Related Video: Audrey’s Vietnamese Kitchen: Instant Pot Pho
Over the past few years, I have attempted to make Pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) many times. Notice how I said attempted. Was I successful? Most of the time, not really. But I never gave up, because pho is one of my favorite things to eat.
Being an American married to a Vietnamese man has given me a lot to learn. In Vietnamese culture, you want to make your husband happy and usually you can do this by cooking his favorite foods for him. While Huy is not traditional by any means, and honestly, he does most of the cooking in our house, I felt like it was my life goal to succeed at making the most well-loved Vietnamese dish out there.
After many fails, kind of fails, and not bad tasting soups, I have finally reached a place where my pho is actually kind of on point. I am going to share my exact recipe here so you can try it at home and see if you can get good results from it. Even though this is my best one yet, I’m always open to hearing feedback so if you have tips for making it taste even better, please leave a comment on this post!
Audrey’s Instant Pot Pho Recipe
Makes 5 servings
Ingredients
For the soup:
1.5lbs beef brisket
3 beef marrow bones
4 beef neck bones
2 sticks of cinnamon
2 tbps coriander seed
1 tbsp fennel seed
1 tbsp cardamom
1 tbsp cloves
½ tbsp black pepper corns
6 star anise
1 2-inch nub of fresh ginger
1 yellow onion
1-2 tbsp rock sugar
3-4 tbsp kosher salt (taste and add more later)
4 tbsp of fish sauce (again, taste and add more later)
For the bowl:
Pho noodles
Basil
Culantro
Cilantro (optional)
Green onion
White onion
Bean sprouts
Lime
Sauces:
Hoisin sauce
Chili sauce
Process
1. Put the beef bones in a pot of water and boil for about 10 minutes. This will allow for any impurities to be removed from the bones so you can get a clearer broth. Rinse the bones well under cold water before using (but be careful, they will be really hot!).
2. Place the cinnamon sticks, coriander seed, fennel seed, cardamom, cloves, black pepper corns and star anise in a dry pan on low heat. Let them heat up while constantly moving them around the pan (you don’t want to burn them). Once you start to smell the aromas from the spices, remove them from the pan and place them in a cheese cloth or spice ball. Set aside.
3. Turn the oven on to broil and place the ginger and onion (both sliced in half) on a sheet pan. Set them under the broiler until they get toasty. You can also do this over an open flame. Once these have been charred, scrape off the burnt bits and set aside.
4. Place the bones, spice ball, onion and ginger into your instant pot insert. Add water, salt, and rock sugar. Place on the lid and set the cooker to soups/stews, 45 minutes. Once the soup is finished you can natural release or quick release. I personally go with a natural release to allow the flavors to keep mingling a bit longer.
5. Open the instant pot and carefully remove some of the bones (this will make room for the brisket). You can remove them all if you’d like but I usually remove the marrow bones and leave a few neck bones in the pot. I also remove the onion since it might be falling apart at this stage.
6. Add the brisket to the pot and add fish sauce. I also taste to see if it needs more salt or rock sugar at this point so feel free to do the same. Start the pot again for 45 minutes on the soups/stews function. Once finished cooking, allow for a natural release so the meat will not seize up.
7. Remove the meat and place it in a bowl of cold water. Wash your herbs, cook the pho noodles according to their package, and slice the white and green onions for garnishes. You can also blanch the bean sprouts and chop the cilantro. Place all herbs and garnishes on a plate.
8. To build your bowl, add onions, noodles, broth, and sliced beef. Then add your favorite garnishes and sauces. Give it a squeeze of lime and enjoy!!
Pho is really one of the most comforting Vietnamese dishes out there. I love that the instant pot allows me to make pho in a fraction of the time and that I can make a big batch that lasts a few days.
You can make pho on the stove top as well, but it’s going to take longer. I would probably cook the bones for 4 hours and then the brisket for an additional 4-5 hours on med-low heat. Some people prefer to cook their pho this way but I’ve become so accustomed to using the IP that I don’t see myself going back anytime soon.
As I finish writing this post, I’m actually on my flight to Vietnam and looking forward to getting some Pho Phu Vuong in Ho Chi Minh City. I’ll share some amazing food adventures here in the coming weeks that will make you drool. In the meantime, I hope you give this recipe a try. Please let me know how yours turns out in the comments, or if you have any additional tips on how I can improve my recipe. Happy cooking!