Shell-Broth Shrimp Pho

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A clear, fragrant Vietnamese noodle soup built the smart way: the shrimp shells you'd normally throw out get toasted and simmered with charred onion, ginger and toasted spices to make a broth with real sweetness and body in under an hour. The shrimp themselves go in last, poached just 90 seconds so they stay snappy. Finish with rice noodles, herbs, lime and chili at the table.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb large shell-on shrimp (16/20), preferably head-on
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 large yellow onion, halved
• 3 inch piece fresh ginger, halved lengthwise
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 stick cinnamon (about 3 inches)
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised and cut into 3-inch lengths
• 1 medium daikon radish, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 12 oz)
• 8 cups water
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 oz dried shrimp (optional, about 2 tbsp)
• 3 tbsp fish sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 10 oz dried flat rice noodles (banh pho), medium width
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/4 small white onion, sliced paper-thin

• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 handful Thai basil sprigs
• 2 limes, cut into wedges
• 2 Thai chilies or 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
• Hoisin sauce and sriracha, for serving

Instructions

1. Peel and devein the shrimp, keeping every shell, tail and head. Refrigerate the peeled shrimp in a covered bowl. Rinse the shells briefly and pat them dry on paper towels — dry shells brown better.
2. Char the aromatics: set the onion halves and ginger cut-side down in a dry heavy skillet over high heat (or under a broiler on a foil-lined sheet) and cook 6–8 minutes, until the cut faces are blackened in patches and smell sweet. Set aside.
3. In the same skillet over medium heat, toast the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, coriander and fennel for 60–90 seconds, until fragrant. Tip into a small bowl. If you have a tea ball or cheesecloth, bundle them; otherwise you'll strain them out later.
4. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add the shrimp shells and heads and cook, pressing and stirring, for 4–5 minutes, until they turn deep coral-pink and the bottom of the pot smells intensely of shrimp. Press the heads with the back of a spoon to release their orange fat.
5. Add the water, chicken broth, charred onion and ginger, toasted spices, lemongrass, daikon and dried shrimp if using. Bring just to a boil, then immediately reduce to a bare simmer — small bubbles only. Skim any gray foam off the surface for the first few minutes; this keeps the broth clear.
6. Simmer uncovered, never letting it boil hard, for 35 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce, palm sugar and salt during the last 5 minutes, then taste: it should be savory-sweet and clearly shrimpy. Adjust with more fish sauce or a pinch more sugar.
7. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot, pressing gently on the solids to extract every drop, then discard the solids. You should have about 8 cups. Keep the broth at a gentle 190°F simmer while you handle the noodles.
8. Cook the rice noodles in a separate large pot of boiling water according to the package (usually 5–7 minutes for dried), until tender but still springy. Drain and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking, then divide among 4 large warm bowls.
9. Season the peeled shrimp with a pinch of salt. Raise the broth to a strong simmer, drop in the shrimp, and poach exactly 90 seconds — they should just curl and turn opaque. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and arrange over the noodles.
10. Ladle about 2 cups of very hot broth into each bowl. Top with scallions, cilantro and thin white onion, and serve immediately with bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime, chilies, hoisin and sriracha on the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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