Instant Pot Vietnamese Pho Bo Tai [Beef Pho]

Instant Pot Vietnamese Pho Bo Tai, truly authentic Vietnamese Noodle Bowl with a rich broth, rice noodles and wonderful spices.

This is the BEST Vietnamese Pho recipe. I love Pho so much and this Pho tastes just like my very favorite Vietnamese restaurant. I’ve had Pho at so many places and this recipe is super delicious. Easy to make and fun to eat!

You haven’t lived until you have tried Pho!!!!!

It used to take hours slaving over a hot stove, just to make the broth. Using an Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker to make the Pho Bone Broth is no only so much easier, it is so much ate there about three times a week. My Instant Pot Vietnamese Pho tastes just like the restaurant! I’m totally serious!

Remember, good Pho starts with a good homemade broth, so please don’t purchase powdered Pho seasoning in a box or packet. Start with the best ingredients.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Vietnamese Pho

The Broth

• Beef Knuckle Bones
• Onion
• Ginger
• Three Crabs Brand Fish Sauce is the best Fish Sauce to use in this recipe!
• Elephant World Pho Whole Spices. If you cannot find that locally, this Que Huong Pho Seasoning Mix will work.
• Rock Sugar
• Salt

Pro Tip: Just make sure you use whole spices, not powdered or freeze dried. You can always purchase the spices separately, if you like.

If you don’t see knuckle bones in your market’s display case, ask your butcher for knuckle bones filled with marrow. The marrow has so much flavor.

Clean the Beef Knuckle Bones

• As there are lots of impurities in the bones, they need to be cleaned one of two ways:
• Par boil bones in the Instant Pot; or
• Add bones to a Large Mixing Bowl and soak bones in water for a few hours.

Both of these processes will remove the blood and any impurities from the bones.

Pro Tip: Char the onion and ginger on a cookie sheet in the oven while the bones are being cleaned.

Cleaned knuckle bones go back into the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.

The rest of the broth ingredients are now added.

I recommend using a spice bag for all the spices.

Add in the Three Crabs Fish Sauce, a nub of rock candy, charred onion, ginger and, salt. Add fresh water to the fill line in your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker. Lock on the lid and you are ready to make some Pho!

The broth will be very rich and delicious.

A Salbree Steamer/Strainer Basket is perfect for straining out the bones and gunk and fits nicely in an Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.

Save those spent bones and use them with more bones to make a nice Pressure Cooker Bone Stock/Broth!

The broth will be very concentrated, so taste the broth and adjust the seasonings as you see fit. You may need to add a bit more water if the broth is too strong flavored for you.

At this point, you can either freeze the broth so that you have wonderful broth ready to go any time you feel like making Instant Pot Pho or you can put the broth back into the Instant Pot, heat it up and then serve over the noodles in the bowls.

Remember, the broth will be very concentrated. Allow the broth to heat up before serving.

Beef Pho Bowl Ingredients

• Medium Rice Noodles
• Onion, thinly sliced
• Beef, such as Sirloin Steak, Rib Eye Steak, Filet Mignon, Flank Steak, Eye of Round, sliced very thin
• Scallions
• Cilantro Leaves

Pro Tip: Beef which is slightly frozen beef is much easier to slice.

Sliced onions and rice noodles are blanched just for a minute.

Blanch the noodles and then drain them and set them aside. The noodles will finish cooking when the hot broth is poured over them in the bowls.

Garnish for Instant Pot Beef Pho

• Mint Leaves
• Thai Basil
• Bean Sprouts
• Lime Wedges
• Scotch Bonnet Peppers

Pro Tip: Give each person their own garnish plate to garnish as they like.

Assembly of Instant Pot Vietnamese Pho Bowls

• Add the blanched onions to each bowl.
• Blanched Vietnamese Medium Rice Flat Noodles go on top of onion in each bowl.
• Thin sliced raw meat is placed on top of noodles
• Ladle hot steaming broth into each bowl

I like to use a shot of Sriracha and a spoon of Hoisin Sauce in my bowl of Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Pho Tai.

Pho Condiments

• Sriracha
• Hoisin Sauce

Pro Tip: Scotch Bonnet peppers are super hot. I usually pull them out of the bowl after letting them flavor the bowl for about two minutes. Then I add a squeeze of the fresh lime.

I generally make a couple of batches of Pho broth at a time and freeze them in Reditainer Extreme Freezer Containers.

Any time I want Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Pho Bo Tai, all I have to do is put a block of frozen broth in my pressure cooker and I am good to go! Don’t forget to place a label on the containers, so that you don’t get confused between bone broth and Pho broth.

Give me some chop sticks and a spoon and I am good to go!

More Amazing Vietnamese Recipes to Make:

• Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Spare Ribs.
• Bun Thịt Nướng (Vietnamese BBQ Pork Cold Noodle Salad)
• Pressure Cooker Vietnamese Chicken Congee (Cháo Gà)
• Nuoc Mau Vietnamese Caramel Sauce

Kitchen Equipment and Essentials

• Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
• J.A. Henckels Classic 7-inch Hollow Edge Santoku Knife
• Amco Advanced Performance 18/10 Stainless Steel Measuring Spoons
• Simply Gourmet (Dry) Stainless Steel Measuring Cups
• Anchor Hocking Glass (Liquid) Measuring Cups
• Alton Brown Salt Box
• My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & Compartments
• Salbree 3 quart, 6 quart or 8 quart Steamer/Strainer Basket
• 5.5 Quart Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl
• Reditainer Extreme Freezer Containers
• Freezer Labels

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Here is the handy printable recipe:

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