Instant Pot Chicken Pho (Pho ga)
Poultry, Pressure Cooker, Soups, Vietnamese
Ingredients
For the broth:
1 Tbsp coriander seeds
3 whole cloves
2 inch fresh ginger peeled, thickly sliced, and bruised
1 large yellow onion halved and thickly sliced
7 cups water
4 lb whole chicken
1 small Fuji apple peeled, cored, and cut into thumbnail-size chunks
¾ cup coarsely chopped cilantro sprigs
1 Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1½ tsp fine sea salt or Morton’s kosher salt
1 ½ Tbsp fish sauce
1-2 tsp maple syrup optional
For the bowls:
4 medium zucchini, spiralized and blotted dry with paper towels
½ small yellow onion, thinly sliced against the grain and soaked in water for 10 minutes
2 thinly sliced green onions, green parts only
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, leafy tops only
_Thai basil leaves (optional)
Pepper (optional)
Paleo Sriracha (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)_
Directions
Toss the coriander seeds and cloves in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Press the sauté button on your Instant Pot and toast the spices for several minutes, shaking or stirring, until fragrant. Throw in the ginger and onion and stir everything until aromatic, 45 to 60 seconds.
Pour in 4 cups of the water to stop the cooking process. Carefully place the chicken in the cooker, breast side up.
Add the apple, cilantro, salt, and remaining water.
Cook under high pressure (~12 psi) for 14 minutes.
When done, let the pressure decrease naturally for 20 minutes. Then, release any remaining pressure.
Wait another 5 minutes before using tongs to transfer the chicken to a large bowl; if parts fall off in transit, don’t stress. Add cold 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 Chinois or muslin-lined mesh strainer positioned over a large pot. Discard the solids. You should end up with about 7 cups broth.
Season the broth with the fish sauce, extra salt, and maybe a smidge of the maple syrup.
Use a knife or your hands to separate the breast meat and legs from the chicken. Set aside half of the chicken for another use. Reserve the remaining chicken for pho bowl assembly.
Prep and assemble the bowls. Cut or shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. Discard the skin or save it for cracklings. Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat as you are assembling the bowls.
Divide the zucchini noodles among four soup bowls. (If you like softer zoodles, use a mesh strainer to dunk them in boiling water until the desired softness before placing the drained zoodles into the soup bowls.) Top the zoodles with shredded chicken.
Check the broth flavor once more, raise the heat, and bring it to a boil. Ladle about 2 cups of broth into each bowl.
Then garnish with onion, green onion, cilantro, basil, pepper, and sriracha if desired. You can squeeze on fresh lime juice, too. Serve immediately!
Notes
To make this recipe in a 6- to 8-quart (6 to 8 l) stockpot, toast the coriander seeds and cloves over medium heat, then lightly cook the onion and ginger in the pot. Add 10 cups (2.5 l) water along with the chicken (breast up), cilantro, and salt. Partially cover, then bring to a boil over high heat. Uncover, skim the scum, then lower the heat to gently simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours. At the 45-minute mark, if the chicken is not cooking through, use tongs to rotate it. The chicken should be cooked after simmering for 1 to 1¼ hours. Transfer it to a large bowl, flush it with cold water, drain well, then set aside for 15 to 20 minutes to cool. When the broth is done, let rest for 15 minutes, then defat, strain, and season. The rest of the recipe is the same.