Bún Măng Gà Instant Pot (Vietnamese Bamboo Shoot and Chicken Vermicelli Soup)
Author: Katie Le | Katie’s Test Kitchen
Ingredients
- Broth for 6-quart
- 4 chicken leg quarters (washed and trimmed fat as necessary)
- 4 tbsp of Quoc Viet Chicken Soup Base
- 1 large onion (peeled)
- 1 large knob of ginger (peeled and halved)
- about 1 tbsp chunk of yellow rock sugar/lump sugar
- 8 cups of boiling water (to speed up pressure building time, use cold water if you are not in a rush)
- 1 shallot (sliced)
- 2 tbsp of cooking oil
- 2 tbsp of Mushroom Seasoning
- 1/4 tsp of ground peper
- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of paprika (optional, not spicy, for color)
- chopped cilantro and green onion
- 1/4 green cabbage (thinly sliced)
- a handful of Vietnamese coriander (Rau Ram, coarsely chopped)
- lime wedges
- fried shallot
- sliced fresh chili
- ground pepper
- 1 bag of rice noodle (cooked according to instructions on package, flushed with cold warm, squeeze out excess water, drained)
Bamboo Shoot
OPTION #1 – 1.5 lb of young fresh bamboo shoots – They already been cooked to remove the toxins. (halved, and boiled in water for 5 minutes, drained and cut into thin strips) ***These can be found in most Asian stores. I prefer the ones that sit in the water basin in the refrigerated section and you can hand picked them yourself. If your stores don’t carry bamboo shoots like that you can get those in clear plastic vacuum-sealed bags with a bit of water.
OPTION #2 – 1 bags of dried bamboo shoot (soak in warm sink water for 1 hour, water will turn brown, change water multiple times)
Garnishes, Accompaniments and others
Ginger Fish Sauce for dipping (add more or less of each ingredient below to your taste)
– 4 tbsp of fish sauce
– 3 tbsp of sugar
– 1/2 to 1 tbsp of lime juice
– 5 cloves of garlic and 1/2 a knob of ginger (crushed both together with a mortar and pestle)
– chopped fresh Thai pepper
Directions
1. Place chicken, ginger, onion, soup base, rock sugar in IP along with 8 cups of water. Close lid, select Pressure Cook/Manual, high pressure, 9 minutes, 5 minutes NPR.
2. While the broth is cooking, saute the bamboo shoots.
OPTION #1 with cooked fresh bamboo – In a deep skillet add cooking oil, once it’s hot add shallot and saute until fragrant. Add bamboo shoots and season with mushroom seasoning, ground pepper and paprika. Mix well for 2-3 minutes and turn off heat. Set aside.
OPTION #1 with cooked fresh bamboo – In a deep skillet add cooking oil, once it’s hot add shallot and saute until fragrant. Add bamboo shoots and season with mushroom seasoning, ground pepper and paprika. Mix well for 2-3 minutes and turn off heat. Set aside.
OPTION #2 with dried bamboo – Boil a pot of water to cook the soaked dried bamboo shoot. After boiling for 15 minutes remove and drain the bamboo shoot. Use the scissor to trim and discard the tougher bottom part, cut to short length. Rinse well with sink water. In a large pan heat up about 2 tbsp of cooking oil and add the chopped shallot. Once fragrant add the bamboo shoot. Season with about 2 tbsp of mushroom seasoning. Stir well, turn off heat and set aside.
3. Once the cook time is up allow the IP to NPR for 5 minutes (10 if you want more tender chicken). Slowly and carefully release pressure by turning the knob to Venting. Once pressure is release, open lid, remove chicken and immediately flush with sink water to stop it from further cooking. Discard onion. Pour the saute bamboo shoot into the broth. Season the broth to your taste with mushroom seasoning, sugar and /or soup base (add 1/2 tsp at a time).
4. De-bone chicken and mix with sliced cabbage and Vietnamese coriander to create a salad. You can set aside some chicken meat to put directly into the bowl. Garnish the salad with fried shallot and cilantro. Drizzle the ginger fish sauce over salad or serve on the side. To assemble the bowl, ladle boiling broth with bamboo shoot onto cooked rice noodle and chicken meat. Garnish bowl with sliced chopped green onion and cilantro, and Vietnamese coriander. Top with fresh ground pepper and fried shallot. Serve with sliced fresh chili and lime wedges.
Happy Cooking!
How would you scale up for an 8 quart?
Hi, you can add 2 more chicken leg quarters, 4 more cups of water (around 12 total) and around 1.5 to 2 tbsp more of the soup base. Season to taste!