We had home-made Pho and it was great. Next time will be better. Here’s the modified recipe.

SUPPLIES:
8-quart crock pot or heavy-bottom soup pot.
Cheese cloth or spice ball for the bones & spices unless you want to strain it all after.
2.5 pounds of bone-in chicken breasts
8 cups of chicken stock (low sodium if you like).
2 tablespoons of light brown sugar,
2 tablespoons of fish sauce,
a big stick of cinnamon,
10 whole Star Anise,
6 whole cloves,
a 2″ chunk of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
6 cups of chopped bok choy.
6 ounces of rice noodles. We chose rice vermicelli, but it wasn’t right. I think glass noodles would have been better.
2 cups mung bean sprouts (we skipped)
2 cups fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped)
1 cup fresh mint leaves (roughly chopped)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 fresh Thai or serrano chili, thinly sliced
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges.

SET-UP
Get out your crock pot, or 8-quart soup pot.

The recipe said 2.5 pounds of chicken, skin removed, fat trimmed, bone in. Use whatever you like though. Bone-in added to the flavor a bunch, but was sort of a mess to clean up after cooking. Maybe debone it first, and put the bones in cheese cloth for the cooking. Beef would also be great. Traditional Pho seems to have thin slices of beef, a variety of cuts, from expensive to cheap. It all tastes good.

The original recipe said 8 cups of low-sodium broth, but it needed salt. Also, stock vs broth… We used stock (more protein, less fat).

Spices to add now:
2 tablespoons of light brown sugar,
2 tablespoons of fish sauce,
a big stick of cinnamon,
10 whole Star Anise,
6 whole cloves,
a 2″ chunk of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

They said throw the spices in, and fish them out later. I recommend putting them all in cheese cloth or a spice ball.

COOKING
Crock-pot on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
(That’s medium + lid or simmer + lid for a soup pot).

If your bones and spices are in a bag, pull it out now.
If not, then pull out the meat and strain the broth.
Add the broth back to the pot.

Add the following to the broth:
6 cups of chopped bok choy.
6 ounces of rice noodles. We chose rice vermicelli, but it wasn’t right. I think glass noodles would have been better.

Cook on high (crock) or medium (soup pot) for 30 mins.
While that’s going, debone and shred the meat.

OPTIONAL: add 8 cups of water unless you didn’t cook the bones in the pot.
The bone-broth will be strong and flavorful, and you’ll want more liquid with your noodles.

Have these on the side for people to add on their own (or add to the pot with the bok-choy):
2 cups mung bean sprouts (we skipped)
2 cups fresh basil leaves (roughly chopped)
1 cup fresh mint leaves (roughly chopped)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 fresh Thai or serrano chili, thinly sliced
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges.

After 30 mins, or when the noodles and bok-choy are cooked to your liking, serve.