Description
Skip the all-day simmer! This Instant Pot Chicken Pho uses a rotisserie chicken for a rich, complex broth in just 60 minutes. 🍜
Ingredients
Scale
Pho Soup Broth
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 medium onions, sliced ¼-inch thick
- 2-inch long piece of ginger, skin on, sliced ¼-inch thick
- 1 rotisserie chicken, breasts removed for later, with any liquid in the package
- 1 teaspoon dry coriander seeds
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 dried star anise pod
- Stems from a small (2-ounce) bunch of cilantro, leaves saved for later
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 cups of water
Broth Seasonings
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons rock sugar (or raw, brown, or white sugar)
Pho Bowls Base
- Rotisserie chicken breast meat (from above), shredded
- 14 to 16 ounces rice vermicelli (Thin rice noodles) cooked according to package directions
- 2 green onions, sliced thin
Toppings - serve on the side
- Leaves from a small (2-ounce) bunch of Cilantro (the leaves from the stems used in the broth)
- Thai basil
- Bean sprouts
- Limes, cut into wedges
- Bird's-eye chilies (aka Thai chili peppers), sliced thin
- Hoisin sauce
- Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- Sauté the aromatics: Heat the oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté - high (use medium-high heat with other pressure cookers) until the oil starts to shimmer. Add the sliced onion and ginger and sauté until the onions are browned, about 8 minutes.
- Pressure cook the pho broth for 60 minutes with a natural release: Cut the chicken breast meat off of the rotisserie chicken and set aside for later. Add the rest of the rotisserie chicken (for better flavor, shred and break up the chicken before adding to the pot. For easy broth, just drop the whole carcass in the pot). Add any juices in the rotisserie chicken container to the pot. Add the coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, star anise pod and cilantro stems to the pot. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt, then pour in the 8 cups of water. (Water should just cover the rotisserie chicken - it's OK if the knobs of the drumsticks are poking up.) Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 60 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC, or for 50 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook-Custom mode in an Instant Pot). Let the pressure come down naturally after cooking - the natural pressure release will take 30 to 40 minutes. (It takes a long time for all that boiling water to cool off. If you're in a hurry, let the pressure come down for at least 20 minutes, then quick-release any remaining pressure.) Scoop the chicken carcass and vegetables out of the pot with a slotted spoon and discard; they've given their all to the broth. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer, and put it back in the pressure cooker liner.
- Season the Pho Broth: Pour the broth back into the pressure cooker liner, and set the Instant Pot to Sauté - low (use low heat with a stovetop PC). Stir in the fish sauce and rock sugar, and let the broth simmer for at least 5 minutes while you continue with the prep work.
- Prep Work: Cook the rice noodles according to the package directions, shred the chicken breast meat into bite-sized shreds, and thinly slice the green onions. Also, prep all the toppings you want and set them on a platter. (I slice the bird’s-eye chilies and lime wedges, and just pile the other herbs and toppings on a platter.) You can do the prep work while the pho broth is pressure cooking and/or simmering with the seasonings.
- Build the Pho Bowls and Serve With the Toppings: Put a serving of cooked rice noodles, the shredded chicken, and some sliced green onion into each bowl, and top with the pho broth. Serve with the platter of toppings and bottles of sriracha and hoisin, so people can add their favorites to their bowls. Enjoy!
Notes
Optional - Shred the chicken before making the broth: If you have the time and the patience, shred the chicken and break up the carcass before adding it to the pot to make the broth. The pho broth will have even better flavor.
"I already have broth" variation: If you already have 8 cups of chicken broth, you can skip the pressure cooking step. Sauté the onion and ginger, add the spices and cilantro stems, then pour in 8 cups of chicken broth, add the fish sauce and rock sugar, and two uncooked boneless skinless chicken breasts. Simmer the broth with the spices and chicken for 15 minutes. Remove the breast meat and strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer. Continue with the Prep Work and Build the Pho Bowls steps.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl of soup
- Calories: 301
- Sugar: 5.8 g
- Sodium: 1443.4 mg
- Fat: 2.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.3 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 20.4 g
- Cholesterol: 54.7 mg