Absolutely, it's a great source of protein and the spices like star anise and coriander are good for boosting immunity. It's a good dish to make if you're trying to combat an oncoming cold. Make sure you include veggies to increase the nutritional content of the dish further.

How should you eat pho?

Use chopsticks to eat the prawns, veggies and noodles and drink the broth straight from the bowl in-between mouthfuls and at the end.

Can you eat Pho the next day?

The seasoned broth will keep in the fridge for 3 days so you can make it ahead of time. Make sure you make a fresh batch of noodles before you serve. They normally only take a few minutes and will be soggy and unpleasant if left in the fridge. I don't recommend storing cooked prawns in the fridge. These also only take a few minutes to cook and can grow nasty bacteria quite quickly if stored for too long.

I'd say this prawn Pho has a medium level of heat. The bird's eye chilli gives it a definite warmth but it isn't overpowering. If you are sensitive to spice use a long red chilli instead of a bird's eye. If you want to add the spice either incorporate more bird's eye chilli into the broth of top your bowl with fresh chillis when serving.

Speedy Prawn Pho Recipe

Name: Speedy Prawn Pho Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 650 ml (or 2.75 cups) high-quality chicken stock; 3 cloves of garlic - crushed; 1 bird's eye chilli or 2 normal long red chillies - finely chopped; 1.5 tbsp ginger - finely chopped; 1.5 tsp sugar; 3 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 10 peppercorns; 1 star anise; 4 cloves; 1 cinnamon stick; Fine sea or kosher salt - for cooking the noodles; 2 portions of rice noodles (approx 100g or 3.5 oz); 1 lime - juice; 2 medium red peppers - cut into strips; 200g (or 7oz) raw king prawns - butterflied and deveined (note 1); 1 handful of chopped coriander to serve

Description

A tasty Vietnamese style noodle soup with rice noodles, peppers and king prawns in a warm spiced savoury broth.

Serves 2, use the scaling buttons below to double or triple the quantities.

Ingredients

Scale

650 ml (or 2.75 cups) high-quality chicken stock
3 cloves of garlic - crushed
1 bird's eye chilli or 2 normal long red chillies - finely chopped
1.5 tbsp ginger - finely chopped
1.5 tsp sugar
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
10 peppercorns
1 star anise
4 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Fine sea or kosher salt - for cooking the noodles
2 portions of rice noodles (approx 100g or 3.5 oz)
1 lime - juice
2 medium red peppers - cut into strips
200g (or 7oz) raw king prawns - butterflied and deveined (note 1)
1 handful of chopped coriander to serve

Instructions

Place a saucepan on a medium heat and pour in the chicken stock and add the garlic, bird's eye chilli, ginger, sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, peppercorns, star anise, cloves and the cinnamon stick and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a pan of generously salted water to boil and cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. Rinse them under cold water when they are cooked to prevent them from sticking together and set aside.
Strain the soup through a sieve and return the fragrant broth to the stove. (note 2)
Add the lime juice and the chopped peppers and simmer for 5 minutes.
Then add the prawns and simmer for a further 2 to 3 minutes until cooked. (note 3)
Assemble the Pho by dividing the noodles between the bowls and then adding the broth with the peppers and prawns.
Top with fresh coriander and enjoy.

Notes

You can also use pre-cooked king prawns. Scroll up for more detail on how-to butterfly raw king prawns.
You can strain the soup into the pan you used to cook the noodles to save on washing up. Just make sure you wipe it clean first and remove any remaining noodles that might be lingering.
Prawns are cooked when their flesh is pink and opaque

Category: Main
Cuisine: Vietnamese

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1
Calories: 408
Sugar: 8g
Sodium: 1,718mg
Fat: 6g
Saturated Fat: 1g
Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 54g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 36g
Cholesterol: 0g

Keywords: prawn pho recipe