2boneless chicken breastscut into bite-sized pieces
4cupschicken broth
8ozrice noodles
2cupswater
½teaspoonfish sauce
1teaspoonbrown sugar
1teaspoonblack pepperfreshly ground
2fresh limessliced thinly
Instructions
Switch on your instant pot and press sauté (normal). Add coriander seeds and cloves and toast the spices for a minute or two until fragrant.
Add the ginger, green onions and green herbs (parsley, cilantro and mint). Reserve a few leaves for garnishing. Stir for about a minute or until you see the onions and green charring slightly at the edges. Then cancel sauté.
Add the broth, water and chicken and close lid. Make sure the steam release handle is sealed and press the pressure cooking button. Set the timer to 12 minutes.
While the soup is cooking, prepare the rice noodles. Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions and keep aside.
Once the timer beeps, wait for the pressure to release naturally. Take out the chicken pieces and keep them covered in a bowl. Pass the soup through a sieve or strainer positioned over a deep pot so that the liquid passes through and the solids are left behind. You can discard the solids.
Transfer the soup (after straining) to the instant pot and press sauté again. Add the fish sauce and brown sugar.
Bring the soup to a boil, then cancel sauté. Check the seasoning. If it seems to be less salty than you like, add a dash of sea-salt. Cover the soup with a lid so that it doesn't go cold.
Now assemble the soup. Divide and put the cooked rice noodles in 4 individual soup bowls. Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the noodles and pour one cup of soup into each bowl. Squeeze a little lime juice and garnish with the remaining green leaves. Finish by sprinkling the soup with a few turns of freshly ground black pepper. Chicken pho is ready to be served.
Notes
While cooking the noodles, follow the package instructions but add a teaspoon of cooking oil so that they don't stick together.
Once the noodles are cooked, run them under cold water to stop the cooking process.
You can substitute the rice noodles for fettuccine pasta but pho just tastes more authentic with rice noodles.