Ginger-Chicken Pho or, the Leftover Chicken Solution

While our baby takes her second nap of the day (because angel) and the house is clean (I'm an angel too), I thought I would show you one of the many different ways in which I like to *somewhat* creatively use leftover chicken. On a busy week, I tend to make an entire chicken roast in order to plan for the lunches ahead :use some in sandwiches, toss some in a nice summer rice, an Asian salad, or, in this case, make Pho. If you've been following me on Instagram even for a minute you know I typically make chow mein, Pho or any type of ramen soup for that matter at least once a week. I cannot be stopped. Oddly enough, out of all the countries I have visited, none of them were in Asia, yet it is one of my favourite types of cuisine so we'll most definitely have to rectify that. Kidding, I am terrified of insects (I was however absolutely fine with bomb alerts in both Ukraine and Israel- what's the saying, to each their own!?).

As this type of soup is usually high in salt, I make sure to throw in a bunch of greens such as spinach, kale, Chinese cabbage, celery, zucchinis and bok choy to a) feel better about my choice of broth/balance out and b) empty out the fridge. I hate when things go bad I mean what was the point of spending money on that- no.

So here is an example out of probably thirty possible ways in which I throw a Pho-type soup together within minutes- pouring the glass of wine included in that timing. Also, I am no Vietnamese chef so I would like to add 'type' after Pho for legal reasons. Don't sue this stay-at-home-mom.

A typical Tuesday night and a reminder that you CAN make leftovers look sexy.

You will need,

Thai Noodles

Leftover chicken (or not, it's delicious vegetarian as well)

Chicken broth -or vegetable works great too (entire box, balance out with water)

Ginger powder (1 tsp- I sometimes use fresh peeled ginger, broil it for 5, put it in a bag, crush it with a hammer alongside shallots and let it sit in the broth before taking it all out with a spoon, it all depends on your motivation level)

Chili oil (as much as you dare to)

Spinach (handful, or many, it shrinks tons)

Sesame oil (4 tsp)

Garlic (4 cloves, minced)

Low sodium soy sauce (1/4 cup)

Black pepper

Cremini mushrooms (1 cup, sliced)- of course you could use oyster or enoki mushrooms which would look rather fancier but this is an empty-your-fridge kind of night

Green onions (4, thinly sliced)

Optional: a dash of Hoi Sin sauce or even fish sauce, the more flavours the merrier!

Just a few steps,

1. Bring the chicken broth to a boil with the soy sauce, ginger powder, chili oil, sesame oil, green onions , garlic and the mushrooms. If you wanted to be really professional you would let the broth sit for a long time but this is a Tuesday night and you're hungry.

2. Bring the heat down to medium-low and let simmer for 5-7 minutes.

3. Add the noodles and spinach until soften- you'll want to add the chicken last and only for about a minute or two as it was already cooked and you simply want it to blend in and taste like your delicious broth- I have faith it will be delicious, got get'em.

4. Lastly you'll want to garnish with uncooked green onions you may have set aside or sesame seeds- or not, but don't underestimate the joy that a good garnish situation brings after a long day at work.

The entire process should take no longer than 20 minutes so really, what's so important that you can't make this for yourself? Pho-king nothing. I'm done.