This recipe is hands down the fastest and easiest way to make a 5-star restaurant quality Pho. A pressure cooker allows you to make a rich and flavorful stock in less than two hours that typically would take all day on the stove to perfect.

Instant Pot Pho

Instant Pot Pho

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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Rest: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Soups
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Keyword: Asian, Noodles
Servings: 6

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot
  • Colander or Strainer
  • Cheesecloth

Ingredients

Pho Stock: This makes approximately 6 servings of stock.

  • 1 stick Cinnamon, approximately 4 inches
  • 6 whole Cloves
  • 2 pods Star Anise
  • 1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds
  • 1 piece Fresh Ginger, approximately 4 inches
  • 1 whole Onion - white, yellow or sweet
  • 3 pounds Mixed beef shanks, oxtail and marrow bones. It doesn’t have to be these exactly; whatever bone-in-beef products you can get at the store will work.
  • 1 pound whole Chicken Wings
  • 1 whole Apple
  • 12 cups Water
  • 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

Toppings

  • Beef Steak such as eye of round, sirloin steak or NY strip with the fat trimmed
  • Cooked Meats from the pho stock
  • Thin Rice Noodles, or shirataki noodles if low carb or keto
  • Scallions/green onions or chives
  • Thai Chiles, or other spicy paper such as jalapeno, or serrano
  • Bean Sprouts
  • Microgreens
  • Cilantro
  • Thai Basil, or Italian Basil if you cannot get Thai Basil
  • Mint
  • Limes

Instructions

  • Roughly chop the ginger, leaving the skin on.
  • Remove the skin from the onion and roughly chop.
  • With your Instant Pot set to sauté mode, high heat, add the spices (cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and fennel seeds), and toast them until fragrant. 3-5 minutes
  • Add the ginger and onion and continue to cook on sauté until they start to blacken. It’s ok if the spices begin to burn a little.
  • Turn the Instant Pot heat off and carefully pour in the water. It is going to spit and splash, so be extra careful.
  • Add the meat products to the water and the apple. Cover and set the cooker to high pressure for 1 hour.
  • When the hour is up, let the cooker rest pressurized for another 30 minutes.
  • Carefully release the pressure and remove the lid.
  • Strain away the solids from the stock using a colander.
  • Strain the stock once again using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
  • The meat will have given up most of its flavor at this point; however, I like to shred any beef or chicken I can and add those to my topping list for a little extra flavor and texture. Otherwise, you can use it for another purpose or discard it.
  • Stir in the fish stock and adjust salt and pepper as desired.
  • Your pho stock is now ready! You can use this immediately or refrigerate it for up to a week. It also freezes very well and can be stored frozen for up to 6 months.
  • If you are going ahead and eating the same day, boil water and prepare your noodles per package instructions.

Assembly

  • Prep your toppings by cutting them into bite-size pieces.
  • Slice your steak against the grain.
  • In each bowl, add about half of your desired hot broth to the bottom of a bowl.
  • Add the desired amount of cooked noodles.
  • Add desired toppings, adding the raw beef last.
  • Ladle another scoop of broth over top of the beef to start the cooking process. The stock has enough heat to cook the thinly cut meat safely. Knowing your sources use the freshest beef available to ensure the best quality is important.
  • Add crushed black pepper, and enjoy.
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