Instant Pot Chicken Phở

This is one of the best recipes I've made in a long time! It is quick and easy enough for a weeknight, and makes fantastic leftovers. 

Usually when I make or order phở it is made with a rich, spicy beef broth, but Phở Gà or Chicken Pho is also very common. The gingery broth is an amazing complement to the chicken.

Using the Instant Pot makes this dish so quick and easy.  I also love the way the pressure cooker makes such a lovely, clear broth.  The most time-consuming part was gathering the spices. 

This recipe is adapted from Epicurious. It will serve 6 as a meal.  Leftovers are even better the next day and the broth freezes beautifully. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onions, halved

2-inch piece of ginger, sliced, skin on

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

3 star anise

5 cloves

1 cinnamon stick 

3 cardamom pods, smashed

7 bone-in chicken thighs (about 2-3 pounds)

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

8 cups water

salt and pepper

rice stick noodles 

Toppings:

cilantro

red and/or green chilis, sliced

green onions, sliced

1 lime, sliced into wedges

Directions:

Push the "Saute" button on the Instant Pot. When the pot is hot, add the oil.  Place the onions, cut side down in the pot and add the ginger.  Cook without stirring for 4-5 minutes until charred. 

Add the corriander, cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and cloves.  Stir for 1 minute. Add the chicken, fish sauce, sugar and water.  Place the lid on the Instant Pot and lock it. 

Press the "Manual" button and set the time for 17 minutes at high pressure.  It will take about 30 minutes in total for the soup to come to pressure and cook.  Once done, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then turn the vent to release remaining pressure.  While pressure is releasing, cook the rice noodles according to package directions. 

Once the pressure is released, remove the chicken to a large bowl. Strain the broth into a large bowl or measuring cup, discarding solids. Skim fat from the top of the broth. Season the broth with salt and pepper to taste. 

Carefully remove the chicken from the bones and discard the skin and bones.  Shred the chicken.  

Place noodles and chicken into individual bowls.  Top with hot broth.  Each person can add their own herbs, chilis, lime and green onions to their bowl to their own taste. 

This soup tastes amazing.  You will love it! 

Quick & Easy Pho

Pho is one of my favourite winter comfort foods.  It is widely available and pretty cheap to get a bowl of pho in most places these days.  My medium-sized city has dozens of pho restaurants that sell a huge, steaming bowl of beef, noodles and broth for $8 or less.

But sometimes - like this weekend - it is just too cold to go outside. We've had a huge snowfall in the past few days, so making pho at home is a warming treat.

Pho broth is usually made with beef bones cooked with charred onions, ginger and spices. Serious Eats' The Food Lab has a great tutorial for traditional pho.  I highly recommend checking it out, whether to make the recipe or read an interesting history of the dish.

But I've rarely got oxtail on hand, or the time to boil bones all day.  So this quicky shortcut using store-bought beef broth is a makes home made pho a weeknight meal.  It also adds in mushrooms and greens which, while not traditional, make an even heartier, healthier meal.  This recipe is inspired by Epicurious Detox Pho.

Here's what you need for this tasty soup.  You could double the broth and freeze it for a winter treat any time.

Pork & Noodles in Mushroom Broth

I love noodle soups. In the wintertime, my favourite thing is some Japanese ramen or Vietnamese phở. Noodles and broth with some meat, veggies and spicy flavours make winter easier to bear.

The roasted pork and rice noodles are served in a bowl of mushroom broth with carrots for a warming meal.

Here's what you need for this quick and fabulous soup.

Vietnamese Pork Noodle Salad

I love Vietnamese food. Of course, there's phở, the amazingly rich beef and noodle soup that makes a perfect meal in cool weather. But I also love bún, a pork and noodle salad that combines cool, crisp vegetables, warm protein, chewy noodles and tangy vinegar and lime.  

This recipe is a refreshing take on the traditional Vietnamese dish.  It is very simple and tasty.  It makes a fantastic, fresh dinner and leftovers keep well for lunch the next day!

Here's what you need:

Shrimp Pad Thai

This is another Clean Eating recipe. It has lots of ingredients but is pretty quick and easy and turned out pretty well. 
Here's what you need:

• 8 oz rice noodles
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste* 
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 fresh red chilis or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 
• 1 tablespoon safflower or grapeseed oil (high heat oil for cooking)
• 2 shallots
• 2 garlic cloves
• 8 oz peeled shrimp (frozen is fine)
• 6 green onions
• 1 cup bean sprouts 
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
• 1 lime

*I looked for ages for tamarind paste in a jar and couldn't find it. I've used this dried tamarind paste before and it's a bit of a pain to work with. I found a tamarind sauce flavoured with lime that I should have used instead. 

Cook rice noodles according to package directions.  Mine said to boil them for 6-8 minutes. I like these medium-with flat noodles for pad thai but you can use whatever size you prefer.

Once cooked, drain and set aside.

Thaw your shrimp if necessary by running cool water over them in a colander.  Shell the shrimp.  I like to remove the tails but you can leave them on if you like the look. 

If you're able to find tamarind paste in a jar you can skip this step.  If you have the solid dried tamarind, boil a kettle of water.  Tamarind is an Asian fruit that has a very sour flavour but adds an authentic tang to pad thai.  

Break off about a tablespoon of the paste.

Cover with 1/3 cup boiling water and stir to dissolve.  Add the fish sauce and brown sugar to the tamarind and set aside.

Chop the shallots, garlic and chilis.

Chop the green onions into 1 inch lengths.

Mince the cilantro and rinse and prepare the bean sprouts and snow peas.

Heat the oil in a large pan or wok and add the shallots, garlic and chilis.

Cook for about 2-3 minutes until softened and add the shrimp.

Cook the shrimp on both sides for about 2 minutes until pink and opaque.

Add the cooked rice noodles to the pan.

Then pour the tamarind, fish sauce and sugar mixture over top, tossing to combine.

Add in the snow peas, green onions and bean sprouts and toss for about 2 minutes to cook through.  Then sprinkle with cilantro.

Serve in a shallow bowl and top with chopped peanuts if desired.  The sour tamarind, sweet sugar and salty fish sauce make a great combination.  This is a light, flavourful, filling meal.