The primary job of a great soup, other than providing tons of flavor, is to give you that warm, stick-to-your-ribs feeling. Few soups do that as well as a heaping bowl of pho.The Vietnamese beef-bone based soup is usually chock full of noodles, fresh herbs and any number of toppings like cilantro, bean sprouts,thinly sliced round eye or even meatballs. The true star, however,is the broth itself. But, if youask any seasoned pho-fessional they'll tell you that making a proper broth will take you hours, if not a whole day, to develop the rich and complex flavors needed foran excellent bowl of the stuff. If you want to try to recreate this broth without the same time investment, one of the best ways to do this is by using a pressure cooker!
The pressure created by a traditionalpressure cooker or an Instant Pot helps to drasticallyspeed up the process of pulling the flavors and magic from the beef bones and into your soup. In fact, once pressurized, the soup will be done in just an hour. It may not be exactly like what you'd get after hours of simmering, but we are very happy with this shortcut method. Here are some tips to ensure you make the best pho possible:
For Extra Flavor Char The Veggies
While it's totally fine to toss in your onion and ginger as is, in our research we found that many Vietnamese chefs will char their onion and ginger before peeling and adding them to the pot. Thishelps toprovide a slightly smoky flavor to the broth. To do this simply half your onion and char it over a medium high flame of your stove, right on the grate of your stove,for 3 to 4 minutes until the skin is blackened. Do the same for the ginger, then peel and add to your pot.
Boil The Bones!
If you have made bone broth or stock before, you've probably spent time skimming scum from the top of your pot. Now thisscum isn't actually bad,in fact its largely made up of denatured proteins which are commonly found in many foods, most notably in egg whites. The reason people skim these proteins out is largely to keep the broth from appearing cloudy, and if you've ever had a good bowl of pho, you know the broth is usually very clear. Because we will be sealing our broth in a pressure cooker we can't skim through the cooking process. By boiling the bones for 10 minutes before cooking, you will be able to get a leach amount of those proteins out of the bones before cooking, leading to a clearer broth.
Remove The Fat For SuperExtraClear Broth
Toachieve maximum clarity in your broth, after straining it through a fine mesh strainer, move it to an airtight container and let itcool in a fridge for 4 hours or overnight. When you take it out of the fridge there should be a layer of fat sitting on top of the soup. Simply discard that layer before reheating and you'll have an even clearer broth.
Freeze Your Beef For Extra Thin Slices
The tender, thin beef you'll be topping your pho with will be cooked by the hot broth you ladle over it.As a result, you want that beef to be sliced as thinly as possible. The best way to do this without any special tools is to place your flank steak or round eye in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. The cold will help the meat to firm, making it more conducive to thin slicing.
Made this instant pot miracle? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
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- Yields:
- 3 - 4 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 15 mins
- Total Time:
- 2 hrs 45 mins
Ingredients
For broth:
- 4 lb.
beef bones (mixture of knuckle and shank)
- 1
cinnamon stick
- 8
to 10 cloves
4 green cardamom or 1 black cardamom pods
- 2
to 3 star anise pods
- 1
large onion, peeled and halved
- 1
large piece ginger (about 6 ounces), roughly chopped
- 4
garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 1/2 tbsp.
brown sugar
- 1/3 c.
fish sauce
Kosher salt
- 1 lb.
beef brisket or chuck, cut into large pieces
For assembly:
- 3/4 lb.
flank steak or round eye
- 1 lb.
banh pho noodles (or your favorite rice noodle)
- 1
bunch cilantro, half roughly choppedand half left whole
Green onions, green parts thinly sliced
- 1
small onion, thinly sliced and soaked in cold water for 10 minutes
Lime wedges
Bean sprouts
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha
Directions
For broth:
- Step1Fill a large pot enough to cover bones and bring to a rolling boil. Add bones and cook 10 minutes. You should notice a good amount of scum and cloudiness in your water. Since the bones are going to cook in a pressure cooker, there won’t be a chance to skim the top of the broth of the scum, so parboiling the bones helps to reduce cloudiness in the final soup. Strain the bones and wash them under cold water, making sure to scrub away any remaining scumminess.
- Step2Set your Instant Pot to sauté. Once the cooker has heated, add cinnamon, cloves,cardamom, and star anise. Toast spices for 3 to 4 minutes, until fragrant. Turn off Instant Pot. Add bones, onion, ginger, and garlic to the Instant Pot,then cover with 6 cups of water. Add brown sugar, fish sauce, and a big pinch of kosher salt, and give it a slight stir to combine. Top everything with the brisket and add just enough water to cover without going above the max pressure line in the Instant Pot.
- Step3Place the cover on Instant Potand close it. Move the steam release valve to the “sealing position” and set the Instant Pot to “Pressure Cook” on high for 1 hour. It should take 10 to 15 minutes for the pressure cooker to seal properly.
- Step4When the soup is done, carefully release the steam valve and allow for the Instant Pot to depressurize and for the steam to release. This can take a little while, so just be patient!
- Step5 When done, set aside the cooked brisket and strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into a pot or move the broth to a container and store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Step6OPTIONAL: For an extra clear, less fatty broth, allow the broth to cool in the fridge for 4 hours or overnight and remove the layer of fat that will have solidified on top of your broth.
For assembly:
- Step1To slice the beef, place in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and slice against the grain as thinly as possible. Move the slices to a place and set aside.
- Step2Move your banh pho noodles to a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 15 to 20 minutes or until they have reached your desired texture. Strain and rinse with cold water, set aside. While the noodles are soaking, bring the broth to a boil in a large saucepan.
- Step3To serve, add some noodles to the bottom of each bowl. Add a bit of chopped cilantro, green onion, and onion. Next, add a few slices of the raw beef. Cover everything with boiling broth, which will cook the raw beef. Serve the bowl alongside more cilantro, scallion, and onions, as well as lime wedges, bean sprouts, hoisin, and sriracha.
