Instant Pot Phở Bò
Beef phở with neck bones and filet
Why does the internet need another phở recipe?
Not to brag, I think this is the fastest, easiest, most convenient and high impact way of making phở — or any bone broth for that matter. All of the ingredients in this recipe can be pantry staples and freezer friendly, making phở bò a 2-hour-reality away from a craving. Most of the 2 hour cook time is hands off since we are working with an Instant Pot. Depending on your knife skill and its sharpness, your active time in the kitchen should be less than 30 minutes. You’ll never go out to eat phở again. It’s that easy.
Everyone can make phở in an Instant Pot
This is the better way to make phở. The traditional stove top process takes at least 3 hours to boil the living daylight out of the bones. It also requires a lot of babysitting: as the broth evaporates, additional liquid needs to be added. With the Instant Pot, flavor and steam are locked in. Under pressure, the meat takes in more flavor from the broth while breaking down to fork-tenderness. You are completely hands off after you sealed the lid, and the result is always consistent.
This is how you cut corners
Neck bones go into the Instant Pot straight from the freezer. No thawing needed.
Don’t peel the ginger skin. The ginger is only there to flavor the broth and to be discarded upon serving. See how peeling would be a waste of time?
Activate your aromatics inside the Instant Pot. On sauté mode, the pot gets pretty hot and browning can happen rather quickly. The traditional method calls for charring the aromatics on high flame. Even this to me sounds extremely risky, and an additional step that is low impact.
How do you get that phở je ne sais quoi?
What makes home-cooked phở outstanding is the amount of bones used to flavor the broth. We are using 1.5lb of beef neck bones to produce 6 servings of phở. For the obvious economic reasons, most restaurant water down their phở and use MSG to make up for the lack of umami. While I do not think MSG is bad (MSG is a kind of salt that does not taste salty), I believe moderate usage is key — just as with everything in life.
What I love about beef neck bones is that it is a 2-in-1 deal. You get the bones to flavor the broth, and the wildly flavorful meat in its nook and cranny. It also happens to be affordable: around $3.5- $5 at my local stores. Neck bones are freezer friendly and do not require thawing if using the Instant Pot method. After 70 minutes in the Instant Pot on high pressure, the meat loosely detaches from the bones on its own. I like to serve the neck bones on the side. It’s fun and clean for guests to pick at the meat this way.
In this recipe, I stick with convenient store bought phở spice packets and phở seasoning to lock in a flavor baseline. The only varying factor is fish sauce — which you can scale to taste at the end. Most phở seasoning contains sugar; therefore, my recipe does not call for additional sweetness.
Note on the ingredients
All of the ingredients can be sourced on Amazon, but remember, they will be cheaper at your local Asian grocery stores. I always stock up phở spice, phở seasoning, and dried phở noodles when I go to Chinatown. If you live in NYC, the best dried phở noodles (pictured here) can be found at Tan Tin Hung on Bowery. The rest of the ingredients for this dish can be commonly found year round.
Spend time on the finishing touches
I like to slice my scallion two ways: the green part sliced thinly into tiny round circles, and the white part threaded lengthwise into tiny strips. Be generous with the cilantro and scallion, it shrinks down a lot in the hot broth.
Watch how I make it here on Instagram.
Special tool: 8 quart Instant Pot
Cook time: 1.5 hour
30 minutes to prep
70 minutes in Instant Pot if used freezer neck bones, or 45 minutes if thawed. (natural release recommended)
Makes: 6 bowls of phở
INGREDIENTS
For the soup:
Onion - half
Ginger - thumb size - sliced thin
Beef neck bone - 1lb to 1.5lb
Salt - 1 tbsp
Fish sauce - 1 tbsp and more to taste
For garnish:
Scallion - 1/2 bunch - sliced thin
Cilantro - 1/2 bunch - chopped
Lime or lemon - 1 fruit, cut to wedges
Beef filet - 1lb - raw, sliced thin (Any lean cut would work. I usually go for top round)
Pho Noodles - cook according to instructions
Optional:
Chilies: jalapeño, habanero, or bird-eye
Herb: culantro, Thai basil
INSTRUCTIONS
Step 1: Turn Instant Pot on Sauté mode. When it is hot, add half the onion — flat cut side down, along with sliced ginger straight to dry pot. Make sure to spread evenly on the bottom of the pot for even heat exposure. Allow to brown for 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 2: Add beef neck bone straight from freezer. Place the bone on top of the sliced aromatics (this will allow additional browning). Fill water up to line 4L. Add phở spice, phở seasoning and salt. Adjust setting to Soup, High Pressure for 70 minutes.
Step 3: While the Instant Pot finishes cooking and releasing pressure, start cooking the noodles according to instructions. Slice the filet and scallion. Chop the cilantro. Prepare the lime or lemon wedges along with the herbs and chillies at table side.
Step 4: Check your broth. Add the 1tbsp of fish sauce and more to your liking.
Step 5: Arrange the sliced filet on cooked noodles and top with scallion and cilantro. Use sauté mode to allow the soup to reach rolling boiling hot upon serving. Pour the hot soup in the bowl and eat right away. Neck bones should be served on the side. Guests to customize on lime, herbs and chillies on their own.
Pro tip: If you want your filet to be less cooked, add the raw filet in the bowl after you have poured in the hot broth.
