Vietnamese Instant Pot Beef Noodle Soup with Oxtail (Phở Đuôi Bò)
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If someone says it takes long hours to make authentic and good phở, they’re lying and need to be unfriended.
In this recipe, we are using oxtail. And we are using a pressure cooker to make Vietnamese popular beef noodle soup, phở.
Everything comes together in about one hour. Yes, this includes the wait time for the pressure cooker to come to temperature.
Skip paying $15 a bowl. Follow the recipe below to enjoy a delicious and authentic bowl of Vietnamese beef noodle soup with tender oxtail at lightning speed.
Why Use a Pressure Cooker?
A pressure cooker simplifies and quickens the cooking process. By pressure cooking, you can make a delicious bone broth in mere minutes.
I’m using an 8-quart Instant Pot pressure cooker and Air Fryer Combo, but you don’t need to use this exact one. Any large capacity pressure cooker with a sauté option will work.
The sauté option allows us to pan-fry directly in the pot. We will use this option to brown the oxtail and aromatics (yellow onions and ginger) to add depth to the delicious phở bone broth.
What You Will Need
Oxtail: If you are not familiar with oxtail, oxtail is beef and the tail of a cow. It's full of flavor and gets really tender when cooked slowly. Oxtail provides a rich, gelatinous broth full of beefy flavor. You can typically find them skinned and cut into short chunks at the grocery stores.
The lowest price for oxtail here in Sacramento is currently $7.99/lb at Costco. That means oxtail everything until we are oxtail’ed out.
Ginger: Fresh ginger is best and a must.
Yellow onions: Yellow onions sweetens the broth naturally. If you don’t have yellow onions, use any large bulb onions such as white onions. You can also use a bunch of large shallots.
Phở spices: The signature aroma of phở comes from a blend of spices. This includes star anise, coriander, cloves, Chinese cinnamon, and cardamom. Sometimes, licorice and fennel are also added.
You can buy a phở spice packet that contains all of the above (though the exact mix can vary by brand) in a convenient quantity for a batch of phở, or you can purchase the spices individually at your local Asian grocery store.
If you don’t have access to an Asian grocery store, here are some options on Amazon: whole spices or powdered tea bag for even quicker cooking.
Seasonings: Salt, fish sauce, rock sugar, and MSG. If you don’t want to use MSG, reduce or simply omit. However, it’s highly recommended to get the same great flavor as restaurant phở. You can replace rock sugar with other sweetener of your choice, such as palm sugar or regular granulated cane sugar. Adjustments may be needed.
Cooked beef balls: I usually pick these up at the grocery store. Phở-making is already complicated with so many components, and store-bought meatballs make it much easier. I don’t have a favorite brand; I just pick up whichever brand is currently on sale. There are several varieties, and I prefer the ones without tendon, as my kids prefer.
Flat rice noodles: Fresh or dried flat rice noodles can be used. I’m using fresh noodles in the pink bag (picture below).
Optional garnishes and accompaniments: We are keeping it simple with green onions, yellow onions, red chilies or jalapenos, and limes. You can include other fresh herbs if you wish, such as cilantro and culantro, Thai basil and bean sprouts. I also like to use sriracha chili sauce and hoisin sauce on the side for some good action meat-dipping.
How to Make It
Step 1: Preparations
Clean the oxtail by rubbing it with a tablespoon of coarse salt and lime juice. Rinse then drain dry. Cleaning meat and bones is apparently optional by western standards so do what’s best for you. However, I highly recommend it to remove any foul barnyard smell.
Slice the unpeeled ginger into thick coins and give them a light smash. Peel the outer layer of the onion.
If using pre-cooked beef meatballs, halve them.
Set everything aside.
Step 2: Sear the oxtail and pan fry the aromatics
Pan fry the oxtail on all sides until golden brown. No oil is needed because oxtail is full of fatty goodness. Searing the oxtail will add so much flavor to the broth.
Once seared and golden brown, remove the oxtail and add the onions and ginger to toast in the rendered beef fat.
The house is going to smell a-mazing and bring all the boys to the yard.
Add seared oxtail back into the pot, fill with water and pressure cook on high for 30 minutes.
Step 3: Prepare the garnishes
Slice the green onions, yellow onion, jalapenos, and limes. Set aside.
Step 4: Prepare the spices
Toast the phở spices in a small skillet for 30 seconds, then place them in a spice bag. Alternatively, this can be done at the beginning in the Instant Pot on sauté mode. You can skip this step entirely if you are using the powdered spices.
Step 5: Prepare noodles
Add the rice noodles to a large mixing bowl and fill it with water. Soaking the rice noodles helps remove excess starch, speeding up the cooking process by reducing the amount of water needed for cooking the noodles. It also reduces the need to change the water because it becomes too starchy.
Step 6: Quick release and skim off oil
Quick release the pressure cooker. I like to take it outside since it can get messy.
Oxtail has a lot of fat, so there will be a lot of oil on top of the stock. Skim off the top layer of oil and either discard it or save it to use in other recipes.
Step 7: Season the stock
Season the stock with rock sugar, sea salt, fish sauce, and MSG. Add the spice bag and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Step 8: Strain the stock
Remove all the solids from the stock. I prefer to pour the whole content of the pot through a sieve just to get everything in one go. Set aside the meat to cool and discard the rest. Once cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones for easier eating (optional but great for kids).
Step 9: Finish the broth
Add more water to make a total of 4 quarts of broth. Add the sliced beef balls and bottom stems of green onions. Once the mixture comes to a boil, the broth is done.
Step 10: Cook noodles and serve
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch a serving of noodles at a time, for about 5 seconds then transfer to a bowl. Add oxtail and your desired garnishes. Ladle in hot broth and meatballs. Squeeze in lime and enjoy.
FAQs
Can I use a different type of beef?
Yes, you can use a similar types of beef cuts, such as beef shanks or short ribs if oxtail is not available.
What if I don’t have an Instant Pot?
You can make this on the stovetop. Here is my stovetop beef pho version with a more traditional approach.
Is MSG necessary?
MSG is optional but adds an umami flavor that will otherwise be lacking. If you prefer, you can reduce it or omit entirely.
How do I store leftovers?
Store all the components (broth, noodles, and garnishes) separately in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat the broth and blanch the noodles then pour over noodles when ready to eat.
Related Posts
If you enjoy this, you will love these popular Vietnamese noodle soups:
Or check out these other popular dishes to get your Vietnamese game on:
Vietnamese Instant Pot Beef Noodle Soup with Oxtail (Phở Đuôi Bò)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preparations: Clean the oxtail with a tablespoon of coarse salt and lime juice, rinse and drain dry (cleaning is optional but recommended to remove any foul barnyard smell). Slice the unpeeled ginger into thick coins and give them a light smash. Peel the outer layer of the onion. If using pre-cooked beef meatballs, slice them in half and set them aside.
- Sear the oxtail and render some fat: I'm using an 8-Quart Instant Pot pressure cooker, switch to the sauté mode to fry and sear the beef on all sides until golden brown. Remove the oxtail. Add the onions and ginger to the pot and sear them until they become aromatic (about one minute). Add oxtail back into the pot, fill the inner pot with water up to the ⅔ max line, press the Pressure Cook button, and set the timer to 30 minutes, then press Start. It will take about 20 minutes to reach temperature.
- Prepare the garnishes: thinly slice the green onions (remove the root ends and keep the bottom white part long, about 2 inches), and thinly slice the rest. Peel and thinly slice the yellow onion. Thinly slice the jalapenos. Cut the lime into wedges.
- Prepare the spices: Toast the pho spices in a small skillet for 30 seconds, then place them in a spice bag and tie it closed.
- Prepare the Noodles: Add the rice noodles to a large mixing bowl and fill it with water. Soaking the rice noodles in water helps remove excess starch, separate the strands, and makes cooking quicker.
- Stop the Cooking: When the pressure cooker is done, use the quick release method. I like to do this outside because it can get messy. A lot of oil will be at the top of the stock. Skim the top layer of oil and discard it or save it to use as oil for other recipes.
- Season the stock: Press Sauté and change the setting to High. Adjust as necessary to maintain a low simmer. Season the stock with rock sugar, sea salt, fish sauce, and MSG. Add the spice bag and simmer for about 15 minutes.
- Strain the stock: Remove all the solids from the stock. Set aside the meat to cool and discard the rest. Once the meat is cool enough to handle, you can remove it from the bones for easier eating (optional, great for kids).
- Finish the broth: Add more water up to the ½ line, making a total of 4 quarts. Add the sliced beef balls and stems of green onions. Once the mixture comes to a boil, the broth is done.
- Cook noodles and assemble the bowl for serving: To cook the noodles, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Blanch a serving of noodles, one at a time, for about 5 seconds. Transfer noodles to a bowl, add oxtail and your desired toppings. Ladle in hot broth and meatballs. Squeeze in lime and enjoy.
Notes
If you are using smaller capacity pressure cooker, simply reduce the seasonings in the recipe above.
