After spending a month following a strictly #pegan routine, I’ve expanded my ingredient list to include a few things that aren’t on that routine. This Chicken Pho is one of the most delicious recipes I have ever created. Based off of our many field trips to sample Charles Phan’s version at “Out the Door”—his recipe is my gold standard—I love the version I created to bring you as much flavor as possible within a shorter time frame. It’s the perfect weekend recipe to make because it doesn’t require a lot of fuss. It just needs to simmer away on your stovetop to extract all of the flavor out of the ingredients.
Can you make it on your Traeger?
Absolutely! To start the recipe, I crank my Traeger up to its highest heat. Then I put the Dutch oven on the grill grates with the water, chicken, and aromatics and I close the grill. As soon as it comes to a simmer, I turn my Traeger down to 300-350 degrees F, so it’s barely simmering.
Is It Pegan Friendly?
It sure is! All you need to do is omit the rice noodles. I do it all the time for myself. The broth is so full of flavor that I usually don’t miss them! And if you’d still like the texture of a rice noodle but want to keep it pegan, spiralized daikon is a totally cool substitute!
News with Katie Couric
After Katie’s interview with Dr. Mark Hyman about his new book “The Pegan Diet,” Katie and I were eager to follow his routine for 3 weeks to see if we felt better. I was inspired to share a bunch of my recipes that were already pegan-friendly to try his recommendations for three weeks. So many of you joined us and the results were remarkable! I continue to hear how great you’re all feeling AND that you want more recipes from us!
So to make it easy, Katie has added a RECIPE TAB to her website so you can go back and reference all of the recipes I shared and the meal plans we discussed. In addition, you’ll find posts that include all of the other cooks she’s had in her kitchen.
Strawberry Doughnuts with California Strawberries
Last week I had the pleasure of visiting a strawberry farm in Salinas, CA with my partners from California Strawberries. I had no idea that 90% of our country’s strawberries are grown in California! After walking the fields with the farmer and learning all about the growing process, I left with a flat of strawberries picked from the farm that morning. (My car smelled like heaven on the drive home!) After I ate a pint of them myself, I took the rest and developed this Baked Strawberry Doughnut with Strawberry Glaze recipe.
You can check out my recipe demo for it here. I’m looking forward to sharing more California strawberry recipes with you in the future!
Hestan Cue Smart Probe Launch
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably heard me talk about my love of the Hestan Cue cooking system. With the induction burner that is connected to the pans and the app, it has transformed the way I cook! Because it can always read the temperature of the pan, it knows when to heat up or cool down, preventing even the most novice cooks from burning their food.
And now after many requests, they have developed a Smart Probe—an instant read thermometer that attaches to your pan. It knows the exact temperature of the liquid in the pan, so it’s perfect for frying, candy-making and sous-vide cooking.
Don’t forget that you save 20% off everything on their site when you enter the code “amanda” at checkout. Happy Shopping and Happy Cooking!
BelCampo Meat Co.
Many of you have been introduced to Belcampo Meat Company through me as my source for pastured, organic beef, pork, and chicken. Dr. Mark Hyman talks a ton about the importance of the quality of the meat we consume, and Belcampo is the best of the best. To continue to provide you with better ways to improve your health through food, don’t forget to use the code “HAAS20” at checkout to save 20% on your first purchase. And for those of you who are returning customers, “HAAS10” will continue to save you 10% every time you shop!
Traeger Day
Over the past year, I’ve missed connecting with my friends and family around the table. However, Traeger isn’t going to let that stop us from celebrating our annual Traeger Day! That’s right. On Saturday, May 15th we’ll be hosting live events featuring special guests, our best recipes, and we’ll also be giving away THOUSANDS of prizes.
No one throws a block party like Traeger—well, actually I’m pretty good at it, too! —and this one will be one for the ages. Make sure to follow along traegergrills and follow along on Instagram and Facebook for all the details.
I can’t wait to spend more time with you here on my site and on social media over the next month. And I love hearing from you, so DM me @amandahaascooks on Instagram if you ever have a minute!
Have a great week in your kitchen, and at the grill!
xo-Amanda
Chicken Pho
Ingredients
- One 4-to-5 lb chicken, quartered, backbone reserved
- 2 yellow onions, peeled and halved
- One 2-in piece of fresh ginger, peeled and smashed
- Kosher Salt
- 2 tsp light brown sugar
- 5 qt water
- 1/2 cup fish sauce, plus more for serving
- 1 lb dried brown rice noodles, such as Annie Chun's Pad Thai Brown Rice Noodles
- 1 bunch green onions, green parts only, thinly sliced
- 2 cups mung bean sprouts
- 2 jalapeños, thinly sliced (optional if nightshade-sensitive)
- Torn basil, cilantro, and mint leaves for serving
- Lime wedges for serving
- Sriracha sauce for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Place the chicken pieces and backbone, onions, ginger, 2 tsp salt, brown sugar, and water in a stockpot with at least an 8-qt capacity.
- Slowly bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, for 1 hour, skimming off any impurities that come to the surface. (Add water as necessary to keep the chicken covered.)
- Using tongs, remove the chicken pieces from the pot and transfer to a cutting board. When the chicken is cool to the touch, remove all the meat from the skin and bones and transfer to a medium bowl.
- Return the skin and bones to the stockpot. Shred the meat, then cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Return the stock to a simmer and continue to cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
- Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain the stock into another stockpot and cook over high heat until reduced to 12 cups, about 20 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce (At this point, you can cool the stock to room temperature, cover, and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Prepare the rice noodles according to the package instructions.
- While the noodles cook, add half of the shredded chicken to the stock and simmer until the chicken is warmed through. (Reserve the remaining shredded chicken for another use).
- Divide the cooked rice noodle among six large soup bowls and sprinkle evenly with green onions, bean sprouts, and jalapeños (if using).
- Ladle the stock and chicken over the noodles and finish with the torn herbs. Serve with lime wedges, additional fish sauce, and Sriracha sauce, if desired.
