Chicken Pho (Pho Ga)

Name: Chicken Pho (Pho Ga)
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 2 yellow onions, (about 1 pound total, unpeeled); Chubby 4-inch section fresh ginger (unpeeled); 1 chicken ((4 pounds), excess fat and tail removed); 3 pounds chicken backs, (necks, or other bony chicken parts); 5 quarts water; 1 1/2 tablespoons salt; 3 tablespoons fish sauce; 1- inch chunk rock sugar ((about 1 ounce(; see Notes); 2 tablespoons coriander seeds, (toasted in a dry skillet for about 1 minute until fragrant); 4 whole cloves; 1 small or 1/2 large bunch cilantro ((bound stems about 1 inch in diameter)); 1 1/2 to 2 pounds small flat rice noodles ((bánh phở), dried or fresh); Cooked chicken, (at room temperature); 1 yellow onion, (sliced paper-thin, soaked in cold water for 30 minutes and drained); 3 or 4 scallions, (green part only, thinly sliced); 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, (leafy tops only); Black pepper; 3 cups bean sprouts, (about 1/2 pound); 10 to 12 sprigs mint ((húng), or 10 to 12 sprigs Thai basil* (húng quế)); 12 to 15 fresh culantro ((ngò gai leaves)); 2 or 3 Thai or serrano chiles, (thinly sliced); 2 or 3 limes, (cut into wedges)