Vietnamese-Style Chicken Noodle Jars

Ingredients

• 1.5 litres good-quality chicken stock
• 30g fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 star anise
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 600g boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 200g dried rice vermicelli noodles
• 150g beansprouts, rinsed
• 2 pak choi, leaves separated and halved lengthways
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
• 2 red chillies, thinly sliced
• ½ cucumber, halved lengthways, seeds scraped, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 small bunch fresh coriander, leaves picked, to serve
• 1 small bunch fresh mint, leaves picked, to serve
• 4 spring onions, thinly sliced on an angle, to serve
• 2 limes, cut into wedges, to serve
• hoisin sauce, to drizzle, to serve
• sriracha, to drizzle, to serve
• prawn crackers, to serve
• pickled daikon and carrot (đồ chua), to serve

Method

1. Pour the stock into a large saucepan and add the ginger, crushed garlic, star anise, fish sauce and sugar. Because the garlic is going straight into liquid it can't catch and burn — but keep the heat gentle so it stays fragrant rather than turning bitter. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, the surface barely trembling, and let the aromatics perfume the kitchen for 2–3 minutes.
2. Season the chicken breasts lightly with salt, then lower them into the simmering broth and poach for 18–20 minutes until cooked through with no pink at the thickest point. Keep the broth at a tremble, never a boil — a hard boil seizes the meat and turns it stringy. Lift the chicken out and rest for 5 minutes.
3. While the chicken poaches, combine the cucumber with the rice wine vinegar and sugar in a small bowl, season well with salt and pepper and toss. Set aside to quick-pickle for 10 minutes — it will go translucent and slightly floppy as the vinegar pulls the water out.
4. Soak the rice vermicelli in a large bowl of just-boiled water for 4–5 minutes until tender and pliable, then drain and rinse under cold water until the strands feel cool — that stops the cooking and stops them clumping into a brick.
5. Blanch the pak choi in the hot broth for 1–2 minutes until the leaves are just wilted and the stems are tender-crisp. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
6. Shred the rested chicken with two forks into generous bite-sized strands, not fine threads — you want pieces that hold their own against the noodles.
7. Strain the broth through a sieve back into the pan, discarding the aromatics. Taste it now: most of the salt comes from the fish sauce, but it may want another splash, or a pinch of sugar if it's gone too savoury. Adjust now — at the end, not at the table. Keep it at a rolling simmer; it needs to be properly hot when it hits the jars or the noodles go gluey.
8. Divide the noodles between four large heatproof jars or deep bowls. Layer over the shredded chicken, pak choi, carrot matchsticks, beansprouts and pickled cucumber.
9. At the table, ladle the hot broth directly over each jar, enough to just cover the noodles and vegetables — the steam should rise dramatically as it hits the cold pickled cucumber.
10. Finish each jar with coriander leaves, mint leaves and the angled spring onions, scatter the sliced red chilli over, and serve with lime wedges for a generous squeeze of lime, hoisin and sriracha to drizzle, prawn crackers and the pickled daikon and carrot (đồ chua) alongside.