Chicken Pho

This is Vietnamese comfort food and a different take on chicken soup.  Another recipe from Food and Wine.  It takes a while to make the broth but it's the flavor of the broth that makes this so good.  Using good quality chicken is a big key to flavorful broth.  You can poach the chicken and make the broth ahead of time and refrigerate separately overnight.  I roasted some broccoli and heirloom carrots and added it on top of the soup.  Any vegetables can work just choose what you like and what is in season and roast at 400 for about 20 minutes with a little olive oil and sea salt.

Ingredients
PHO
Kosher salt
One 3 1/2-pound chicken--I used bone in chicken thighs
2 whole star anise
2 cardamom pods
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
One 2 1/2-inch cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon black peppercorns--I used 1 1/2 tsp of
1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns
1 teaspoon goji berries
2 shallots, halved
1 small onion, quartered
1 leek, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon crushed rock sugar or dark brown sugar
GARNISHES
6 ounces dried rice noodles
1/4 cup canola oil
3 medium shallots, thinly sliced (1 cup)
1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce--I used soy sauce
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Bean sprouts, basil sprigs, mint sprigs, thinly sliced jalapeños and lime wedges, for serving or see note above about adding roasted vegetables

Directions
1. In a large stockpot, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the chicken, breast side down.  Cook about 1 hour or until chicken is cooked through.
2.  Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron skillet, combine the star anise, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon stick, black and white peppercorns and goji berries. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until very fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.
3.  In the same skillet, combine the shallots, onion and leek. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until deep golden, about 10 minutes.
4.  Remove all of the meat from the chicken and coarsely shred it.
5.  Return all of the chicken skin and bones to the broth in the stockpot. Add the pan-roasted shallot, onion and leek mixture and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderately low heat for 1 hour.
6.  Stir the toasted spices and goji berries into the broth. Cover and simmer for 1 hour longer. Add the rock sugar and simmer for another 30 minutes.
7.  Strain the broth into a large bowl, pressing on the solids; discard the solids. Pour the broth into a clean saucepan.
8.  Prepare the garnishes: Soak the noodles in a large bowl of boiling water until pliable, 8 to 10 minutes.
9.  In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a mesh skimmer, transfer the shallots to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Let cool.
10.  Bring the broth to a simmer. Stir in the shredded chicken and cook until warmed, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce(I'm not a fan of fish sauce so I used soy sauce) and season the broth with salt.
11.  Drain the rice noodles and transfer to large bowls. Ladle the broth and chicken over the noodles. Top with the scallions and cilantro. Garnish with the crispy shallots, bean sprouts, basil, mint and jalapeños and serve with lime wedges.