If you want to make pho from scratch but do not have time for a long simmer in a stockpot, use a pressure cooker. This recipe goes with the post I wrote about how to use the Instant Pot to make my pressure cooker pho recipes in The Pho Cookbook.
Note a few things before diving into this recipe:
Get a 4-pound chicken. Once the giblets and moisture absorbing liner were removed, the chicken below had a net weight that was just above 4 pounds.
When there is a weight measurement in my recipes, use a scale to verify things. This is important on your first time with any of my recipes. A digital scale unfortunately never lies! Go back and forth between metric and imperial to dial in small measurements like that for the cilantro.
Read the “Pho Manual” in the book for 99.9% of the pho knowledge I have (the remaining .1% is boring or distracting). For example, in my kitchen, 1 inch of chubby ginger weighs 1 ounce. The apple is my supermarket workaround for Chinese yellow rock sugar.
Chicken Pho Spices
Chicken pho is delicate, practically tonic like. Some cooks use the same spices for beef pho as they would for chicken pho. That’s not what I grew up with or what I’ve had in Vietnam. I flavor my chicken pho with coriander seeds, a few whole cloves and fresh cilantro. It’s simple and delicious. You can get the ingredients at a regular supermarket! No tricky dance moves.
Strain through unbleached muslin for clear broth. (If you wonder why I prefer muslin, read this post.) Skim some fat but leave a nice amount. The muslin captures some fat so don’t waste time trying to get it all.
Lime leaves for legit chicken pho
Cut into fine threads, lime leaves are an ultra-traditional pho connoisseur’s garnish! The first photo below was taken by my friend and food stylist Karen Shinto when we were in Hanoi in 2015. It was at a chicken pho shop.
If you have a lime tree, pick some tender leaves. Mine from the garden are Makrut (Thai) lime leaves. Leave out the spine because it’s darn tough to chew.
Pho herbs
I know you want to use Thai basil. But, know that in Hanoi, the birthplace of pho, mint js the herb of choice. It is fabulous with chicken pho. Its brightness enlivens and refreshes. More on The History of Pho . . .
RECIPE
Instant Pot Chicken Pho
Ingredients
BROTH
- 1 4 lb whole chicken
- 1 rounded tablespoon coriander seeds
- 3 whole cloves
- Chubby 2-inch section ginger, peeled, thickly sliced, and bruised
- 1 large (10 oz) yellow onion, halved and thickly sliced
- 7 to 7 ½ cups just-boiled water
- 1 small (4 oz) Fuji apple, peeled, cored, and cut into thumbnail-size chunks
- ¾ cup (.7 oz) coarsely chopped cilantro sprigs
- 2 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
- About 1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
- About 1 teaspoon organic sugar, or 2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)
BOWLS
- 10 ounces dried narrow flat rice noodles (banh pho or pad Thai noodles)
- About half the cooked chicken from the broth
- ½ small (2 oz) yellow or red onion, thinly sliced against the grain and soaked in water for 10 minutes
- 2 thinly sliced green onions green parts only
- ¼ cup (.2 oz) chopped fresh cilantro, leafy tops only
- Freshly ground black pepper optional
OPTIONAL EXTRAS
- 2 or 3 tender lime leaves, cut into fine threads (omit spines)
- 4 handfuls beansprouts
- 4 to 6 sprigs mint
- 4 to 6 sprigs Thai basil
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- 2 Thai chiles or 1 jalapeno, Fresno, or serrano chile, thinly sliced (keep seeds intact)
- Sriracha and/or hoisin sauce
Instructions
Make the broth
- Rinse the chicken and set aside to drain. Put the coriander seeds and cloves in a 6-quart Instant Pot. Use the Saute and More functions to toast the spices several minutes, stirring, until fragrant. Add the ginger and onion. Stir until aromatic, 45 to 60 seconds, to coax out a bit of flavor. A little browning is okay.
- Add 4 cups of the water to arrest the cooking process. Put the chicken in the cooker, breast side up. Add the apple, cilantro, salt, and 3 to 3 ½ cups water to barely cover the top of the breast (it will cook by the steam in the IP). Lock the lid in place.
- Program the IP to pressure cook (Manual) on low pressure for 15 minutes. When done, unplug the cooker and let the pressure decrease naturally, about 20 minutes. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
- Let settle for 5 minutes before using tongs to transfer the chicken to a bowl; if parts fall off in transit, don’t worry. Add water to cover the chicken and soak for 10 minutes to cool and prevent drying. Pour off the water, partially cover, and set the chicken aside to cool.
- Skim some fat from the broth before straining it through a muslin-lined mesh strainer positioned over a medium pot. Discard the solids. You should have about 8 cups. Season the broth with the fish sauce, extra salt, and perhaps the sugar (or maple syrup.
- Use a knife to remove the breast halves and legs from the chicken. Set aside half of the chicken for another use (a Viet cabbage slaw or chicken sandwiches!). Reserve the remaining chicken for pho bowl assembly.
Prep and assemble the bowls
- While the broth cooks, or about 30 minutes before serving, ready the ingredients for the bowls. Soak the noodles in hot tap water until pliable and opaque. Drain, rinse, and drain well. Divide among 4 soup bowls.
- Cut or tear the chicken breast and leg into pieces about 1⁄4 inch thick. Place the onion, green onion, and cilantro in separate bowls and line them up with the noodles, chicken, and pepper for a pho assembly line.
- Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat as you are assembling the bowls. At the same time, fill a pot with water and bring to a rolling boil for the noodles.
- For each bowl, use a noodle strainer or mesh sieve to dunk a portion of the noodles in the boiling water. When the noodles are soft, 5 to 60 seconds, pull the strainer from the water, shaking it to drain excess water back into the pot. Empty the noodles into a bowl. Top with chicken, then garnish with onion, green onion, cilantro, and pepper.
- Check the broth flavor once more, raise the heat, and bring it to a boil. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl. Enjoy immediately with any extras, if you like.
Soo says
If I have Chinese rock sugar, how much can I use instead of the apple? can't wait to try this in my Instant Pot!!
Andrea Nguyen says
Try 1/4 to 1/2 ounce.
Anne says
Thank you for adapting this for the instant pot! I now have one and I can't wait to try this recipe.
Andrea Nguyen says
Hooray! 2018 will be your pho year!
Ashley says
We just got an instant pot and the first thing I wanted to make in it was this recipe... I have no words, it was honestly the best pho I’ve ever had, this includes restaurants! Every bite was packed with flavor. I wasn’t even able to find some of the toppings and it was still incredible. Thank you for this recipe!!
Andrea Nguyen says
I'm totally stoked! Thank you, Ashley! May more pho grace your 2018.
Tanya says
Does the broth still turn out clear without parboiling the chicken? Do you think it is worth while to parboil the chicken then cook it in the Instant Pot?
Andrea Nguyen says
Yes it does, especially when it's a whole chicken. Look at the photos. It's incredible. Even my mom is amazed. 😉
Matt says
Amazing!!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe. Was sick with a cold and this pho was just what me and my family needed. It was really delicious and the flavors were perfect. Great work.
Andrea Nguyen says
You're so very welcome!
Thuy Duong says
Hi Andrea,
Thank you for an excellent adaptation of pho ga using the Instant Pot. The chicken breast came out so juicy-tender and not mealy. You even converted my husband, a confirmed hater of chicken breast.
Best regards,
Thuy
Andrea Nguyen says
Hooray!!! Thanks for taking time to provide feedback. I'm in the same camp with your husband so I understand his aversion. 😉
sapna says
This was perfection! Thank you!!
Andrea Nguyen says
Hooray!!! Thanks for the pho feedback.
Tanya Ngo says
Hi Andrea, my IP doesn't have a low/high pressure setting. I think high pressure is the only option. Should I still have it set to 15 minutes?
Andrea Nguyen says
Are you sure? My Instant Pot is the version 2 of the Lux. Check your user manual. It's simply a matter of pressing the buttons.
Michelle says
I just made it. Great recipe and easy to follow. Broth was so flavorful and delicious.
Andrea Nguyen says
Pho-tastic! Thanks Michelle!
Stephanie Galinson says
Battling with a big head cold...needed soup, but no fuss. I remembered your IP pho modification and wandered into the kitchen bleary-eyed to look it up and fill my IP. Had no raw chicken, only a meaty carcass from last nights roast chicken (plus a leftover leg). Skipped the sauté steps in my hazy rush and just threw it all in, decreasing the recipe proportions by half to accommodate the small amount of chicken. GREAT broth! Added a big squeeze of lime to the broth in my mug and climbed back in bed. I can imagine how good it will be when I can make it as written - but this hack was just what the doctor ordered today. Thank you Andrea and looking forward to your new book and Omnivore talk soon!
Andrea Nguyen says
Thanks Stephanie and hope you're feeling better! See next month at the event!
Dan says
Thanks this recipe is great! I followed your recipe pretty closely with a few changes - I used a 2.5 lb free range chicken, a little MSG instead of the apple, a little less sugar, and ngo gai instead of cilantro, since the cilantro at the grocery store was looking pretty rough.
Had my vietnamese mom try a small bowl the next day and it got the thumbs up! One issue was that the chicken was close to fork tender with the skin easily falling off so it was easier to hand-pull pieces than slice for the bowls, I'm guessing that's due to the smaller size of the chicken (my timing didn't differ from yours)? The broth was plenty chicken-y even with the smaller bird though.
Next, I want to try beef pho in the Instant Pot - do you have any tips for adapting your recipe? Looks like halving it will get the stuff to fit into a 6qt pot, and I'll probably try to shoot for a yield of about 7-8 cups of broth like this recipe.
Andrea Nguyen says
Mom's approval is important! Deeelighted for your success!
Yup, the smaller bird got overcooked in the Instant Pot. For the beef pho, use my Pressure Cooker Beef Pho in The Pho Cookbook is what I use. Tips for adapting it to the IP are here:
https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2017/11/instant-pot-pho-the-pho-cookbook.html
Hoa says
My husband doesn't like the taste of fish sauce in soup broth, how much salt can I substitute for the fish sauce?
Thank you, Hoa
Andrea Nguyen says
The nuoc mam in pho is not fishy and makes pho complete. You should just add salt to his and fish sauce to yours. There is salt in the broth already so just add more to taste.
Lori says
Just stopping in to give this recipe the love it deserves. I made this last night for meal prep for the entire week and it is perfection!
Andrea Nguyen says
Thanks for taking time to cook pho-nomemal pho and writing such a nice note.
Kien Le says
Could I use 4 lbs of cornish hens instead?
Andrea Nguyen says
Why would you? You'd have to cut the cooking by A LOT, or the game hens will cook to mush. I would advise against this. Or, just try it and see.
Nick says
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Are the giblets (heart, liver, gizzard) always removed? What about necks and feet? I’d like to try to get as close as possible to the street food.
Andrea Nguyen says
If you want to get as close as possible to what you've had on the streets of Vietnam, I suggest you try a stovetop simmer in a stockpot. That recipe is in "The Pho Cookbook." You can put the heart, gizzard and neck in the pot. Liver can add minerally flavor and cloudiness. Feet and neck are fine. Many chickens sold in America nowadays don't have the other parts included. The free range birds at Asian markets are actually chewier than ones I've had in Vietnam. Just use a good chicken, one you'd roast for a special occasion.
Mae says
I made this for my family on Friday evening. It was delicious. I never ate chicken pho, but wanted to try it because it sounded healthy and delicious. It did not disappoint. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes. I was nervous about making it, but your directions for clear that I felt more confident as I went through the steps.
I will be trying more of your recipes soon.
Andrea Nguyen says
Hooooray for good homemade pho at home, Mae. Thanks for using the recipe and commenting to boot!
Monika says
Hi! If I were to switch coriander seeds for coriander powder, how much should i use?
Andrea Nguyen says
You'd use the same amount but it will cloud up your broth a bit.