Instant Pot Chicken Pho

Instant Pot Chicken Pho 

About 5 years ago my husband went to Vietnam with a charity organization. After about 5 days into his month long trip, he was sick of the noodle soup they had for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We all know this as Pho (Fa). He quickly switched to French bread and Brie. And that became his morning routine. Now understand, he really isn’t a soup fan, which kills me, as soup is one of the best food groups. 

Having lived in Seattle for 20 years, it was only about 6 months ago, after I had moved back to Portland, that I became obsessed with Pho. And according to recommendations, I tried the best in Portland first. I just can’t get enough of this delicious soup. The smell. The taste. I am in love with Pho. 

So fast forward to last weekend, I was searching my blog-mosphere and found an Instant Pot Pho recipe. It was Paleo (which doesn’t matter to me either way), and I decided to try it for dinner. I knew Craig wasn’t going to go for it, so I wrote “Chicken Soup” on the menu calendar. 

Only after dinner, did I tell him that it was Pho, he was like it was “very good”. Now, He keeps those glowing reviews to a minimum, as I’ve put previously “raved reviewed” recipes on the regular rotation and spoiled a good thing. 

Here is the recipe I used: (inspired by Nom Nom Paleo)

Instant Pot Chicken Pho

Ingredients

For the broth

• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 inch fresh ginger peeled, thickly sliced, and bruised (I used a good squirt of squeeze ginger)
• 1 large yellow onion halved and thickly sliced
• 6-7 cups water
• 4 lb whole chicken
• 1 small red apple peeled, cored, and cut into thumbnail-size chunks
• ¾ cup coarsely chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• A few light splashes of Red Boat fish sauce
• 1/4 cup Sambal Oleck (garlic chili paste) 
• Cheese cloth

For the bowls

• Glass noodles, or thin Asian spaghetti. 
• ½ small yellow onion thinly sliced against the grain and soaked in water for 10 minutes
• 2 thinly sliced green onions
• Carrots, Julienned (1/4 cup per bowl)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, chopped
• Thai basil leaves
• Lime wedges

Instructions

1. Toss the coriander seeds and cloves in a 6-quart pressure cooker. Press the sauté button on your Instant Pot (or place a stovetop pressure cooker over medium heat) and toast the spices for several minutes, shaking or stirring, until fragrant. Throw in the ginger and onion and stir everything until aromatic, 45 to 60 seconds.
2. Pour in 4 cups of the water to stop the cooking process. Carefully place the chicken in the cooker, breast side up.
3. Add the apple, cilantro, salt, and remaining 3 cups water.
4. Press the Cancel/Keep Warm button, lock the lid in place, and make sure the valve on top is in the sealed position. Press the Manual button and set the Instant Pot to cook under high pressure for 14 minutes.
5. When done, turn off the Instant Pot and let the pressure decrease naturally for 20 minutes. Set a timer and if the pressure hasn’t completely released when it dings, turn the valve at the top to quickly vent the remaining. Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to avoid the hot steam.
6. Wait another 5 minutes before using tongs to transfer the chicken to a large bowl; if parts fall off in transit, don’t stress. Add cold water to cover the chicken and soak for 10 minutes to cool and prevent drying. Reserve the water to fill the pot when reassembling the broth, partially cover, and set the chicken aside to cool.
7. Skim some fat from the broth, before straining it through a cheese cloth lined strainer positioned over a large bowl. Discard the solids. You should end up with about 7 cups broth. Replace broth back in IP pot. 
8. If using right away, season the broth with the fish sauce and Sambal Oleck. Turn the cooker on slow cooking for 4-6 hours, or pressure to bring back up to temp. Or, partially cover the unseasoned broth and let cool, then refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months; reheat and season before using.
9. Use a knife or your hands to separate the breast meat and legs from the chicken. Set aside half of the chicken for another use. Reserve the remaining chicken for pho bowl assembly. The chicken can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months; bring to room temperature to use.
10. Prep and assemble the bowls. Cut or shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. Discard the chicken skin. 
11. Divide the noodles among four soup bowls. Top the noodles with carrots and shredded chicken.
12. Check the broth flavor once more, adjust as needed. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl.
13. Then garnish with onion, green onion, cilantro, basil, and sriracha if desired.  You can squeeze on fresh lime juice, too. Serve immediately!

“Sous Vide” Egg Bites

We’ve all bought those little delicious Egg Bites at our favorite coffee shop on the corner or in our grocery store. They are so good, but man they cost a small fortune. Here is the recipe I use to recreate these morning tasty treats. 

Sous Vide Style/Instant Pot Egg Bites 

INGREDIENTS

4 Large Eggs
4 Bacon Strips, or 6 T of sausage (precooked is great!)
1.5 Cups Favorite Cheese 
½ Cup Cottage Cheese (can substitute sour cream)
¼ Cup Heavy Cream
½ tsp. Salt
Optional: Dash of Hot Sauce

Special equipment: Baby Food Mold (see pictures below)

INSTRUCTIONS-

Baby food mold method:
Put 1 cup of water in the bottom of your Instant Pot followed by the trivet that came with your pot.
Cook the bacon utilizing your favorite method to cook bacon. Crumble and evenly distribute into the 7 forms. 
Add the eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, cream and salt to the blender and blend until smooth (about 15 seconds).
Add a dash of hot sauce if desired and blend for a few more seconds.
Divvy the egg mixture evenly into the 7 forms. 
Cover loosely with foil and place gently on the trivet in the Instant Pot.
Place the cover on the Instant Pot and select "Steam" and set to 8 Minutes.
NPR (natural pressure release) for 10 minutes and then quick release (QR) the rest.
Carefully remove the egg bites from the Instant Pot and let cool down for a few minutes.
Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for up to a week! Can also be frozen and microwaved to rewarm. 

INSTRUCTIONS-

Mason jar method:
Put 1 cup of water in the bottom of your Instant Pot followed by the trivet that came with your pot.
Cook the bacon utilizing your favorite method to cook bacon. Crumble and evenly distribute into 4 mason jars.
Add the eggs, cheese, cottage cheese, cream and salt to the blender and blend until smooth (about 15 seconds).
Add a dash of hot sauce if desired and blend for a few more seconds.
Divvy the egg mixture evenly into 4 mason jars.
Cover each mason jar loosely with foil and place gently in the Instant Pot.
Place the cover on the Instant Pot and select "Steam" and set to 8 Minutes.
NPR (natural pressure release) for 10 minutes and then quick release (QR) the rest.
Carefully remove the egg bites from the Instant Pot and let cool down for a few minutes.
Enjoy immediately or refrigerate for up to a week!

Combination options:

Jarlsberg/Bacon

Monterey Jack/Chorizo

Feta/Spinach

Goat cheese/Chopped bell peppers

Hatch Pepper Chile Verde Enchiladas

Recently, I was on a quick work trip to Spokane, Washington.  On the trip, one of my co-worker mentioned that he loves Salsa Verde, and it’s so easy to make.  He showed me bottle of salsa he uses, and said just chop up the pork and pour in the sauce.  My kind of dinner!!  However we don’t usually eat pork, so I looked at a few recipes,and was like…..I have hatch chilies in the freezer I need to use up!  So I melded a few recipes that inspired me, and made Salsa Verde, and Salsa Verde Chicken Enchiladas.

Instant Pot “Hatch” Chile Verde

Ingredients

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed

Olive oil

1/2 roasted hatch chiles (or one fresh jalapeño, stemmed), roughly chopped

2 cans tomatillos, drained

1/3 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 tablespoon cumin

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Press sauté, and allow the IP to warm up

2. Add onion and cook until tender.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant. 

3. Add chilies, stir

4. Add tomatillos, one at a time, squeezing each when you place in the pot. 

5. Add spices and stir.

6. Press, off. The press manual, and set the time for 15 minutes.

7. Allow NP release, remove lid

8. Using an emersion blender, purée sauce until smooth. 

9. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Chile Verde Enchiladas

Ingredients

3 pounds ground chicken or your choice of meat, cooked (Pulled pork, shredded chicken, etc.)

salt and pepper, to taste

10 ounces Queso Fresco cheese

1 tub cream cheese (I used jalapeño)

1 cup shredded cheese

12 corn tortilla shells

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350° 

2. Place meat, cream cheese and shredded cheese into a bowl.  Mix and ladle 1 scoop of the verde into the bowl.

3. Place a couple ladles of verde sauce in the bottom of a 9 X 11pan

4. Steam the tortillas, one at a time

5. Place a tablespoon or 2 of the filling mix on to a tortilla, and roll up.

6. Place enchilada onto the sauce in the pan.

7. Complete, until out of tortillas

8. Pour several ladles of sauce over enchiladas, and top with crumbled queso fresco. 

9. Bake for 30-40 minutes until cheese in golden brown.

Potato Leek Soup

Potato Leek Soup

Last night I was craving soup, and didn’t have a lot of time, so out came the Instant Pot (contrary to popular belief, I do put it away!). What felt like 30 minutes last the soup was ready to go!!  I served it with rolls and crackers. I do love a good “cracker soup”!

Potato Leek Soup

4-5 Yukon Gold Potatoes, quartered

1 head (larger) celery root

3-4 leeks, cleaned , and cut into 2 inch pieces

4 cups chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2-1 cup cream

Place the fist 5 ingredients Into the instant pot. Set in soup, and adjust to 20 minutes. Allow to naturally pressure down. Remove the lid and insert an immersion blender, and blend until smooth. Add in cream and blend until combined. Serve with bread or crackers. 

Beef Roll ‘em Ups

When I was growing up, my grandma used to make Beef Roll ‘em Ups. I always loved unrolling these little “gifts”. She always made them in a pressure cooker.  When she passed, my dad took over making these, but mom was always scared of pressure cookers, so dad made them in a crock pot.  Still good, but we all missed Grandma’s version.  

A few years back I saw an automatic pressure cooker, and told Craig, “this is what I want for Christmas”!  He did a ton of research and decided that Instant Pot was the only brand to buy. That Christmas Day, I made my first dinner, and fell in love with that pressure cooker.  The real reason I wanted a pressure cooker, was to recreate my Grandma’s recipe.

Because Craig doesn’t eat beef, I had to make them when he was out of town.  

Here is my version of my Grandma’s recipe for Beef Roll ‘em Ups, for the Instant Pot:

Beef Roll ‘em Ups

2lbs Flank Steak

1 clove garlic

1 tsp salt

1/4 t pepper

4-6 bacon strips

4-6 pearl onions

1/2 c flour

8 oz tomato sauce

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp marjoram leaves 

1 tsp snipped parsley

1/2 c onion, minced

Rub steak with garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cut steak crosswise into 4-6 strips. In a large skillet, partially cook bacon (do not cook to crispy), remove bacon, pouring grease into Instant Pot. 

Place a strip of beef on your work area, place a strip of bacon on the beef, and a pearl onion on the bacon.  Roll steak and bacon around the onion, securing with a toothpick. Coat the rolls with flour.  Set the Instant Pot to sauté, and add a little more oil, working in small batches, place Roll ‘em Ups in the Pot, and sear until brown.

Once browned, remove from the pot, and let rest.  Add tomato sauce, herbs and onions to the pot and stir. Allow to lightly boil.  Return the beef rolls to the pot, and cover with sauce.  Push the Cancel button on the Instant Pot, Put the lid in place, making sure the vent is turned to “Pressure.” Push the manual button. Make sure the cooker is on the “High” setting and set the timer for 15 minutes.

Walk away, make a cocktail, pour a beer, walk the dogs.....do whatever it is you do to kill time, before you eat something delicious. 

When the timer goes off.  Allow the steam to release, naturally. (I have a hard time waiting, but you need to!)

Serve and enjoy!

*note, I added potatoes and carrots and fresh rosemary in while I was pressuring.