker Chicken Pho

Ingredients:
10 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons fish sauce
8 whole star anise
6 whole cloves
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 cinnamon stick
2 bone-in chicken breasts
10 ounces wide rice noodles
6 cups chopped bok choy

Garnishes and Condiments:
1 cups mung bean sprouts
1/2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
3 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
1 lime, cut into wedges
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha sauce

Combine broth, brown sugar, fish sauce, star anise, cloves, ginger and cinnamon stick in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add chicken breasts, meat-side down. Cover and cook on High for 4 hours (or on Low for 8 hours).

Remove the chicken and let it cool. Also remove the spices and discard. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and shred the meat with two forks. At this point the broth can simmer on low in the crock pot until you are about 30 minutes away from serving.  Refrigerate the chicken until needed.

When ready to resume, turn the slow cooker up to high and add noodles and bok choy. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes.

When the noodles are tender, stir in the shredded chicken and reheat. Serve the bowls of soup with bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, peppers, hoisin sauce, sriracha sauce and lime wedges on the side so everyone can add their own toppings.