Instant Pot Pho Bo (Beef Noodle Soup)

Pho became mainstream in the United States in the 90s. Nowadays, most people eat this hearty yet clean tasting noodle soup on the regular or, at least, have tried it. I said “most people” because last fall I met a dude that has never had Pho before, which blew my mind—don’t worry, he was educated very quickly. Plus, Pho made Sriracha a big deal!

I am going to keep this entry short and sweet, below is my recipe for Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) that I made into an Instant Pot version. If you finish the stock on the stove, no one could tell that the stock was pressure cooked for 45 minutes to hour versus cooked on the stove for 2+ hours. It’s a good base recipe for Pho, if you wanted to change up the protein then replace the Bo (beef) with Ga (chicken) for a Chicken Noodle Soup.

Ingredients

For the broth:

2 medium yellow onions

1 small daikon radish

4-inch piece ginger

2-3 pounds beef soup bones (marrow, knuckle bones, oxtail)

5 star anise

6 whole cloves

3-inch cinnamon stick

1 pound piece of beef chuck, rump, brisket or cross rib roast, cut into 2-by-4-inch pieces

1 ½ tablespoons salt

4 tablespoons fish sauce

1-inch chunk yellow rock sugar

1 packet Pho Gia Vi

1-2 teaspoons MSG (optional)

For the bowls:

1 ½ - 2 pounds small dried or fresh banh Pho noodles

½ pound raw eye of round, sirloin, London broil or tri-tip steak, thinly sliced across the

grain

1 medium yellow onion, sliced paper-thin

3 or 4 scallions, green part only, cut into thin rings

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

Optional garnishes arranged on a plate and placed at the table: 

Sprigs of spearmint and Thai basil

Culantro

Bean sprouts (about ½ pound)

Red hot chili or jalapenos

Lime wedges

Directions

1. Set Instant Pot on “Saute” mode, heat up about 2 tsp. cooking oil, and sear beef on all sides until brown. Then place bones in Instant Pot and cover with 6 quarts of boiling water.

2. Add yellow onions, daikon radish, ginger, star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, salt, fish sauce, yellow rock sugar, Pho Gia Vi packet, and MSG (if using) to Instant Pot. Set pressure to high and cook time to 45 minutes and cook. Allow natural release for about 15 minutes then quick release the pressure when cooking time is completed.

3. Use a ladle to skim fat/impurities from top of the Pho broth and strain broth into another stock pot. Taste and adjust flavor with additional salt, fish sauce, yellow rock sugar and MSG if using. The Pho broth should taste slightly strong because the noodles and other ingredients are not salted. Makes about 4 quarts.

4. Keep broth simmering over medium-low flame as you are assembling bowls. If you are using dried noodles, cover with hot tap water and soak 15-20 minutes, until softened and opaque white. Drain in colander. For fresh rice noodles, just untangle and briefly rinse in a colander with cold water. Fill 3- or 4-quart saucepan with water and bring to boil. For each bowl, blanch a portion of noodles. Remove from noodles as soon as collapsed and lost their stiffness (10-20 seconds). Empty noodles into bowls.

5. Place slices of cooked meat and raw meat on top of noodles (if your cooked meat is not at room temperature, blanch slices for few seconds in hot water from above). Garnish with onion, scallion, and chopped cilantro. Ladle broth into each bowl, distributing hot liquid evenly so as to cook raw beef and warm other ingredients. Serve your Pho with the garnish plate.

Note: If you don't want to strain the broth into another stock pot, I recommend parboiling your bones and putting the spices into a cheesecloth or tea bag to eliminate the debris/impurities that float to the top then you could leave the broth in the Instant Pot, which will keep it hot while assembling the bowls.