Chicken Pho

Ingredients
i onion, sliced
Three 1/2-inch-thick slices of fresh ginger, smashed
8 cups rich chicken stock
2 tablespoons nam pla
1 pound dried rice noodles
1 scallion, thinly sliced
4 cups mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
basil leaves and other fresh herbs
shredded roast chicken
Asian chili-garlic sauce and hoisin sauce, for serving
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Put the onions and ginger on a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until softened and lightly browned--this step can be skipped--if you have wonderful stock, it can compensate for alot. The roasting adds a sweetness and flavor complexity to the soup that is wonderful. Add roasted vegetables to the stock, with nam pla.
2. In a large bowl of warm water, soak the noodles until pliable, about 20 minutes.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Drain the noodles, then add them to the saucepan and boil over high heat until tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well. Transfer the noodles to 4 large bowls and sprinkle with the scallion.
3. Ladle the broth and chicken over the noodles. Serve with the bean sprouts, basil, lime wedges, jalapeños, fresh herbs, chili-garlic sauce and hoisin sauce.
Joel and I went to a pho restaurant when we were in Washington, DC last month, and the take home message for us was that this seemed pretty easy to prepare at home--the only critical thing is to get fresh bean sprouts. I made it on a week night, so I used frozen stock and a rotisserie chicken, and it was delicious (and easy--the most important thing to remember is to start with soaking the rice noodles in warm water first--this is not what it says on the package, but they cook more evenly if they are pre-soaked before boiling them, and then watch them very closely when cooking them to avoid overcooking. Everything else can be completed while they are soaking. Second is to get the vegetables roasting, but these are optional).