Pressure Cooker Beef Pho Recipe (2024)

Recipe from Andrea Nguyen

Adapted by Kim Severson

Total Time: About 45 minutes, plus time to cool
Rating: 5(1,626)
Notes: Read community notes

An elegant, comforting bowl of pho usually requires blanching beef bones and then simmering them with spices for hours. Andrea Nguyen, a cookbook author who lives in drought-plagued California, wanted the same effect but in a recipe that used less water and less energy. This broth can be put together in less than an hour. It cooks in a standard stove-top pressure cooker for 20 minutes and in an electric pressure cooker for 30. “As much as I love to simmer a stockpot of beef pho for three hours,” Ms. Nguyen says, “it’s incredibly liberating to make a pretty good version for four people in about an hour." —Kim Severson

Featured in: California’s Drought Changes Habits in the Kitchen

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

For the Broth

3pounds beef knuckle, marrow or other soup bones
1pound boneless beef brisket, chuck or cross-rib roast in one piece
4ounces Fuji apple, about ½ of a medium-large apple
1large yellow onion
2ounces fresh ginger
2½pieces star anise
13-inch cinnamon or cassia stick
3whole cloves
2½teaspoons fine sea salt
1½ to 2tablespoons fish sauce
Sugar, if desired

For the Bowls

6ounces beef steak, such as top or bottom sirloin, eye of round or London broil (optional)
12ounces dried narrow rice sticks or pad Thai-style noodles
½small yellow or red onion
2slender green onions
¼cup chopped cilantro leaves
Black pepper
Optional add-ins: thinly sliced Fresno, Thai or serrano chile; a large handful of bean sprouts, mint sprigs or Thai basil; lime wedges

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

545 calories; 20 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 73 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 266 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Preparation

Make the Broth
1. Step
  1
  Rinse the bones and boneless beef. Peel and cut apple into chunks. Halve the large onion and cut into thick slices. Peel ginger, halve it lengthwise, cut into chunks, then smash each piece with the side of a knife.
2. Step
  2
  Put the star anise, cinnamon and cloves in an 8-quart pressure cooker. Over medium heat or using the sauté function, toast for several minutes, stirring frequently, until fragrant. Add the onion and ginger. (If using a stove-top pressure cooker, raise heat to medium-high.) Stir and cook for a minute or two. A little browning is O.K. Add 9 cups water.
3. Step
  3
  Add the bones, beef, apple and salt. Lock the lid. If using a stovetop pressure cooker, raise heat to high and bring pressure to 15 p.s.i. Then reduce the heat to medium or medium-low. The pressure should be just high enough that a gentle, steady flow of steam comes out of the cooker’s valve. Cook for 20 minutes. If using an electric pressure cooker, set timer for 30 minutes. After cooking, both cookers will require time to allow pressure to decrease naturally, about 15 to 20 minutes. When that is done, carefully remove lid.
4. Step
  See Also
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  4
  Transfer boneless meat to a bowl, cover with water and soak for 10 minutes. This cools it and keeps it from drying out. If desired, scrape any bits of tendon from the bones and add to the bowl of water.
5. Step
  5
  Strain the broth into a pot through a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or muslin. Discard the remaining solids. (At this point, the broth and beef can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 3 days.) Skim all but about 3 tablespoons of fat from the broth. You should have about 8 cups of broth. Add fish sauce and more salt, if needed. Add a few pinches of sugar and more fish sauce so the broth has a rounded, intense finish that is slightly salty and slightly sweet.
Prepare the Bowls
1. Step
  6
  Freeze the raw beef, if using, for 15 to 20 minutes, then slice very thinly across the grain. Cut cooked beef across the grain into very thin slices. Set aside.
2. Step
  7
  Cover the dried noodles in hot tap water and soak for 15 to 20 minutes, or until pliable and opaque. Drain, then rinse to remove starch.
3. Step
  8
  Thinly slice the small onion and soak in water 10 minutes. Slice green onions into thin rings and set aside with chopped cilantro. Arrange any optional add-ins on a plate.
4. Step
  9
  Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat. At the same time, fill a pot with water and bring to a rolling boil. Dunk the noodles into the boiling water, using a noodle strainer or a mesh sieve, for about 15 to 20 seconds. Remove from water and divide noodles among 4 bowls.
5. Step
  10
  Top each bowl of noodles with cooked and raw beef, arranging the slices flat. Place a mound of onion in the center, then shower with green onion and cilantro. Finish with a sprinkle of black pepper. Give the boiling broth a final taste for seasoning. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl, distributing the hot liquid evenly to warm all the ingredients.

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Cooking Notes

Michelle5 years ago

I live in the Bay Area with so many Pho restaurants around, so I've chosen to pay $10 - $12 for a fairly large bowl of Pho.My suggestions:You can use a slow cooker to make the soup. It will give you a more "beautiful" broth.1. Put all the bones and beef shank into a regular pot of boiling water. Cook for 3 minutes. Drain the pot. If possible, wash the bones clean. This technique will help clear the broth2. Now, put all in (1) in the slow cooker, turn to "low"3. After 2 hours, check

elsie6 years ago

This was so good and surprisingly so easy to make. I'm Vietnamese but not skilled in the kitchen so I've only eaten restaurant or aunt-cooked Vietnamese cuisine. What I managed to make here was actually better than a few of those restaurants (of course far inferior to what my beloved aunt can put together with much ease)! I use oxtails and chuck roast for the broth. We ate it with Thai basil, bean sprouts, cilantro, thinly sliced onions, Serrano slices, hoisin sauce, and of course siracha.