Nothing satisfies my deepest cold weather food cravings like a big bowl of piping hot pho. Unless you have a favorite Vietnamese spot nearby, however, it can be difficult to get your hands on a bowl. Which is why I developed and posted a full pho recipe on The Woks of Life back in 2015. For those looking for a quick an easy option, I also posted a quick 20-Minute Chicken Pho recipe.
It’s hard to beat the flavor of a beef-based pho broth, however. But alas, it can take at least 6 hours to make, or much longer if you simmer the broth overnight as some Vietnamese families do! Enter: The Instant Pot. Our new favorite kitchen toy, this programmable electric pressure cooker has been in use more and more these days, whether it was to whip up a quick dinner for a crowd over the holidays or to make wintry soups and stews in enough time for a weeknight dinner.
This Instant Pot pho has the satisfying flavor a long-simmered broth, but it can be made in less than half the time of pho broth simmered traditionally on the stove.
Now, tools like the Instant Pot (or its opposite, the slow cooker) aren’t necessarily always practical for making soup stocks and broths because size is a limiting factor. We have one of the larger Instant Pot models. That said, if you’d like to use a smaller Instant Pot for this and just make soup for 1-3 people, you can cut the recipe in half or by a third. Simply reduce all the quantities accordingly. For large single ingredients like the cinnamon stick, simply break it into a smaller piece.
Another quick note before we begin. You’ll notice that my broth looks darker than a traditional pho broth, which is generally clearer and lighter, while still being full of flavor. Pho broth is traditionally simmered very slowly, at a very light bubble (if bubbling at all). With the pressure cooker, however, the broth is cooked much faster. But I do believe that the flavor of the broth is still rich and delicious, and you can be slurping away at a bowl of noodles in much less time, which isn’t a bad thing!
If you’d rather go with the low and slow method, visit my original tried and true stovetop Pho recipe. But if you’d like to take your Instant Pot out for a spin and get the job done faster, then you’re going to love this version!
Start by charring your ginger and onions. Use tongs to hold the ginger and onions over an open flame, or place directly on an electric burner. Turn until they’re lightly blackened and fragrant about 3 minutes. Rinse away the blackened skins and set aside.
Place the bones and beef chuck in large stockpot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse. This process will give you a much cleaner broth.
Set aside your beef chuck in the refrigerator for use later. Transfer the bones to your Instant Pot, along with the charred/cleaned ginger and onions. Add the scallions, fish sauce, sugar, and salt.
Now toast the spices (star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, black cardamom, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds) in a dry pan over medium low heat for about 3 minutes, until fragrant.
Use kitchen string to tie up the spices in a piece of cheesecloth, and add it to the pot.
Cover everything with 3 ½ quarts of water.
Seal the Instant Pot and place on the manual high pressure setting for 120 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally (15-30 minutes). Add the beef chuck and put back on the meat/stew setting for 30 minutes.
Use the Quick Pressure Release, and when the Instant Pot is once again safe to open, skim the broth for excess fat and impurities. Adjust seasoning by adding more salt, sugar, and/or fish sauce to taste.
To serve, boil the rice noodles according to package instructions. Add to a bowl. Place some slices/shreds of the beef chuck on the noodles. Cover with broth, and garnish with sliced onion, bean sprouts, and Thai basil, and be sure to squeeze some fresh lime juice over the top! You can also add some cooked beef balls or thinly sliced eye round if you like.
- 2 (3-inch) pieces ginger, cut in half lengthwise
- 2 medium onions, peeled
- 4 pounds beef marrow and/or knuckle bones
- 1½ pounds beef chuck
- 3 scallions, cut into 4-inch lengths
- ⅓ cup fish sauce
- 2 ounces rock sugar, or 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 star anise
- 5 cloves
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 1 black cardamom pod
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 3½ quarts water
- Dried pho rice noodles
- Thinly sliced onion
- Mung bean sprouts
- Thai basil
- Lime wedges
- Cooked beef balls, thinly sliced eye round (optional)
- Start by charring your ginger and onions. Use tongs to hold the ginger and onions over an open flame, or place directly on an electric burner. Turn until they’re lightly blackened and fragrant about 3 minutes. Rinse away the blackened skins and set aside.
- Place the bones and beef chuck in large stockpot and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse. This process will give you a much cleaner broth.
- Set aside your beef chuck in the refrigerator for use later. Transfer the bones to your Instant Pot, along with the charred/cleaned ginger and onions. Add the scallions, fish sauce, sugar, and salt.
- Now toast the spices (star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, black cardamom, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds) in a dry pan over medium low heat for about 3 minutes, until fragrant. Use kitchen string to tie up the spices in a piece of cheesecloth, and add it to the pot. Cover everything with 3 ½ quarts of water.
- Seal the Instant Pot and place on the manual high pressure setting for 120 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally (15-30 minutes). Add the beef chuck and put back on the meat/stew setting for 30 minutes.
- Use the Quick Pressure Release, and when the Instant Pot is once again safe to open, skim the broth for excess fat and impurities. Adjust seasoning by adding more salt, sugar, and/or fish sauce to taste.
- To serve, boil the noodles according to package instructions. Add to a bowl. Place some slices/shreds of the beef chuck on the noodles. Cover with broth, and garnish with sliced onion, bean sprouts, and Thai basil, and be sure to squeeze some fresh lime juice over the top! You can also add some cooked beef balls or thinly sliced eye round if you like.
bob erbaugh says
I can’t wait to make this. Do you have a recipe for the beef balls?
Sarah says
Hey Bob, we don’t have a recipe for beef balls currently! i actually watched an episode of a show called Flavorful Origins on Netflix recently that showed how one type of beef ball in China is made, and it looks pretty intense! It’s on our list. :)
Laura says
Looks very good! My parents make theirs similarly except in a stovetop pressure cooker and using oxtail. If they can get it on sale, we’re having pho! We can’t go out for pho now because it just never measures up, ha. I’m really craving some now.
Sarah says
I love the idea of using oxtails, Laura. I will have to try that myself!
Emily says
Hi! Quick question: With this recipe, how oily is the broth? Is it just the right amount or do you need to separate the oil from the both after cooking in the instant pot? I have made chicken broth with bones before in the pot and definitely needed to separate out the fatty oil. Thank you!
Sarah says
Hey Emily, if using marrow bones, like I did, there will be a LOT of fat to skim off. I skimmed almost 2 cups of fat from my broth, but I did get it all out using a fat separator. I mentioned this step in the recipe instructions. That said, if you use beef knuckle bones instead of marrow bones, there will be less fat (though most stocks have at least a little bit of fat to skim off).
KC says
Fat separator? Where can I get one of those? I looked under ur Chinese tools section and couldn’t find it .
Often I use the spoon to skim off into a pint cup / container which I stick in the fridge and end up w half the container w fat on top and stock beneath, then try to salvage the remainder of the soup beneath
Sarah says
Hey KC, fat separators are basically like little measuring cups where the opening for the cup spout is placed at the very bottom of the cup, so that you can pour liquid/stock out of the spout while the fat remains on top. Here’s a link to one on Amazon so you can see. Your method works too, bit it requires a bit more time for the fat to harden. Hope that helps!
Rebecca says
? thank you!
Sarah says
You’re welcome!
Anita says
I have a lot of spice packets leftover from your Taiwanese Beef Noodle soup recipe. Can I use those in this recipe? Thanks!
Athena says
That is what I am wondering, too!
Frank Mosher says
Love your recipes, however this one in particular, calls for beef bones which are not easy to come by particularly in our modern Supermarkets here in Canada, where most of the beef brought in, is already pre-cut to various degrees upon receipt by the store. Few if any sides of beef or whole animals are brought in – that would require several staff butchers, etc. In lieu of the unavailability of same, the Vietnamese spice cubes Pho are readily available with the end result being almost as good and the difference almost undetectable. Just a thought, not a critique. Cheers!
Sarah says
THanks for sharing, Frank! Our local supermarket (not in a particularly ethnic area) actually sells the marrow bones now, so maybe your local grocery will begin stocking them. I’ve never used Vietnamese pho spice cubes before, but will look for them next time!
Rowland Hill says
Do you have any smaller markets catering to Hispanic or Asian cuisines? I am lucky to have both here in upper Midwest (MN USA) and can find items such as these is these establishments
Justin Yap says
Suggestions for Frank: While the major supermarket chains may not carry them in Canada, I’ve regularly seen both beef marrow and knuckle bones (in Toronto) at Asian supermarkets like T&T, and at chains like Nations Fresh that specialize in global foods. They’re also often available at my local No Frills.
Carmen says
Depending which city you live in in Canada, Asian supermarkets such as T&T and Lucky Supermarkets should have these available for sale :)
Rie says
Exactly how large is your Instant Pot? I have a 6 quart but know there is also an 8 quart. Thanks for the info!!
Sarah says
Hey Rie, we have the 8 qt. You may have to reduce the recipe a bit, as the bones take up a lot of volume. Maybe use 2 1/2 – 3 pounds of bones instead. :)
James says
Thank you Sarah! you are awesome. My wife loves Pho, and this looks delicious. I’m going to try it this week.
Sarah says
Awesome! Hope you guys like it. :)