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Easy Sesame Chicken and Noodles in Spicy Broth…best for those nights when you’re craving spicy, warming, Vietnamese-inspired noodle soup, but want something made quickly at home. Crispy caramelized chicken in a sweet, spicy, tangy sesame chile sauce, atop noodles in a steaming, spicy broth. This quick chicken and noodle bowl can be made and ready in under an hour. Not only is this easy and healthy, but it’s also delicious and so full of winter color!
Hey, hi, and happy mid-week! You guys know those days when nothing else sounds good other than comfort food? That was 100% me on Monday. You see, I’ve had a lingering decision that needs to be made as soon as possible…and it’s hard. I’m not one for making big decisions and tend to overthink them. Anyone else the same way?
Thankfully I have cooking to help mend the stress a bit. It’s still my happy place, and what I turn to when I need to just zone out and not think about things. Enter this chicken noodle bowl or maybe more like a noodle soup. It’s kind of a cross between the two. The way I make this dish is heavy on the noodles, light on the broth. It’s a delicious bowl of healthy comfort food.
Definitely best for nights when you just need something easy to create that’s totally comforting.
The Inspiration.
As I mentioned above, I really wanted a cozy meal, but at the same time, I wanted something that was fresh and colorful.
A classic Vietnamese Pho is made with thin slices of beef, noodles, and a very steaming hot broth. The broth is poured over the raw slices of beef. The heat from the broth cooks the meat. If you’ve ever had Pho out at your favorite restaurant, you know how delicious it is. And just how warming and comforting it can be.
I love the idea of Pho at Home, but didn’t want to work with raw beef. I wanted something a bit lighter. So I tried to recreate a pho with crispy roasted chicken, noodles, and broth. It’s just as delicious, but slightly lighter, and simpler to make at home!
The details.
Start with roasting the chicken. I like to toss the chicken in a little soy sauce and honey to help it caramelize in the oven. When it comes out, it’s perfectly tender, sweet, sticky, and spicy.
While the chicken is roasting, make the broth. The key to the broth is all in the garlic, ginger, and spices. I use a mix of star anise, cinnamon, and chile peppers along with garlic and ginger. It’s incredibly flavorful but really easy to toss together.
When the chicken is done, simply assemble each bowl. I like to add the noodles first, then the chicken, and finish with the steaming broth so everything is warm throughout. As you’re putting the bowls together, and then pouring over the broth, you’ll quickly realize just how delicious everything is going to be all together.
The toppings.
The last things to add are all the toppings, which are KEY if you ask me. But then we all know how much I love my toppings. I go heavy on the fresh herbs, using a mix of Thai basil, mint, and cilantro. I add lots of fresh Fresno peppers, a drizzle of sesame oil, and then squeeze over a zest of lime.
You can’t skimp on the toppings! They bring this bowl to life.
This looks like a meal that took all day to prepare, right? But it’s the easiest! Perfect for crazy cold winter nights. Or even those dreary spring weeknights when it’s cold out and you just want a cozy but healthy dinner.
Hoping you guys love this one as much as I do! I’m already excited to make this again tonight. It’s snowing here today, so this is the perfect recipe!
Looking for healthy winter dinners? Here are a few to try:
Weeknight Thai Chicken Meatball Khao Soi
30 Minute Spicy Miso Chicken Katsu Ramen
30 Minute Creamy Thai Turmeric Chicken and Noodles
Lastly, if you make this Easy Sesame Chicken and Noodles in Spicy Broth be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Easy Sesame Chicken and Noodles in Spicy Broth
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 710 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts or thighs, cut in half
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (or additional soy sauce)
- 3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tablespoon chile sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, plus more for serving
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 6 slices fresh ginger
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1-3 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 Fresno or jalapeño pepper, seeded if desired, and sliced
- 2 cups chopped kale, bok choy, or baby spinach
- 8 ounces rice noodles
- bean sprouts, mixed herbs, chiles, and limes, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. 2. On a baking sheet, toss the chicken with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, the chile sauce, and sesame oil. Bake 15 minutes, then remove and add 2 tablespoons honey, toss the chicken. Bake another 5-10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and shred it. Switch the oven to broil. Broil 1-3 minutes, until caramelized 3. Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven, combine the broth, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 2 teaspoons honey, the onion, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, and Fresno pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer 15 minutes, or until ready to serve. Just before serving, stir in the greens. Taste, adding more soy, fish sauce, and or honey, if needed. 4. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain. 5. To serve, divide the noodles between bowls. Add the shredded chicken, then ladle the broth over top. Arrange the sprouts, herbs, and any desired toppings on top. Then squeeze over lots of lime juice and enjoy!
I think there is a middle ground here. This is a business and you need to be cognizant of your customers’ comments. The business I work for has our customers come in and critique our practices and sometimes we have to change the way we do things. It is called continuous improvement. We actually hire a 3rd party every year to evaluate our business and at the end, we need to provide information on how we intend to improve. But they are kind about how they provide their feedback to us and don’t make us feel like we are doing things on purpose just to disrespect them or make a inferior product to be malicious. I truly do not think this recipe was meant to offend – could have the response been more sincere, probably but hindsight is 20/20. The less than stellar comments on the blog shouldn’t be viewed as “if you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything at all” because then we never grow and become better, but they should be issued in a respectful manner. Our whole world could use a little more compassion, and be a lot less harsh.
Absolutely delicious! Have made it 5+ times – swapped star anise for pernod and added more veggies. 10/10
Hey Kate,
I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for giving it a try. Have a great week! xTieghan
I think Marc Chandler and Ashley stated it absolutely perfectly. Tieghan, you have forever positively changed my cooking life and no amount of negativity or criticism will ever change that. All the love for you.
Thank for this Pho recipe. Original Pho is gross…thanks for finally making this dish eatable.
Wow that is really fucked up to say about another cultures dish. You can say you like her recipe better because it suits your no palette tastes… but to insult another’s cultures dish, that is fuckedddddd up.
How is it fucked up to call a dish gross just because it comes from a specific culture? You can call any food gross. It’s just personal preference. There’s a lot of food from specific cultures I think are gross. Just because she says she thinks pho is gross doesn’t mean she’s insulting the culture. Literally at all. Chill
Hi! I’ve never followed your blog before but read about the criticism on the news. People have lost their minds! Ignore them!!!! Stop apologizing for your take on a dish! It looks great and I will try it now just because of the controversy to support you! Being Italian, I see takes on dishes all the time that are laughable, maybe even gross to me.lol! But offensive or culturally hurtful? lol! Who even has time or energy for that kind of nonsense! Carry on girl! You got this!
Made this tonight and it was amazing! I don’t like spicy food but my husband does, so we made half the chicken without sriracha for me. We both loved it.
Absolutely delicious Pho!!!
Sad that a woman was offended by the name of your soup. LOL. You should have kept the name, in my opinion. Ever put pizza sauce on French bread with some cheese and pepperoni? Well my guess is that’s now going to upset some fragile French and Italians.Keep doing what you’re doing, you’ve got fnstaitc recipes and not everyone has 4 days to make a soup just s they can call it Pho. I’ll keep looking for more wonderful recipes from your blog!!
Jeez, tell the babies to grow up. You did not offend anyone you made a little error. Remind the babies that the internet is a harsh enviroment and it offended them then turn it off.
I wish the ‘Reply’ links were working so I could individually respond to some of these absurd comments. People are so lost inside their own heads and selfishness that they demand Tieghan has no other life than to appease them. Would anything appease them? They’ll hold a grudge because that’s how they operate. Stop demanding her to do what you want, when you want. It’s called having a temper tantrum and temper tantrums don’t look good on adults. No one knows this young lady’s current circumstances. Allow her time to process and consider the correct response. If she ends up choosing not to respond, then that is her right. She doesn’t owe anyone anything. It would likely mean that this is all pettiness to her and beneath her. I’m not sure I would respond if it were me, except maybe to tell people to contact their local Vietnamese restaurant for authentic Pho. She did nothing racist, she said nothing racist, so get over yourselves. It seems to me that she is well aware of what Pho (which I have never eaten and don’t think I knew about until today) tastes like. She made her own version of it. If that makes it “NOT PHO” then tell her- which you have- “That’s not pho.” and move on with your petty, uppity, jealous, unfulfilled lives. Take up a hobby. Shall we attack Hawaiians who introduced pineapple and ham on an Italian (excuse me, Chinese) dish?It’s called variation. It’s what makes the world go round. I think that she should write, “I am sorry that I called this Pho and Vietnamese inspired. It is actually called Tieghan’s Faux Soup and is inspired by myself. I should never have involved anyone else.”
Looks like a tasty dish. Don’t worry about the rude comments at least some of the people making rude comments have made foods from other cultures that aren’t traditional and by their standards and critiques of you would also be considered cultural misappropriation. The other blogger that criticized you changes a lot of other dishes that aren’t originally from her culture. Were a mixed family of Filipino, Americans and we appreciate sharing dishes and making changes and trying new things. Ignore the Americans commenting on here to because they think because they read a story that most Asians are angry but it’s not the case. Thanks for sharing your love for cooking with everyone.
You really didn’t stand up against the racist comments here. That’s the bare minimum anyone can expect from such a platform.
I am sorry you have to deal with the negative comments and reviews. I think it’s perfectly appropriate for someone to point out that it is not a traditional preparation, and therefore could benefit from a name change, but to give a one star review based on the name of the recipe and not on the taste of the dish itself is unnecessarily harsh. I haven’t tried your recipe yet, but I am definitely going to. Looks delicious.
So it’s Faux Pho, and I’m here because you made it to Yahoo “News”? Maybe people are upset that you’re switching up their classic meal. Maybe they’re afraid that their beloved traditional meals, whether copied precisely or altered severely, will become mainstream. The magic seeping from the source into a world of strangers. It happens. The world is changing. It seems, scrolling through obnoxious messages here, that people claim to be upset that you used the name “PHO” and the term “Vietnamese-inspired”. Fair enough. How about you remove all of that and call this “Tieghan’s Own Noodle Soup”. If you’d done that from the start, what are the chances the comments would be, “Are you kidding me? This is a rip-off of Vietnamese Pho soup!” It’s sad to me that you are someone who has an interest in the outside world, ventured into the cuisine of other cultures, attempted to share your love for them, and are then attacked for that. You could have sat yourself down at McDonald’s and eaten a tray of crap and been left alone. Maybe people are especially upset because your FAUX PHO looks better than their TRUE PHO.
All the over-sensitive readers could have just commented that this isn’t authentic “pho” and left it at that. Throwing in ridiculous buzzwords and phrases like “cultural appropriation” just cheapens the whiny argument being made. Grow up. It’s soup.
Some of ya’ll are unbelievable. I have never seen anyone lose their minds over soup. This girl took a food that she loves, put her normal Tieghan spin on it and incorrectly labeled it. That’s it. And it has sent some of ya’ll into a full on rage. Over noodles. She is not a history teacher, nor is she a cultural expert. She is a FOOD BLOGGER. I am embarrassed for you that you would act this way over something so trivial. It’s hilarious and ironic that the side that preaches tolerance and acceptance is the least tolerant, the least accepting and the most hateful. She apologized, changed the name and it’s STILL NOT GOOD ENOUGH for you! What will be good enough? The answer is nothing, because even you don’t know. And Frank hit the nail right on the head: “What’s next, cancel Dr. Seuss?”. Yes Frank, that’s EXACTLY what they’ll do. That’s exactly what they did. Ya’ll need to do some soul searching and figure out why you have so much hate in your hearts, and why soup will push you over the edge to attack someone. One response: “Fuck You”?! Really? Over NOODLES. Just despicable and very sad.
Tieghan, I am so sorry that you have had to experience the new “cancel culture” of this insane generation. I thought your response was thoughtful and I even thought you took it a step further and changed the name, which you didn’t have to do (quite frankly, you didn’t even have to apologize as this is your blog and you can call YOUR dishes whatever the hell you like). Keep your head up. The 1% has a very loud, angry and irrational voice, but they are the minority. The MAJORITY of people are sane and support you. Keep making delicious food, Pho and whatever else you choose!