I decided to make this because we love going to the Vietnamese Pho restaurants for Bun Bo Hue, but I wanted to see how a homemade recipe comes out. I researched it, went through a bunch of recipes, took out what I liked, and WOW it is great. It has many levels of complexity that I only noticed when I went to the really expensive places where they make their own Pho from scratch. I was surprised I could achieve this level of flavor on my my first try.
Update: I went back to the expensive Pho restaurants and either they weren’t as good as I remember or went downhill. This one was way better.
Ingredients
Meat
- 2 lbs of Flank steak sliced in 1/4″ slices across the grain
- 2 lbs of short rib sliced in about 1/2 inch cubes
Broth
- 1/2 of a large onion or 1 small one
- 1 tsp of ground coriander seeds
- 1 tsp pepper corns
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 3 star anise
- 2 cardamom pods
- 1 tbsp finely minced ginger
- 5 tbsp fish sauce
- 4 whole garlic cloves
- Water fill 6 qt instant pot to just below max fill line after broth ingredient added (Soak thick rice noodle for 30 mins before cooking)
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 lbs of Flank steak sliced in 1/4″ slices across the grain
Chili Oil
- 8 spicy chrushed cayenne peppers
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp of annatto seeds
- 1/3 cup of canola oil
Noodles:
- Water enough to cover when soaking and at least 2 qts to cook noodles
- 16 oz of thick rice noodles
Toppings/Garnish:
- Chopped green onion as a topping
- Sliced yellow onion as garnish
- Chopped cilantro
- Lime wedges
- Thai Basil
- Bean Sprouts
- Chili paste (to add more heat)
Directions:
Put 1st 8 broth ingredients on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil and toast with torch or put on aluminum foil on gril to toast (it enhances flavor but not absolutely needed), do not burn. Add into instant pot along with rest of broth ingredients and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes. While broth cooks brown short ribs in a frying pan then set aside. When broth is finished, strain into pour into pan or bowl and set aside. Remove flank steak from strained ingredients and put into instant pot. Add in browned short ribs into instant pot with flank steak and cook on high pressure for 25 minutes with natural pressure release then keep warm until rest of ingredients ready. Add oil into pan and heat for about 3 minutes on low and then add rest of chili oil ingredients and increase heat to medium and cook for about 6-10 minutes, do not burn the garlic and remove from heat. Cook pre-soaked noodle for about 10 -20 mins till done then drain and rinse. Chop and slice toppings. For serving add noodles, then broth, some of the chili oil, then top with your choice of toppings. Eat and enjoy.
