15 Minute Chicken Pho (Pressure Cooker Recipe)

I purchased a Nutricook Pressure Cooker this summer and was in search of some recipes when I came across this one on my favourite Japanese website cookpad.

This recipe is a great substitute for those days when you're craving Pho but just can't go out to have some.  I'm pretty sure you can make this recipe without the use of a pressure cooker. Perhaps you'll just have to let it boil for longer?

Credit goes to　http://cookpad.com/recipe/1946287　

Yields: 3 adults. 

I double the recipe for my family of 2 kids and 2 adults and have a bit left over for the next day.

Soup Ingredients:

Tea pouch with
clove, coriander, ginger

Pouch for loose tea.
Can be purchased at most supermarkets.

1500mL Water

3 Cloves (whole not ground)

1/2 teaspoon Coriander (ground) *1 teaspoon if using whole Coriander

4 slices Ginger

2 sprigs of Green Onion (thinly sliced)

1 teaspoon Sugar

2 Chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

1 teaspoon Salt

2 tablespoons Fish Sauce

Tea pouch (used for loose tea)

Toppings (all optional):

4-5 Vietnamese meat balls of your liking (cut in half)

1 pack Hot Pot (shabu shabu) style Beef Slices

Fresh Lime cut in quarters

Bean Sprouts

1 bunch of fresh Cilantro

1 sprig of fresh Basil

Hoisin Sauce

Sriracha Hot Sauce

1/2 package of Pho Rice Noodles

How To- Soup Base:

1. Pour water into the pressure cooker pot. 

2. Put cloves, coriander and ginger into a tea pouch, seal and throw into the pot of water. Turn the stove on high and wait for water to come to a boil. **Do not cover with lid.

3. Cut each chicken breast into 4 pieces and add to the boiling water. Add green onions.

4. Once the chicken starts turing white in colour, clamp the lid on and continue to heat on high until boiling and the pin on the pressure cooker has risen.

5. Turn heat down to low and continue to cook for 15 minutes.

*** If you own a T-Fal Nutricook like me, set the timer for 15 minutes and turn dial to the meat setting. Once the beeper comes on (pin rises), turn the heat down to low.

How To - Noodles:

Let's prepare the noodles while the soup base is simmering.

1.  Take 1/2 package of Pho Rice Noodles and soak in lukewarm water for 15 minutes.

2. Boil noodles for 5 minutes.

3. Drain and rinse noodles in cold water to avoid it from clumping and set aside in a strainer.

**If you're using Rice Flakes instead of noodles, do the same as above but cook for 5-10 minutes (tasting to see if cooked during the process).  

My kids prefer the Rice Flakes over the noodles.  I prefer it that way too as I don't have to worry about cutting the noodles into small pieces for my little kids. Hey, one less thing to do!

How To - Soup Based (Continued):

1. Once the soup is ready,  add sugar, salt and fish sauce.

2. Add Vietnamese meat balls (cut in quarters) to the soup and bring back to a boil.

3. The chicken breast should be so tender that you can use a fork to separate it into smaller bite size pieces. 

How To - Toppings:

1.  Add as much noodles as you like in a large bowl, add chicken and meatballs and pour soup on top.  

**If you are adding the beef strips, you can either add it in raw and let the soup cook it for you (my husband's style) or if you're more cautious like me, put as much beef slices as you like into a bowl and pour hot water over it until it's semi cooked. I don't suggest adding it into the soup pot as the slices are so thin that they can overcook and become rubbery.

2. Garnish with bean sprouts, basil, cilantro and sauces as you like and squeeze in a bit of lime.

Enjoy!

My husband uses a large metal mixing bowl- super sized!

Leftovers for lunch. Pho to Go hahaha!