Daring Cooks Vietnamese Chicken Pho

This month's Daring Cooks challenge was Vietnamese Chicken Pho and Sweet Wontons chosen by Jaden from Steamy Kitchen.

Vietnamese Pho is a noodle soup popular in Vietnam. The broth is simmered for hours with either beef knuckle/leg bone or with a whole chicken and accompanied by rice noodles, fresh herbs like cilantro or basil, a wedge of lime or lemon, fresh bean sprouts and fresh sliced chilies if desired.

Pho is different than other noodle soups because of the spices used in making the broth - coriander, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, and fresh ginger. I bought my spices at World Market  – they are so much cheaper than at the supermarket.



This was my first time tasting Pho (pronounced “fuh?”) and my first time cooking Vietnamese food. I decided to make the Pho Ga (chicken) version. Click here to visit the Steamy Kitchen for the recipe.

Although my family and I didn’t love this soup (mostly because of the spices we weren't use to) it was fun to try something new. We did however love the second part of this challenge the fried Chocolate Wontons. I used round potsticker wrappers and filled them with Nutella. They were crispy, sweet and delicious. The perfect ending to a light meal.

Chocolate Wontons
1 large egg
1 tbsp. water
12 wonton wrappers, defrosted (keep wrappers covered with damp towel)
12 pieces or nuggets of chocolate (use any type of chocolate you like)
High-heat oil for frying (i.e., vegetable oil, corn oil)
Confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar) for sprinkling
Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash.
2. On a clean, dry surface lay 1 wonton wrapper down with a point toward you, like a diamond.
3. Place 1 piece of chocolate near the top end of the wrapper.
4. Brush a very thin layer of the egg wash on the edges of the wrapper.
5. Fold the bottom corner of the wrapper up to create a triangle and gently press to remove all air from the middle. Press the edges to adhere the sides. Make sure the wrapper is sealed completely.
6. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and chocolate pieces.
7. Keep the folded chocolate wontons covered under plastic wrap or a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying.
8. In a wok or medium pot, pour in 2 inches (5 cm.) of high-heat oil.
9. Heat the oil to 350º F (180º C) and gently slide a few of the chocolate wontons into the hot oil. Make sure you don’t crowd the chocolate wontons.
10. Fry the wontons for 1 ½ minutes, then flip over and fry another minute until both sides are golden brown and crisp.