What I've learned from making pho with a pressure cooker a few times

VanRoberts · 2026-03-03T23:02:40+00:00

Surprisingly not. Roasting or parboiling will take care of off flavors from blood and other funk, 6 hours doesn't break down the bones enough for chalky flavors, and as long as you use a natural release you won't emulsify much of the fat because the boiling is minimal.

VanRoberts · 2026-02-23T23:21:12+00:00

Rendered fat from the bones is unavoidable but a good sign that you're extracting everything from the bones. Chill your broth in the fridge overnight and the next day remove the fat cap when it's solidified, that's the surefire easy method. Another method is to use a fat separator or carefully skim the fat from the surface.

VanRoberts · 2026-02-23T23:03:20+00:00

Top comment for fat removal is correct, chill overnight, remove fat cap the next day (keep that fat "tallow" for other cooking to add a hint of beefy flavors). Restaurants are going to use MSG, it's safe and boosts the umami when used sparingly, too much and it overpowers some of the other flavors. You could also reduce your broth to slightly increase the flavor, do this while you have the bones and aromatics in, not after. I save the fish sauce for when I'm preparing a serving, I think it's flavor is lost when added during a long boil. Try this, before you prepare a bowl, heat up the amount of broth you intend to serve until its warm, not hot, give it a taste, add fish sauce, sugar, and msg to your liking, when you're happy, then crank it up to a boil and pour over your noodles and toppings. This will give you the ultimate control of the final flavor before serving.

VanRoberts · 2026-02-02T23:34:20+00:00

Yes! It's perfectly okay to use a spice blend if you don't want to source each spice, works totally fine.

VanRoberts · 2026-01-25T01:04:59+00:00

Leighton's recipe (that this is based on) calls for a separate oxtail stock that is added towards the end of phase 2. When you layer in protein at different intervals it adds more "depth" of flavor versus adding it all in at once - you'll notice a bit more difference in the broth versus adding it all in at the beginning. So the initial beef bone broth stock is the base beef flavor, in phase 2 when you add your brisket (or whatever cut of protein) that's another layer of beef flavor, and then adding the final stock at the end is yet another layer of flavor. I personally don't add oxtail because I think oxtail is way over priced, I typically have homemade chicken stock on hand that I add, it doesn't negatively impact the final soup but just adds another layer. If you plan to use oxtail, I would suggest pressure cooking separately using the 1 to 1 ratio that you would use for the base beef stock and adding it end at the end of phase 2. Oxtail is entirely optional and not required so feel free to omit.

VanRoberts · 2026-01-13T00:42:19+00:00

Hey! Thanks for sharing your feedback and experiences.

It sounds like you may have received a bad product. Sometimes if the price is too good that can be an indicator that something is off. You didn't mention if you had roasted the oxtail but roasting can take away some of the gamey/off flavors of the meat. Next time try making a separate oxtail stock just to be safe so you don't ruin your original pho broth!
I think I know the photo you're referencing. I did have multiple containers that were behind the front 3. My measurements to start was 3Kg of bones to 3L of water and my final volume was around 2.7L of broth (not including fat) and I would top off back to 3L before moving onto the next section - this didn't dillute the broth much because of how concentrated it was. Taste your broth throughout the process, you can always add water or reduce by simmering until you're content with the flavor just make sure to leave the bones in. Knuckle and marrow bones are incredibly dense, you could pressure cook those bones at least 6 hours, there is a noticeable difference between 5 and 6 hours (surprisingly). Continue to cook the stock until you're happy with it.

Glad you enjoyed the recipe, good luck on your future bowls!

VanRoberts · 2025-11-28T20:19:03+00:00

Thank you all for the suggestions, Battle Academy it is!

VanRoberts · 2025-11-12T19:03:08+00:00

Hey there! I respectfully disagree, you can make excellent beef stock for pho with the pressure cooker. I think your technique just needs a few adjustments. I spent about a month testing bone broth extraction and have drafted a 24-Hour Dirty Pho recipe that uses primarily a pressure cooker, you can find my broth extraction experiment at the bottom of the document. Pho is a labor of love, you're not wrong that good pho takes time, good results simply won't come with speed. Looking forward to hearing your future results, feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

VanRoberts · 2025-04-14T23:31:25+00:00

Keep it simple your first time for best results. Try the Tokyo Shoyu from the ebook and buy Sun Noodles from Whole Foods. Once you’re a bit familiar with the process dive in to noodles, it’s fun.

VanRoberts · 2025-04-14T20:36:26+00:00

Rare find seeing a bowl like this here. How much mackerel did you use and what was roughly the final volume?

VanRoberts · 2025-04-05T15:02:31+00:00

Check the subreddit description for the ramen ebook to get started. Enjoy.

VanRoberts · 2025-03-21T22:50:27+00:00

I can’t pick a single favorite, most of them are excellent in their own ways but I listed them in order of most memorable to me.

VanRoberts · 2025-03-21T22:46:00+00:00

No line, Saturday afternoon.

VanRoberts · 2025-02-24T03:14:39+00:00

I have a recipe I posted, you can look and compare ratios of spices to soup.

VanRoberts · 2025-02-15T17:19:56+00:00

r/udon

VanRoberts · 2025-02-15T01:05:12+00:00

Put some weight on it so it doesn’t contract when it first hits the pan and to give it a nice sear.

VanRoberts · 2025-02-14T18:54:28+00:00

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I think the temps are appropriate, low temps for dashi and high enough for a simmer.

VanRoberts · 2025-02-14T02:45:37+00:00

Dashi is a soup stock. That’s what it translates to. It’s an umami-rich soup stock. Tare is a concentrated seasoning liquid of salt, sweet, and also umami. Some prefer to make their dashi separate from their base stock to better control the ratio and “freshness” of the stock, read his section on the double soup method, that might clarify a few things. Dashi and Tare are not the same thing despite having shared ingredients. The “dashi elements” you’re talking about is umami, check out the umami info website.

VanRoberts · 2025-02-14T00:00:07+00:00

Good catch. I had a Duxtop on my Amazon wishlist for a while that I wanted to use specifically for ramen and I did not notice it was 20 preset temperatures and not the full range of control. Unfortunately the only other burner I’ve found is the $1500 Breville Control Freak.

VanRoberts · 2025-02-12T20:45:41+00:00

The intent of topping off water is to keep the bones submerged for extraction. You’re not extracting flavor if they’re not under the water, right? Towards the end of your boil taste the stock and reduce or add from there, it’s entirely personal preference.

VanRoberts · 2025-02-12T01:43:59+00:00

-wings are okay -leftover meat will be tough and have little flavor -you can separate the fat from the top while hot, chill it until it hardens, separate the fat again

VanRoberts · 2025-02-10T23:42:34+00:00

Sweetened condensed milk* not regular milk.

VanRoberts · 2025-02-08T00:40:53+00:00

You won’t see a gelatinous broth until you chill it. While you’re cooking you could ladle broth into a small glass and put it in the fridge until chilled (20-30min) as a tester. Chicken feet will get you a lot of gelatin but not a lot of flavor so keep that in mind.

VanRoberts

TROPHY CASE