Bun Bo Hue in Instant Pot

My husband has been asking for bun bo hue for weeks but it's just so hot here that I didn't want to have a broth simmering in the kitchen for over 4 hours.  But after using the instant pot yesterday to make red beans & rice...I decided to give bun bo hue a try in the IP. I have to be honest...I prefer the stove version more ....but I think I haven't gotten the right constituency of the meat being as tender yet. Plus the pot is so small that I didn't use all the protein that I usually used when I am making it on the stove. 

A little 411: 

Bún bò Huế or bún bò is a popular Vietnamese soup containing rice vermicelli (bún) and beef (bò). Huế is a city in central Vietnam associated with the cooking style of the former royal court. The dish is greatly admired for its balance of spicy, sour, salty and sweet flavors and the predominant flavor is that of lemon grass. Compared to phở or bún riêu, the noodles are thicker and more cylindrical. 

This is why it's my favorite Asian soup. I love it for the spicy and the lemongrass flavor and aroma. 

Shopping List: 

3 pounds of chuck roast 

1 pound of pig feet (cut in half) 

1 large onion 

1 piece of ginger (about 3in long) 

6-8 pieces of lemongrass (cut into 3in long...3 whole stalk) 

1 pack bun bo hue seasoning 

Other SEASONING that I used: 

Rock sugar (1 piece ...size of a quarter) 

***1 Tablespoon shrimp pasta (man thom) optional 

*** 2 Tablespoon FISH SAUCE***If you aren't  using shrimp paste  

REMEMBER TO USE ONLY ONE NOT BOTH IN THIS AMOUNT!! If you want to use both then adjust accordingly because the shrimp paste is VERY VERY SALTY!! 

1 teaspoon garlic powder 

1 teaspoon onion powder 

1 teaspoon chicken powder 

1 teaspoon chili powder 

1/2 teaspoon cayenne 

1/2 paprika (I like my broth really red in color)

I added the chili powder and cayenne because we LOVE IT SPICY!! You can omit them if you don't like it super spicy. 

garnish: 

**all of these garnish is optional and is up to preferences:

pork patty

thinly sliced green and red cabbage 

cilantro 

mint leafs

thinly sliced onion 

lime

fresh chili or jalapeño 

man thom (shrimp paste) 

Direction: 

Fill a large pot with water and blanch the chuck roast and pig feet. If you are using different types of meat..I highly recommend you blanch all your meats before you cook it in the IP. This takes out all the gunks..it's different when you cook on stove because you can strain it out during the cooking process but with the IP you can't open up the lid. Look at all the gunk here in the blanching process. 

Once the water start to boil...cook for another few minutes. Next, dump the meat into a colander and wash well before placing in the IP. 

    Lots of GUNK!! 

Meat is blanch and wash really well. Place into the IP. Next, add the lemongrass, onion, ginger and rock sugar. 

 Add the bun bo hue package 

Add the rest of the seasoning. Then fill with water. JUST ENOUGH TO COVER EVERYTHING. Remember to not pass the MAX LINE!!! I ACTUALLY didn't fill up to the MAX line because I know the pig feet and chuck roast will render more liquid and I don't want it to spill over. Spilling over can mess up your IP. 

Set timer to "soup" setting then adjust to 80 minutes. Some of my friends that I have talked to program their bun bo hue to 1.5 hrs but I only used chuck roast and had already cubed it into small chunks. Didn't wanted my meat to be too too tender that it becomes mushy. 

After 80 minutes of cooking in the IP. I quick release it and open the IP. Because this was my first time making it...I couldn't wait ;) 

Be VERY CAREFUL IF YOU ARE GONNA QUICK RELEASE the STEAM VALVE because it is VERY VERY HOT!! First time it will scare you!! 

ENJOY!!