The broth

Cup of Yum
1. Bring a pot with plenty of water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, vinegar and chicken to the pot. Let the chicken sit in there for 1-2 minutes. This step helps eliminating the poultry smell and reducing the amount of foam in step 5.
2. Cover dried shiitake mushrooms and dried shrimps in hot water to rehydrate them. After 2 - 3 minutes, discard the water.
3. Remove the chicken from the blanching liquid. Discard the liquid and wash the pot. Add chicken back to the pot, and also add dried shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimps, onion, ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
4. Pour about 8 cups of water (2 liters of water) into the pot. Turn on the burner and bring it to a boil. Skim off any foam. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and let it simmer. When the chicken is fully cooked, transfer it to an ice bath. The amount of time to cook the chicken depends on its size. I used a cut-up chicken so it only took about 15 minutes.
5. When the chicken has cooled down, remove it from the ice bath and shred the meat. Put the chicken bones back to the simmering broth. Continue to let it simmer very gently.

Noodles and other toppings

1. Peel and poach the shrimps until just cooked through. Put the cooked shrimps in the food chopper and chop roughly into small pieces (see image below). You can certainly chop them into smaller pieces than mine, but remember they will shrink when we toast them.
2. Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat, add a little oil and shrimp pieces. Toast, stir frequently until all water content evaporates (about 5 minutes), add 1/4 teaspoon of fish sauce, stir well and transfer to a bowl.
3. Slice the Vietnamese pork sausage into thin slices and then cut into thin strips.
4. Crack the eggs into a bowl and season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. Beat well. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat, lightly grease with oil and pour just enough egg mixture to create a thin layer. Cook until the egg mixture is set, flip once. I can make 2 egg crepes from 3 eggs. Remove from the pan to a cutting board. After all the egg crepes are made, roll them and slice thinly.
5. Prepare dried rice vermicelli noodles according to instructions on the package.

Putting everything together

1. Fill a bowl with rice vermicelli noodles, then add all the toppings and chopped herbs. Arrange the toppings as in the image below.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce to the broth. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning if needed. Ladle the hot soup over the noodles.
3. Serve immediately.  If you can eat fermented shrimp paste (this paste is flavorful but very strong and pungent), you can add a very small amount of it to your noodle bowl, mix with the broth before eating.