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Preheat the oven to 325 F.
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Season the chicken on all sides with salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of the Chinese 5 spice powder. Set aside while prepping the rest of the ingredients.
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Heat a medium-large heavy pot over medium high heat. Add the vegetable oil. When it is hot, brown one side of the chicken, about 8 minutes. Remove to a bowl.
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Add the diced onions with a splash of rice vinegar to deglaze the pot. Cook until starting to turn golden, about 8 minutes.
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Make a circle in the onions so that the onions are on the outside of the pot and place half of the mushrooms into the center of the pot. Let cook for about 5 minutes, in which time the mushrooms will start to brown. Mix them into the onions, and repeat the process for the rest of the mushrooms.
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After mixing the mushrooms into the onions, add the garlic and ginger with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of Chinese 5 Spice powder. Cook until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. If at any time the mixture starts to stick or scorch, splash in some of the chicken stock.
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Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, fish sauce and 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar. Add a teaspoon of brown sugar. Add the chicken back into the pot, along with any accumulated juices. Bring to a boil and then cover with a heavy lid and place in the oven.
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Let cook for 45 minutes--while it is cooking, prep the garnishes, including cooking the rice noodles.
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When you are ready to serve the soup, remove it from the oven. Remove the chicken pieces and shred them. Return them to the pot. Stir in 1 more tablespoon of rice vinegar and taste for additional sugar or even more soy sauce or fish sauce. Serve ladled over rice noodles with shredded cabbage (and preferably bean sprouts), chopped cilantro, mint and basil. Add a squeeze of lime juice, and Sriracha if desired (we desired!).