Vietnamese-Style Chicken and Rice Soup (Instant Pot)

This Vietnamese-style chicken and rice soup is made with a stock that is flavored with ginger, spices, herbs, and garlic. Add lots of chicken, sticky rice, more spices, and fish sauce, and you have an amazingly satisfying and delicious soup. 

Chicken and rice soup has always been one of my favorite comfort foods. This recipe elevates chicken and rice to higher level. 

The broth or stock is cooked in the pressure cooker with ginger, star anise,  cinnamon, and cloves. In addition, you add kombu, which is a dried seaweed, to the mixture. It adds an extra umami to the broth. I had some in my pantry from making shio ramen. If you don't have any and can't find it, you can leave it out. 

This soup is similar to pho, in that you garnish it with lots of veggies and herbs after cooling. 

Ingredients in this Chicken and Rice Soup:

Chicken broth: I used homemade bone broth, but you can use store bought chicken broth or stock. 

Chicken: Use shredded chicken from roasted chicken pieces or a rotisserie chicken. 

Dried Kombu: See note above about this optional ingedient. 

Fresh Ginger: Peeled, cut into coins, and smashed. 

Spices: Star anise, cinnamon, and cloves.

Sugar: Brown or palm sugar. 

Rice: Use glutinous/sticky short grain rice. 

Fish Sauce: My favorites are Red Boat or Megachef. 

Toppings: Scallions, onions, jalapeños, and cilantro. 

To make this chicken and rice soup, you first cook the broth with the kombu, ginger, and spices for about 8 minutes. 

Next, you remove the kombu, ginger, and spices from the Instant Pot with a slotted spoon and then add the rice, some sugar, and fish sauce and cook on high pressure for one minute. 

Finally, add shredded chicken and taste the broth to adjust the salt in the soup.

Serve the soup with the herbs and vegetables.

Note: If you don't already have shredded chicken, you can add a few skinless boneless chicken thighs during the first round of pressure cooking, shred it while the rice is cooking, and add it to the final soup. 

For more great Multicooker Monday recipes, be sure to check out this list using either the Instant Pot and the Crock Pot:

• A Day in the Life on the Farm slow cooks a Beef and Sweet Potato Stew 
• Magical Ingredients sips some Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate 
• Making Miracles serves up Slow Cooker Pork Chops and Gravy 
• Palatable Pastime ladles out  Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup 
• Sneha’s Recipe shares Tomato Egg Pulao - Pressure Cooker 
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories gives us Vietnamese-Style Chicken and Rice Soup (Instant Pot)

Recipe adapted from Dinner in an Instant by Melissa Clark. I've bought it for myself, and several times as a gift.