Matzah Ball Pho

I wrote up my matzah ball pho recipe for The Nosher. Head over there to read the full article, and check out other great recipes :)

Matzo Ball Pho

Serves 6-8

For the broth:

2 medium unpeeled yellow onions, halved

1 large 4”-5” piece of ginger, cut in half lengthwise

5 quarts cold water

1 4-5 lb. chicken, cut into parts

½ lb. chicken wings

2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

1 tablespoon rock sugar or Turbinado (raw) sugar

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds

2 tablespoons fish sauce or tamari

1 small white onion, thinly sliced

4 scallions, thinly sliced

For the toppings:

1 large bunch of fresh Thai basil

2-3 limes cut into wedges

3 cups mung bean sprouts

2 Fresno chilies or jalapenos, sliced thin

Hoisin sauce, to taste

Sambal oelek (garlic chili sauce), to taste

Sriracha, to taste

For the matzo balls:

1 cup matzo meal

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

4 large eggs, beaten

¼ cup oil schmaltz or oil (vegetable or safflower)

¼ cup minced scallion

For the broth:

Char your onions and ginger by either placing them on a baking sheet under a broiler for 8-10 minutes, or by charring them over a gas flame on your stovetop for a few minutes on each side. The onions and ginger should be nicely charred but still firm - this essential step will deepen the broth’s flavor. Once the onions and ginger are charred, remove the skin from the onion. Rinse the onion and ginger, and use a small knife to scrape off excess charred bits to prevent your broth from getting murky.

Cut your chicken into parts: separating the breasts, legs, wings, and backbone. This will insure that your chicken cooks evenly and that the breasts will not become dry and tough when simmered.  

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the cinnamon, anise, and coriander until lightly browned and fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to burn the spices.

Add the onion, ginger, and chicken to a large pot. Fill the pot with 5 quarts of water. Bring the water to a simmer; skim the impurities as they rise to the top.

After twenty minutes of simmering, or once they’re cooked through, remove the chicken breasts and allow them to cool.

Add the toasted spices, salt, and sugar to the pot. Continue to gently simmer the mixture for 1 hour.

Remove the remaining chicken parts and strain the liquid through a fine meshed sieve. Bring the liquid back to a simmer for another 20-30 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced by about a quarter. This step will further deepen the broth’s flavor. While the broth is simmering, shred the chicken meat and reserve for serving.

Once reduced, turn off the heat and add the fish sauce or tamari to the broth. Taste, and add additional seasoning if desired.

For the matzo balls:

While the soup is simmering, in a large bowl whisk together the matzo meal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the beaten egg and schmaltz/oil. Add the scallions. Mix everything together until just combined. Do not over-mix. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 30 minutes, and up to a day ahead.

Form the matzo ball mixture into even-sized balls, you can determine the size based on your preference, but know that they will double in size when cooked. It makes it easier to form the matzo balls if you rub a little oil on your hands while forming them.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Lower to a simmer and gently drop the matzo balls into simmering water. Place the lid on the pot and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Once cooked, matzo balls are best stored in their cooking liquid.

To serve the matzo ball pho:

Add the shredded chicken, raw sliced onion and scallion to a bowl. Ladle hot broth into the bowl. Add the matzo balls to the soup.

Serve along with basil, bean sprouts, lime wedges, hoisin, and hot sauces. Allow people to garnish and customize their pho to their liking.

Miso Matzo Ball Soup

Let me start by saying I broke some rules making this dish (and not just the most obvious one). For one, I made a cheater's version of vegetarian dashi. For an authentic dashi recipe you can check out this or this. There are also some instant dashi mixes on the market. You can also find instant miso soup at many stores, and if that's your thing go for it. If you are still up for making miso soup from scratch I found this post helpful.

Aside from the lack of the dashi's authenticity, this soup is also a little disorienting from the matzo ball perspective. I'm highly accustomed to matzo balls floating around in chicken broth (or vegetarian chicken-tasting broth). When I took the first taste of this soup I wondered where all the familiar flavors had gone. 

Then I took a second bite. I quickly forgot about tradition and authenticity. This is the merger of two comfort foods from two different culinary cultures. The sweet umami salty miso broth is happy to host hearty matzo balls (in lieu of soft tofu or shellfish). The scallions add a refreshing bit of green and bite. I think you could even try out a little fresh dill (gasp!) in this soup. 

One note about matzo balls: I'm not a fan of leaden sinkers, but I do like some chew to my matzo balls. You can make your matzo balls however your bubbe made them. If you really don't want to make matzo balls from scratch you can buy matzo ball mixes at the store. 

There's a lot of room for controversy in this recipe. When you're making super traditional dishes everyone has a strong opinion about what is right and wrong. It's a little daring, but I was happy to throw out the rules and combine two things that aren't frequently brought together.

This recipe could happen in moments if you take all the cheats you want... or this recipe could take just a little longer and you could make every element authentically and from scratch. However you choose to make it, this merger is a happy one.

Miso Matzo Ball Soup

Serves 4 
Makes 10-12 matzo balls

for the matzo balls

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons olive oil (or schmaltz)

½ cup matzo meal

¼ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon kosher salt

pepper to taste

for the miso soup

1 4-5 inch piece kombu, rinsed (can substitute with an extra sheet of nori)

1 sheet nori

5 cups water

4 tablespoons white miso

2 large scallions, sliced thin

for the matzo balls

In a bowl, beat the eggs and olive oil together. To the egg mixture, add the matzo meal, baking powder, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Mix together until combined. Your mixture should be sticky and wet. Let the matzo ball dough chill in the fridge for 30 minutes before using it.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once the matzo ball dough has chilled and the water is boiling, form the dough into tablespoon-sized balls. Lower the heat to a simmer, and then carefully drop the balls into the simmering water. They will float and begin to expand. 

Place a lid on the pot, and simmer the matzo balls for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes turn off the heat, and serve the matzo balls, or let them cool in the liquid, and store them in the fridge until ready to use. Matzo balls can be made 1-2 days ahead of when you intend to serve them. While the matzo balls are cooking, make the soup.

for the soup

In a medium pot, add the kombu, nori and water. On medium heat, slowly bring the liquid to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes until the seaweed has imparted flavor to the liquid, and the nori is falling apart. Before the water has come up to a simmer, when it is warm and about 100°F, take a few tablespoons of the liquid and combine it in a small bowl with the miso. Stir until smooth and reserve.

After the broth has simmered for 10 minutes, remove the kombu and nori from the pot. The nori may fall apart a little and that's ok; the seaweed sediment adds flavor. On low heat, whisk the reserved miso mixture into the pot. Add the onions to the pot. Simmer the soup for another 2-3 minutes, but be careful not to boil the miso.

to assemble the dish

Ladle the miso soup into bowls. Serve 2-3 matzo balls per bowl.