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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!
Since we found this recipe hubby requests we make this soup at least once a month. We strain the broth before adding the greens, perfection! We also double or triple the chicken and freeze portions so that prep for the next time we make the soup is super fast. Love this!!
Hi Holly,
Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Have the best week! xTieghan
So easy and flavorful! My husband requests this frequently. No more plain chicken noodle soup instead we make this delicious recipe!
Hey! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 xxTieghan
Have made this so many times and has become a staple in our household!!! So delicious, flavorful and easy on a weeknight! One of my favorite Half Baked Harvest recipes! X
Hey Ally,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am delighted that it was enjoyed:) xTieghan
LOVED THIS. I live in Australia and he have so many authentic Vietnamese restaurants that serve pho and I’m a huge fan of the dish.
Your dish was delicious and super easy….
CALL IT WHAT YOU WANT it’s pho inspired
Wow Americans love to have a bloody sook LOL
Don’t worry about these silly comments I regret wasting 10 minutes of my life reading some of them x
rip off pho
Terrible recipe – what was this supposed to be? This is not in any way reminiscent of any particular Asian noodle dish. The flavors clash and its a heavy dish. Half-Baked attempt to capture pho-like flavors. Fail.
equally offensive as the whole pho-gate is your lack of removing the star anise from the broth. NO ONE wants to chomp into woody tough star anise pods when eating soup/noodles/whatever….. it’s not ALWAYS about the pretty picture. don’t leave inedible things in your photos!
I made this and it was really good ??
Hey Margaret,
Fantastic! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for making it! Happy Friday:) xTieghan
This was absolutely delicious!! I can’t believe how quick and easy it is and yet so amazingly yummy. I loved this so much that I will definitely be making this often and I don’t cook a lot of repeat recipes.
I am sorry that so many people have been so incredibly unkind, mean spirited, racist and hateful over this wonderful soup. The hypocrisy is astounding. To compare a recipe name to violence against Asians is selfish and only serves to diminish the real tragedies and real racism taking place in this country. People are injured and afraid because of a recipe for a pho inspired noodle soup? That’s ridiculous.
Everywhere you look you see recipes named after the original but with a twist. Just this week there was a recipe for Spanakopita without philo dough. Not a single complaint. Is California Pizza Kitchen racist for having Thai chicken pizza on the menu? If Banh mi is so painful, why are Banh mi restaurants owned by vietnamese with mainly vietnamese clientele? These arguments are hypocritical. It is wonderful that we can be inspired and create amazing food from cultures around the world, shining a light on international cuisine.
I love pho. It is my favorite food. I’ve gone through stretches where I go out for pho 5 times a week and even twice in one day. While this broth was different from others I’ve had, the same is true for most pho restaurants I have visited. This was tastier than many pho restaurants (I am very picky about pho and only like a couple of places). I’ve never heard of injury from someone eating bad pho and thinking they don’t like pho as a consequence. It happens. Yet people are claiming injury if anyone might think this is traditional pho.
This recipe has inspired me to try more of your creations! I’m looking forward to the next one!
Made this for dinner tonight. So easy to make and so delicious. The broth is fantastic. Yum!
Hey Angie,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Well as the song goes “Haters gonna hate”. I think you are wonderful Tieghan. The recipe is delicious. It’s soup, let’s all show some love and stop throwing around all your hateful comments. Don’t we all have better things to do than hate on Tieghan over soup? She’s a lovely lady. Apparently all the haters have never made one single mistake or misstep in their entire GD life. Self righteous assholes are perpetuating hate when they could be choosing love, just ignore it. People, just make the F’ing soup and enjoy every delicious minute of it. Well done, it’s excellent, your recipes speak for themselves. Much love and positivity.
Are we seriously going to sit here and call this chicken pho
I finally had a chance to make this and it is amazing!
Hey there,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
This was such a clean and complex dinner. The Star Anise was spectacular and adding the fresh basil, cilantro, and lime at the end put it over the top. For a cold Eastern PA night, it warmed us through and through. I added the star anise to the chicken too as well as mushrooms to the broth. What an amazing recipe. Keep them coming! We love your creativeness.
Hey Christine,
Thanks for making this recipe! I am so glad it was a hit! xTieghan
If you make this, be sure to get the thicker rice noodles (as pictured)! It’s definitely worth making a trip to a local market to get some of the star ingredients here like Thai Basil, good rice noodles, and even the fresno peppers. I already had Star Anise, Cinnamon, fish oil, etc on hand, but didn’t have those things and I know that the dish would have been 10/10 had I opted for them. I didn’t follow the recipe to a T (accidentally, I’m an awful cook) and my husband had regrets about that-hahaha!But overall it was very good!
Hey Meghan,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Have the best weekend☀️ xTieghan
I have food allergies so I can no longer eat my favorite soup in the world Pho. There are similar tastes in this soup and I am so happy! You have given me something back that I have been missing. This inspired by pho soup will be a frequent visitor to our house! Thank you very much for the recipe!