One thing about pho is that it is really tasty. This dish Is from Vietnam by origin and this is how I made my pho. I think It is an amazing soup and what you need are oxtails or pieces of beef shortribs for beef. That is cooked in a pressure cooker which we will talk to shortly. Chicken and shrimp kind can be made on the stove top and chicken has to be on the bone. I prefer chicken leg pieces for chicken pho. For shrimp you have to clean and devein the shrimp after taking the shell off.
The spices are ground in a mortar and pestle. I added 1 each of black and green cardomom, 1 broken piece of star anise, 1 pinch of coriander seeds, 1 broken piece from a cinnamon stick and grind it in to a coarse powder. If using cinnamon powder then add 2 pinches.
In the pressure cooker for oxtails or beef shortribs for beef pho or regular cooking method on stovetop chicken or shrimp pho, add 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and slice 1 onion in to half moon pieces, 3 cloves of garlic and a small knob of ginger peeled and chopped. Fry these in the oil until it is brown. This is a lot easier then charing too and it serves the same purpose.
For the beef I use the pressure cooker and for chicken and shrimp I use the standard stove top non pressure cooker method. After browning the onion garlic and ginger in the oil, I add 1 bullion cube, 1 dab crab paste or shrimp paste or 1 tsp of fish sauce plus the spices 1 to 2 liters or 1 quart or 1/2 gallon of water. For the beef pho turn the heat on high then close the pressure cooker and cook for 30 minutes after the safety button pops up. After turn off the heat and let the pressure escape. After opening and you see that the meat is still a little tough, turn back on the heat and cook for another 20 minutes after the pressure valve pops up and turn the heat off again and let the prssure escape again.
With the chicken and shrimp it is the non pressure cook method which is 1 hour Or until the chicken starts falling off of the bone. For shrimp, you take raw shrimp and boil 5 to 7 minutes and then add the water and the bullion before you add your shrimp or crab paste or fish sauce and spices.
This is for all 3 of them at the end by adding 3 dashes of maggi or knorr aroma, 1 tsp of lime juice, 2 tsp of soy sauce, 2 tsp of siracha, 2 tsp of hoisin sauce, 1 pinch each of mint, cilantro, basil. 1 green Thai chili and 1 red Thai chili cover and turn off the stove you are done.
Add your optional vegetables like peapods, bok choy, or bean sprouts. For the rice noodles only, bring the pot of water to a boil and cook them according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water and add them back to the pot and add the noodles to the bowl first then the pho and the veggies of choice. For instant pot duo crisp you can press the sauté button and fry the garlic and ginger then turn on to either pressure cook or slow cook either on high or low. For beef and chicken pho only slow cook 4 1/2 hours. That is 4 hours 30 minutes slow cook time in an instant pot. If you are going to pressure cook in instant pot, it is for same amount of time of time as a stovetop pressure cooker.
Enjoy!!!!!!
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