Rainy Day Recipe #1

A life of passion. A love for food. Mil Crespo happens to have both. This September, he shares with us his own version of the Vietnamese Pho Soup. Take a sip and enjoy! 

Mil’s Pho Ga: Vietnamese chicken noodle soup recipe

Total time: 1hr 30min

Estimated budget: P430

Serves 2-3 people

Pho Ingredients:

• 1 L low sodium chicken stock
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 scallions (split in half)
• 1 inch section fresh ginger (crushed or sliced)
• 5 chicken wings
• 2 chicken breasts

Noodles

• 450g Rice Vermicelli (Bahn Pho Tuoi)

Garnishes:

• 3 cooked quail eggs
• 1/2 cup bean sprouts
• 1 tbsp red chili slices
• 1 sprig Vietnamese mint
• 1 sprig Thai basil
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced white onions
• 2 lime wedges
• Fish Sauce
• Sriracha
• Hoisin

Instructions:

1. In a pot, simmer chicken stock, anise, cinnamon stick, ginger, wings and breasts for 20 minutes.
2. After 20 minutes, inmediately take out the chicken breasts and shred them. Set aside.
3. Skim the top of the broth to extract the coagulated chicken juice. Keep skimming until broth is clear.
4. After 30 minutes, run the broth over a chinois to filter away wings, spices and other flavorings.
5. Bring strained broth to a boil.
6. Cook rice vermicelli in the soup until al dente
7. Transfer noodles and soup to serving bowl.
8. Garnish Pho Ga with
   • 3 cooked quail eggs
   • 1/2 cup bean sprouts
   • 1 tbsp red chili slices
   • 1 sprig Vietnamese mint
   • 1 sprig Thai basil
   • 1/2 cup thinly sliced white onions
   • 2 lime wedges
   • Fish Sauce
   • Sriracha
   • Hoisin

With a taste for cooking dating back to his childhood, Mil’s story began by preparing meals for his siblings. Growing up with both parents on-the-go, and having no one to assist with tasks around the house, Mil took the initiative to man the kitchen at an early age. “It started with the basics, like hotdogs, Campbell soups, whatever I can find in the kitchen that I could cook,” Mil recalled.

It was then that his fascination with food brought him to new heights: exploring more, creating more, and learning more. “Through the years it grew and grew—the recipes and the vocabulary and the dishes I know. YouTube and Pinterest really helped me a lot, and also cookbooks and cooking shows. I wasn’t really formally trained in anything. I was self-taught, so everything I know now is because of what I did back when I was still young.”

Now, as a sophomore student taking up IHM major in Culinary Arts, Mil revealed why he still finds it amazing to spend time in the kitchen. “Cooking really amazed me because you can transform something inedible, like rice, you can’t eat rice na bigas pa lang, you have to cook it. And it really fascinated me because you can turn something by just applying heat. It appealed to me personally because for me before, cooking was magic…even until now.”

In his unfinished story, Mil is taking it further by being involved inside and outside Enderun Colleges. Aside from being the External Vice President of Appétit, he is concurrently running his private dining restaurant using his very own place at the Stamford Executive Residences in McKinley Hill, Taguig City. Dubbed as #MilCooksForCouples, which trended by word of mouth, the service he offers has recently been featured in a live-stream show by When In Manila, including other known sites such as Pepper.ph, Plump.ph, Plato.ph, and in CondoLiving Magazine.

Finally, Mil encourages aspiring chefs like him to “really know your passion and know what you want to do in life. Just be brave and admit it to yourself.” Even with so much more aspirations ahead of him, Mil believes everything will take place “in due time, so right now in Enderun I’m really taking my time and enjoying this. I know if it’s for me it will happen soon.”

Looking for more recipes to try this rainy season? Tune in for next month’s Rainy Day Recipe!