In a 6 qt pot, add your cleaned whole chicken and fill the pot ¾ full with water. Bring to high heat and wait for it to come to a boil.
While waiting for the pot to boil, char the whole onion and ginger. Remove skin once cooled. Wash off any remaining char to prevent broth from getting dark in color.
In a separate small pan, over medium-low heat, toast your aromatics (cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, and star anise). Once the peppercorns begin to pop, turn off the heat and allow to cool. Add all the aromatics into a tea infuser or spice bag.
Once the pot with the chicken begins to boil, remove the foam that collects at the top.
Add the onion, ginger, cinnamon sticks, and tea infuser with spices to the pot with the chicken. Add the rock sugar and 1 tablespoon salt. Lower the heat to medium-low and allow to cook for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, the chicken should be fully cooked. Remove the entire chicken and submerge in a bowl of cool water to prevent the chicken from browning.
Remove the leftover onion, ginger, spices from the broth with a strainer and toss. Season the broth with 2 tablespoon fish sauce.
Once the chicken cools, shred the meat into a separate container.
Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions.
Assemble your bowl with noodles, shredded chicken, green onions, cilantro, and black pepper. Ladle the broth over the noodles.
Serve hot with side of Thai basil, beansprouts, and lime for garnish.
