Which spices go in chicken pho?
There is no single mandatory spice blend for every pot of phở gà. Coriander seeds are a useful starting point for a light, citrus-like aroma. Cloves, star anise, and cinnamon may appear in different recipes, but chicken broth can be overwhelmed by a blend designed for a larger beef stock.
Our flagship pot uses 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 2 cloves, and an optional star anise for about 10 cups of finished broth. Treat that as the starting point for that recipe, not a universal ratio for all pho.
What each spice contributes
Whole spices are easier to remove than powders and keep the broth cleaner. Smell them before use; old spices may have very little aroma.
- Coriander seed: gentle citrus and floral notes; the lead spice in our broth.
- Clove: strong, warm, and slightly sweet; a few go a long way.
- Star anise: recognizable licorice aroma; optional in the flagship recipe.
- Cinnamon: woody sweetness; not needed in every chicken pho.
- Ginger and onion: fresh aromatics, not dried spices, but central to the finished broth.
Toast briefly and watch closely
Warm whole spices in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1–2 minutes, shaking or stirring, until fragrant. Small seeds toast faster than thick pieces of bark. Remove them promptly if they begin to smoke.
Toasting is meant to release aroma, not make the spices black. A burnt spice bag cannot be fixed by adding more sugar to the broth. Start again with a fresh measured amount if the aroma turns acrid.
Control the infusion
A spice bag or tea infuser makes removal easy. Leave enough room for liquid to circulate rather than packing spices tightly. If they go in loose, plan to strain the finished broth through a fine-mesh sieve.
Taste during cooking. A short pressure cycle and a six-hour slow-cooker cook do not extract flavor in the same way. Follow the method-specific recipe; in our slow cooker version the spices go in near the end.
Use ground spices with caution
Ground spices disperse through the broth, can feel gritty, and are difficult to strain out completely. Do not swap a tablespoon of ground coriander for a tablespoon of whole seeds without adjusting the recipe.
If whole spices are unavailable, make a simpler ginger-and-onion broth, or use a seasoning product according to its label. Check whether the product also contains salt, sugar, or stock powder before adding your usual seasoning.
Let the chicken remain recognizable
If your first sip tastes mainly of licorice, remove the star anise. If the broth is already strongly infused, dilute it with plain chicken broth and rebalance the salt. More garnishes will not remove an over-extracted spice flavor.
Vietnamese cooks use different blends. Andrea Nguyen’s discussion of chicken pho describes a coriander-led family preference, illustrating why a single fixed spice checklist is too narrow. The recipe choices on this site are editorial interpretations rather than a claim to one definitive tradition.
Questions from the kitchen
Can I use a beef pho spice packet?
Read its contents and use a restrained amount. A packet intended for a large beef broth may overwhelm a small chicken pot, and some packets also contain salt.
Is star anise essential?
No. It is optional in our flagship recipe and omitted from the Hanoi-inspired version.