Phở Gà Đi Bộ Instant Pot (Walking Chicken Pho)
Author: Katie Le | Katie’s Test Kitchen
Ingredients
(For 8-quart IP)- 1 free range/cage free chicken, aka “walking chicken” (about 4 – 5 lbs, washed and cleaned with salt). Please note regular chicken can be used as well.
- about 1 lb of daikon radish (peeled and halved) – Optional but highly recommended
- 1 large onion (toasted to slightly charred)
- 1 large knob of ginger, roughly 1/3 to 1/2 lb (peeled or unpeeled, halved and toasted to slightly charred)
- 1 bag of dry Pho Seasoning, Old Man brand is good (toasted for about minute until fragrant, added to white filter bag that came with it)
- 18 cups of boiling water (use boiling water to speed up pressure building time)
- about 2 tbsp size of rock sugar
Option # 1 Seasoning with Soup Base
- about 7 tbsp of Quoc Viet Chicken Pho Soup Base (See FAQ #9)
- mushroom seasoning to taste
Option # 2 Seasoning without Soup Base
- 3 tbsp of sea salt (I used the Kirkland brand from Costco. Any brand should be fine.)
- 5-6 tbsp of mushroom seasoning
- 2 tbsp of granulated sugar
Noodles, Garnishes, vegetables and condiments:
- Pho noodles (I prefer fresh Pho Noodles typically stored in the refrigerated section. Dry should be fine too. Please cook according to package instructions) – 1 bag usually makes about 4 bowls
- Bean sprout
- Basil and/or Culantro (Ngo Gai)
- 4 green onion and a handful of cilantro, chopped
- white onion (thinly sliced)
- sliced jalapeno pepper or fresh chili of choice
- lime wedges
- hoisin sauce
- sriracha sauce
- ground pepper/salt to make dipping sauce
Directions
1. To the inner pot, add chicken, daikon, onion, ginger, Pho spices bag, rock sugar. If you select seasoning option #1 then add 7 tbsp of Quoc Viet Chicken Pho Soup Base. If you select option #2 then add 3 tbsp of sea salt. Cover all ingredients with 8 cups of boiling water (or more to cover all ingredients). Close lid and be sure knob is on Sealing. Select Pressure Cook/Manual, High Pressure, 10 minutes, 8 minutes NPR.
2. Once cook time over wait 8 minutes then Quick Release by slowly move knob to Venting). When all pressure has been released, open lid and pull out chicken, place in a colander and immediately flush it with cold sink water for about 2 minutes. This step stops the chicken from being overcooked and the skin from turning brown. Drain and set aside to cool. You can de-bone and shred chicken or chop it with a sharp cleaver. OPTIONAL: Add the bones back into the broth and continue with Step 3.
3. Discard onion and daikon radish. Use a sieve to remove any bits in the broth. Add about 10 more cups of boiling water. Cancel “keep warm” and switch to “Saute” mode to bring the broth to a boil. If you selected seasoning option #1, then taste the broth to see if extra seasoning is needed. If yes, add mushroom seasoning (1 tbsp at a time) and cater to your taste. If you selected seasoning option # 2, then add 6-7 tbsp of mushroom seasoning and 2 tbsp of granulated sugar. Again, cater to your taste and adjust accordingly using extra salt, mushroom seasoning and sugar.
4. To serve, add cooked Pho noodles and chicken to a large bowl. Ladle the boiling broth over noodle and chicken. Sprinkle with chopped green onion and cilantro. Top with white onion and ground pepper. Serve with fresh bean sprout, basil/culantro, hoisin and sriracha sauce. OPTIONAL: Make a quick dipping sauce for the chicken meat with lime juice, salt and pepper (strips of kaffir lime leaves can mixed into the sauce to bring out the chicken flavor)!
My new favorite Pho Ga recipe #PhoGa #PhoForLife
What would be the recipe/proportions for a 6 -quart IP? I’m very new to instant pot cooking so wanted to make sure it comes out perfect 🙂
Hi Michelle, you can halve the chicken if need to make it fit in the 6-quart. The difference would be to add less total water, reduce by 3 – 4 cups. Also reduce the soup base to about 4 to 4.5 tbsp. Just cater to your taste after the broth is done cooking.
Can I use frozen whole chicken? If so how long do I need for it to cook?
Hi Lora, You can use frozen chicken just add more minutes, I’d add another 5 minutes of cook time.
Can I use the rotisserie chicken from Costco?
I have no use Rotisserie chicken from Costco to make Pho but I know others have. If you are on the Vietnamese IP Recipe page you can search for it. Certainly no need to cook 12 minutes if it’s cooked chicken.
Why would you need to add the soup base if your already cooking it with an entire chicken which will make your broth flavorful already along with all the other spices? That soup base has MSG. Just curious!
Hi, I season with the soup base to add depth/texture to the taste and flavor of the broth. Simply using fish sauce or salt isn’t enough and it’s much harder to achieve unami. You can omit and season to however you wish. This soup base does not contained MSG. You can check their website for more details. Thanks for asking!
Hello! Just wanted to double check the amount of Quoc Viet Chicken Pho Soup Base. Your recipe said 7 tablespoons, but that seems to be the entire jar! Can you please confirm? Thank you for sharing!
I confirm 7 tbsp. But that’s not the entire jar. 1 jar usually lasts me over 2 times. But no need to follow the seasoning to the tea. Cater to your taste as mine might be different than yours. Use the recipe as a guide, add less initially and increase as you do each taste test. Thanks.
I just got my IP and used it for the first time making this pho ga dai and I have a few questions
1. Do you remove the ginger and the pho spice bag along with the daikon and onion?
2. I set the timer for 12 mins under manual but it was 25 minutes and it was still going so I pressed cancelled after I quick pressure released. Was it supposed to turn off by itself when timer is up? Does the 12 mins start when I pressed it or when it reaches the right temperature? It said on the whole time with no timer for remaining minutes so I wasn’t sure.
3. Should I open the lid right away after QPR or wait a bit until it’s done venting?
Hi Kathy,
1. I typically remove the daikon and onion after it’s done cooking. I like to leave the ginger and pho spice bag in the broth pot but you don’t have to.
2. After you select the cook time it takes the IP a bit of time to build pressure before cook time actually begins. The time it takes to build pressure depends on how much you have inside the pot particularly liquid and the temperature of it. Therefore, my recipes typically include only the minimum amount of liquid needed and add more liquid post cooking. And I also advise to use hot/boiling water to speed up pressure building time. If you follow my recipe (by adding just enough boiling water) and use the amount of time it takes to build pressure should be about 10-15 minutes. After that cook time will begin and the timer will count down. Once it’s done cooking the timer will count up to let you know how long it has been. That’s when natural pressure release kicks in.
3. For this recipe, after the cook time is over allow the IP to naturally release pressure for 5 minutes (timer count up to L0:05). Then you’ll need to manually release the remainder pressure by turning the knob to Venting (do it slowly at first if you are not used to Quick Release). It will take a few more minutes to release all the pressure. After that the safety pin will drop, then you can open the lid and pull the chicken out.
Hope that helps!
Do you have an option #3 for just regular spiced and seasonings? Thanks!
What spices are you referring to? 😊
Should i make any changes if i make this on the stove? How long should it cook?
Hi Katie,
Do you normally make this broth a day before like your beef pho recipe? Is there a lot of oil in this broth like the beef one?
Thx
Hi, depends on how fatty the chicken is. Most of the time for chicken Pho I cook and serve on the same day. But you can certainly refrigerate the broth overnight and remove the fat the next day.
Hi,
I didn’t manage to grab a spice bag but everything else like the radish/ ginger/ chicken/ chick stock cubes and onions. What shall I add to add in the spices/ pho seasoning?
Hi, did you mean you didn’t get the mesh spice bag or you don’t have any Pho spices at all?