Pho Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup), Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener

Method

1. Soak 1.5kg pork bones in lightly salted water for 5 to 7 minutes, rinse them, blanch them in boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes, then lift them out and rinse them under cold running water.
2. Rub the 1.6kg chicken with a mixture of salt and vinegar for 3 to 5 minutes, rinse it 2 to 3 times and drain it.
3. Trim 100g daikon radish, wash it and cut it into rounds. Peel 3 onions and halve them. Bruise 1/2 piece of ginger. Trim the spring onion and 20g cilantro, wash them and chop them finely.
4. Char the onion, daikon and ginger over a low flame for 3 to 5 minutes until fragrant. Toast the packet of cinnamon, star anise and black cardamom in a dry pan.
5. Bring 5 liters water to a boil, add the chicken, 1.5 tablespoons salt and 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, and poach over high heat for 10 minutes, then lower the heat as far as it goes and poach for another 20 minutes. A chopstick pushed into the flesh should draw no red juice.
6. Lift the chicken straight into a bowl of ice water. Once it is cold, shred or slice it, and return the carcass to the broth.
7. Put the pork bones in a large pot, cover them with water and simmer until they are soft.
8. Pour in the chicken poaching liquid along with the charred daikon, onion and ginger, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes.
9. Put the toasted pho spices in a cloth bag or a strainer and lower it into the pot, then lift it out once everything is soft.
10. Season with 3 tablespoons chicken seasoning powder, 1.5 tablespoons salt, 3 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1 tablespoon MSG and 2 tablespoons fish sauce.
11. Blanch 200g fresh pho rice noodles for 1 to 2 minutes. Dried noodles should be soaked first, then blanched.
12. Lay the chicken, spring onion and cilantro over the noodles, ladle the broth over, and serve hot with 5 shallots and lime wedges.

Tips

• Rubbing the chicken with salt and vinegar for 3 to 5 minutes and rinsing it 2 to 3 times clears away any off smell.
• Chicken dropped into ice water straight from the pot keeps its skin springy and its meat white.
• Charring the onion, daikon and ginger and toasting the cinnamon, star anise and black cardamom before cooking gives the broth its aroma.
• Lift the chicken out and let the pork bones carry on simmering, since a long simmer together leaves the chicken meat spent.
• Constant skimming through the simmer is what keeps the broth clear.