Instant Pot Beef Pho

Did you know that traditional pho (pronounced fuh) broth takes hours to simmer and draw out all those flavors? In the Instant Pot, however, it takes about 30 minutes. That’s right! You get that from-scratch beef pho broth in a fraction of the time. Cooking the broth under pressure extracts all the flavor from the dried mushrooms and spices. The next best things about pho, aside from the broth, are the noodles and toppings. While the soup cooks, you still have enough time to get all your favorite pho toppings arranged. Excerpted with permission from The Big Book of Instant Pot Recipes.

Course Soups and Stews

Cuisine Vietnamese

Keyword beef, pho, soup, vietnamese

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Calories 563kcal

Author Robin Donovan

Ingredients

1 pound 455 g boneless beef eye round
1 tablespoon 18 g salt, plus more to season the beef
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon 15 ml canola oil (or any neutral-flavored cooking oil)
2 small yellow onions cut in half, skin on
2 garlic cloves smashed
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
4 peppercorns
2 star anise
1 ounce 28 g dried shiitake mushrooms
5 cups 1.2 L water
3 cups 710 ml beef stock
9.5 ounces 270 g ramen or udon noodles (see note)
Toppings: shredded red cabbage bean sprouts, thinly sliced red onion, hot sauce (sriracha), fresh cilantro, lime wedges, sliced jalapeño and hoisin sauce

Instructions

Season all sides of the beef with salt and pepper.
Place the oil in the Instant Pot. Press sauté.
Once the oil is shimmering, add the beef. Sear each side of the beef for about 5 minutes.
Add the onions, garlic, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaf, peppercorns, star anise, and dried mushrooms to the pot as well. Continue to sear the beef for 5 more minutes while stirring the vegetables and herbs around.
Press cancel and then remove the beef, transferring it to a nearby plate. Tent with foil and let rest.
Pour the water and stock into the pot and add the salt. Stir to combine.
Secure the lid with the steam vent in the sealed position. Press pressure cook until the display light is beneath high pressure. Use the plus and minus buttons to adjust the time until the display reads “20 minutes.”
When the timer sounds, quick release the pressure.
Remove the lid. Use a fine-mesh strainer with a handle to remove the onions, garlic, mushrooms, and spices from the broth.
Discard the onions, garlic, and spices, reserving the mushrooms. Add the mushrooms back to the pot.
Press sauté and wait a minute or two until the stock starts to bubble. Add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes, or until tender.
Ladle the broth into bowls. Use tongs to transfer the noodles to the bowls. Top with slices of beef, red cabbage, bean sprouts, sliced red onion, hot sauce, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and sliced jalapeño.

Notes

For the noodles, I used Vietnamese rice stick noodles, which is what you'll usually find in authentic pho. They also happen to be gluten free (for my husband). They don't need to cook long—the package said just 10 seconds in boiling water! So to avoid overcooking them, I just cooked them separately. I put the noodles and meat in serving bowls and ladled the hot broth over the top.

Nutrition