Instant Pot Chicken Pho Recipe (Phở Gà) – FOOD is Four Letter Word (2024)

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Serves: 6

Method

• 1)

  Roast the onion and ginger

  Place a some foil on a baking sheet and lightly oil the the foil, place the onion and ginger on the foil and put the baking sheet on the top rack of your oven. Broil the onion and ginger for about 5-10 minutes – you can pull them out once you see the onions start to get a dark char. Slice the ginger into a few pieces and place them + onion into a large cotton soup bag (link here) or wrap them up in a fine cheese cloth to prevent your broth from getting cloudy and place into the Instant Pot.

• 2)

  Add the Spices:

  Place 6 Star Anise Pods, 3 Whole Cloves, 1 Tablespoon of Fennel Seeds, 1 Teaspoon of Coriander Seeds into a pan a toast on medium heat for a few minutes until they are fragrant, place into aspice bag & seal the bag well and place into the Instant Pot.

• 3)

  Cook the chicken:

  Rinse your whole chicken and chicken breasts well with cold water and put into the Instant Pot and add 9 Cups of Water. Add 2 Tablespoons of Kosher Salt and 2 Tablespoons of Sugar to the pot. Lock and seal the lid, choose High Pressure for 20 minutes. When the timer is up, wait 5 minutes, then switch the knob to venting. When the pin drops, open the lid, remove the chicken with tongs and place on a large cutting board. Remove the meat off of the bones and refrigerate (reserve the carcass, bones and skin).

• 4)

  Make the bone broth:

  Use a fat skimmer to remove any scum floating in the broth. Add 4 Cups of water to the pot, add the bones, skin, carcass back into the pot, seal the lid and cook on High Pressure for an additional 45 Minutes and once the timer is up, wait 20 minutes before switching the knob to venting. Remove all the bones, carcass, and spices, use a fat skimmer to remove anything floating in the broth – it should look clear.

• 5)

  Season the broth:

  Add 1 Tablespoon of Fish Sauce. Your broth may need more seasoning, taste and season with more salt or fish sauce if needed. The broth should taste salty, since it will balance out after you add the noodles. If your broth tastes bland after you add noodles, you didn’t season enough. (Just omit fish sauce if you don’t like it, you can just substitute with more sugar + salt)

• 6)

  MakeVietnamese Ginger Dipping Sauce(Nước Mắm Gừng):

  Combine½ CupChấm Dipping Sauce (purchase here) with 2 Teaspoons of grated Fresh Ginger. Taste and add more ginger if you prefer. Serve as a dipping sauce with each bowl.

• 7)

  Noodles:

  Cook your pho noodles according to the directions on the package. Times will be different for dry or fresh noodles. Add a portion to each bowl your are serving.

• 8)

  Create your bowl:

  Slice or shred your chicken and place on top of each bowl. Top with the broth and garnish with plenty of chopped scallions, cilantro and sliced onions. The garnishes are optional and can be served on the side. Enjoy!

↓ Supplies to make this recipe ↓

15 Comments

• Linda Craig

  January 28, 2018 at 2:29 am

  This looks delicious Van & your presentation is beautiful, thank you!

  Reply

  1. Van

     February 1, 2018 at 3:30 pm

     Thank you very much Linda!

     Reply

• Elizabeth

  December 18, 2018 at 8:26 am

  If I were to make this in the 8 qt, do I need to increase any of the seasoning and spices?

  Reply

  1. Van

     December 18, 2018 at 4:22 pm

     Hi Elizabeth, no you don’t have to increase the spices. You will need to season the broth more at the end before serving, but that’s for both the 6Qt and 8Qt.

     Reply

     1. Elizabeth

        December 29, 2018 at 11:00 am

        Hi. I have an older version of your recipe from earlier in the year and it asked for peppercorn instead of fennel. Just curious why you changed it.

        Reply

        1. Van

           December 30, 2018 at 2:07 am

           Hi Elizabeth, I’ll update my recipes if I find that I like it better with other ingredients or sometimes I’ll even change up the technique and for this, I like it with fennel more – you could still add black peppercorns if you prefer.

           Reply

           1. Elizabeth

              January 20, 2019 at 12:50 pm

              Love your recipe. I have been sharing it with everyone. If I had 4 lbs of chicken leg quarters, would it work in place of the whole chicken or will it not turn out ok?

           2. Van

              January 20, 2019 at 9:37 pm

              Hi Elizabeth, chicken leg quarters would work great! So glad you love the recipe 😀

• Elaine

  February 6, 2019 at 11:51 am

  Happy New Year! If I use the Que Huong Pho Bac Spice Seasoning, why should I remove the black cardamon pods? Is it personal taste or is there a deeper reason? Thanks!

  Reply

  1. Van

     February 6, 2019 at 7:06 pm

     Hi Elaine, black cardamom is typically not used for pho ga so I take it out – the flavor can be a little over powering for the chicken broth.

     Reply

• Elizabeth

  April 14, 2019 at 9:58 am

  Do you need to adjust the time if the chicken is frozen?

  Reply

  1. Van

     April 26, 2019 at 5:06 pm

     Hi Elizabeth, try adding 5 minutes to the cooking time. It will also take longer than usual for the IP to come to pressure if the chicken is frozen.

     Reply

• David

  October 21, 2020 at 3:02 pm

  Let’s say I order the spice packets (Que Huong Pho Bac Spice) for this dish. How many packets would I be using for the Chicken Pho?

  Reply

  1. Van

     October 21, 2020 at 5:36 pm

     Hi David, use one spice package for Chicken Pho – I would also remove the black cardamon pod and half of the cloves.

     Reply

• Jessica

  February 17, 2021 at 8:30 pm

  Really happy with this recipe! Got 2 thumbs up from hubby! First time making it! Now I can do it anytime!! Thank you!

  Reply