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–+ servings
A bowl of rotisserie chicken pho.
5 from 6 votes

Rotisserie Chicken Pho

This rotisserie chicken pho recipe is time saving hack that makes authentic tasting, homemade chicken pho that's comparable to your favorite Vietnamese restaurant in 45 minutes! This recipe is a great way to utilize leftover rotisserie chicken and makes for an easy meal perfect for anytime, especially cold and rainy days.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients
 

For the soup base:

  • 1 rotisserie chicken carcass
  • 12 cups water
  • 1 large yellow onion peeled and cut in half
  • 2 ounces ginger cut in half lengthwise
  • 2 ounces small rock sugar (clear) (2 oz is about the size of a golf ball)
  • 6 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1½ teaspoons salt or as needed
  • 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder optional

Spices for the soup base:

  • 2 teaspoons coriander seed
  • 2 teaspoons fennel seed
  • 10 whole cloves
  • 2 pieces star anise
  • ⅓ cinnamon stick

To serve:

Toppings and condiments (feel free to pick and choose what you like):

  • bean sprouts
  • green onion thinly sliced
  • cilantro roughly chopped
  • yellow onion thinly silced
  • Thai basil
  • jalapeno thinly sliced
  • lime cut into wedges
  • Sriracha
  • hoisin sauce

Instructions

  • Prepare the rotisserie chicken:
    Remove the meat from the rotisserie chicken and shred it into bite size pieces for serving. Discard the skin and reserve the bones. If your rotisserie chicken is plain flavored, save the dripping as well.
  • Toast the spices:
    In a pan over medium heat, add all the spices. Toast the spices until they turn golden, becomes aromatic, and a few seeds start to pop. Make sure to shake the pan often. Once the spices are toasted, transfer them into a spice bag.
  • Char the aromatics:
    Heat a pan over medium high heat and place the yellow onion and ginger into the pan flat side down. No oil needed! Sear the aromatics until charred.
    You can also char the aromatics on an open fire, with a kitchen torch, with the oven's broil function, or simply roasted in the oven or an air fryer.
  • Make the soup:
    To a large dutch oven, add the rotisserie chicken bones, the drippings, water, toasted spices, charred aromatics, rock sugar, and fish sauce. Bring everything to a boil then lower to a gentle simmer. Skim the top of the soup to remove impurities during the process. Cover with a lid and let the soup simmer for about 30 minutes. Make sure to NOT boil the soup!
  • Season:
    Once the time is up, remove and discard all the solids and skim the soup again if needed. Season with salt and optionally some chicken bouillon powder. Taste and adjust the saltiness to your preference. The soup should be a little saltier and a little sweeter because it'll get diluted by the noodles and toppings later.
  • Assemble:
    Cook the noodles according to the package instructions and portion into bowls. Top the noodles with your desired amount of shredded rotisserie chicken and hardier toppings like the jalapeño peppers, yellow onions, and bean sprouts. Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the hot soup over everything then finish by adding the rest of the toppings.
  • Enjoy the chicken pho as is or squeeze of lime into the soup for a nice pop (highly recommended!). You can dip the chicken into a mixture of hoisin and Sriracha or Vietnamese dipping sauce mixed with grated/minced ginger. Fresh chilis can be added for additional spice.

Notes

Please refer to the post above for step by step photo reference, tips, storage and FAQs!
  • The nutrition calculation is an estimate and does not include calculations for the shredded chicken and toppings. 
  • Soup base - This recipes makes about 4 portions worth of soup. If you can't use it all, it freezes really well, for up to 4 months. Just make sure to strain it before storing.
  • Spices - If you prefer, you can buy the packet premixed pho soup base spices. It even comes with a spice bag. Use about ⅓ of the spice and makes sure to toast it! A photo of the brand we use in provided in the post above.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 414.8kcal | Carbohydrates: 94g | Protein: 5.5g | Fat: 1.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 0.1mg | Sodium: 3427.1mg | Potassium: 267.4mg | Fiber: 3.5g | Sugar: 17.1g | Vitamin A: 8.6IU | Vitamin C: 4.2mg | Calcium: 91.6mg | Iron: 1.7mg
Keywords: easy recipe, soup
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