Instant Pot Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup

Step 1

Optional - Brown Chicken: Heat up Instant Pot using “Sauté More” function. Wait until Instant Pot says “HOT” (roughly 8 minutes). Pat dry chicken with a paper towel. Lightly season one side of the chicken with kosher salt. Add 1 to 2 tbsp (15ml - 30ml) vegetable oil in Instant Pot. Make sure to coat the oil well over the whole bottom of the pot. Place the seasoned side of chicken in Instant Pot. Then season the other side of the chicken with kosher salt. Brown the first side for 3.5 minutes, then brown the other side for another 2 minutes. Set the chicken aside.

Step 2

Sauté Ginger, Green Onion, Garlic: Add in ginger slices and the white parts of the green onions, then saute for 3 minutes. Add in green parts of the green onions, crushed garlic cloves, and star anise, then saute for 30 seconds.

Step 3

Deglaze Instant Pot: Pour in 1 cup (250ml) cold water. Then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Give it a quick mix.

Step 4

Pressure Cook Chicken Soup: Add in 1 tsp (7g) fine table salt, 1 tbsp (15ml) regular soy sauce, 1 tbsp (15ml) fish sauce, and 3 bay leaves. Add in 5 cups (1.25L) cold water, then give it a quick mix. Optional: Add in 1 tsp (1.8g) Sichuan peppercorn and 1 tsp (1.7g) coriander seeds. Add browned chicken back in Instant Pot. Layer carrot chunks on top. With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 5 minutes, then Natural Release for 15 minutes. Open the lid carefully.

Step 5

Cook Noodles: When Instant Pot's pressure cooking cycle ends and switches to the natural release stage, boil 1.5L water with 1 tsp salt on the stovetop. You can add 1 tsp oil to the water to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Once the water starts boiling, cook noodles according to your preferences. Then drain and set them aside.

Step 6

Shred Chicken & Cook Bok Choy: Transfer chicken to a large mixing bowl. You can serve chicken quarters as a whole or shred them with two forks. Remove green onions and ginger slices. Strain all spices from the soup with a meshed strainer. If you like, you can use a Fat separator to remove some of the fat from the chicken soup. Bring the soup back to a boil with "Saute High" function. Add Shanghai Bok Choy to the Instant Pot, then cook until desired texture. It'll take roughly 2 to 4 minutes depending on the texture you like.

Step 7

Season & Serve: Taste and season the soup with a few pinches of kosher salt. For reference, we added 2 extra pinches of kosher salt. Assemble the bowl by placing the cooked noodles, bok choy, carrot chunks, and chicken in large serving bowls. Pour in the hot tasty chicken broth, then garnish the chicken noodle soup with finely sliced green onions. Enjoy~