Instant Pot Vietnamese Shredded Beef is an incredibly flavorful main entrée loaded with palate-pleasing unique flavors. Serve it up with rice or use it in a bun for an otherworldly meal!
While my experience with Vietnamese food is far from extensive, I absolutely adore the sweet, sour, umami flavors that are typical in the delicious cuisine.
My Vietnamese Sticky Chicken is a great example of a dish that hits all of the amazing flavors your palate loves to keep you coming back for more.
Colors of the world, spice up your life!
The lemongrass sauce involved in this shredded beef recipe is out of this world!
Essentially, you’re looking at a lovely meal to make when you’re craving something with big, bold flavors that you don’t necessarily come across every day.
To simplify the preparation of this recipe, I use lemongrass paste instead of fresh lemongrass.
While fresh lemongrass is indescribable in its beautiful flavor, I’ve found the paste works just as well and it cuts down on a great deal of time. If you’re familiar with cooking with fresh lemongrass, feel free to use fresh instead!
Lemongrass paste is found in the produce section of the grocery store, typically near the fresh herbs.
What should we serve with this Vietnamese Shredded Beef? Well, because I’m as basic as it gets, I’m all about some steamed brown rice.
If you’d like, you can serve it up on a bun as a sandwich. Turn it into tacos or burritos for a little fusion action.
Let’s make this glorious shredded beef, shall we?
How to Make Instant Pot Vietnamese Shredded Beef:
Cut the roast into large chunks. Sprinkle the chunks with sea salt, black pepper, and onion powder on all sides.
Plug in your Instant Pot and press “Sauté.” Add the avocado oil and chopped onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to turn brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Scoot the onion off to one side of the pressure cooker and add the chunks of roast.
Sear on two or three sides for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden-brown.
In a bowl (or blender), combine the broth, lemongrass paste, garlic, lime juice, and coconut aminos. Pour this sauce mixture into the pressure cooker.
Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and press Manual/Pressure Cook and set the time for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Leave the steam vent sealed and be sure you’re on the default High setting.
After the Instant Pot has run its course, let it naturally release all the way and go into Keep Warm mode for at least 1 hour (I typically do 2).
Transfer the beef to a cutting board and use two forks to shred it.
Put the meat back into the Instant Pot to soak up the juices for at least 10 minutes (while you’re preparing any side dishes, etc).
How Long To Pressure Cook Shredded Beef:
Here’s where I may lose some of you. While Instant Pots are known for their – well – instant results, I still pressure cook large hunks of beef for a decent amount of time to ensure it turns out nice and tender.
While you can get away with pressure cooking beef for 30 minutes or so, I always go for at least one hour AND I allow the pressure cooker to naturally release and go into Keep Warm mode for an hour after it has finished pressure cooking.
This process is what ensures your beef turns out flavorful and tender. It may seem like a grand amount of time, but I assure you, the result is well worth it!
How to Make Crispy Caramelized Shredded Beef:
Once the beef has finished pressure cooking and you have it all shredded, you can do this extra step to make it extra delicious.
Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat on the stove top and add 1 to 2 scoops of the Vietnamese Shredded Beef, including some juices.
Stirring occasionally, allow the beef to caramelize in the juices until crispy and the sauce is nice and thick.
Serve and enjoy!
And that’s it! I hope you enjoy this flavor adventure as much as I do!
More Instant Pot Shredded Meat Recipes:
- Instant Pot Shredded Beef Tacos
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork with Pineapple
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork and Apples
Sweet, sour, umami shredded beef for life!
If you make this shredded beef recipe, feel free to snap a photo and share it on Instagram, tagging @The.Roasted.Root.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
- 4 - 5 lbs beef roast, chopped into large chunks
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth or beef broth
- 3 Tbsp lemongrass paste
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup or brown sugar
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup liquid aminos*
Instructions
- Cut the roast into large chunks (I do about 8 chunks). Sprinkle the chunks with sea salt, black pepper, and onion powder on all sides.
- Plug in your Instant Pot and press “Sauté.” Add the avocado oil and chopped onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to turn brown, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Scoot the onion off to one side of the pressure cooker and add the chunks of roast.
- Sear on two or three sides for 3 to 4 minutes, until golden-brown.
- In a bowl (or blender), combine the broth, lemongrass paste, garlic, lime juice, and coconut aminos. Pour this sauce mixture into the pressure cooker.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and press Manual/Pressure Cook and set the time for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Leave the steam vent sealed and be sure you’re on the default High setting.
- After the Instant Pot has run its course, let it naturally release all the way and go into Keep Warm mode for at least 1 hour (I typically do 2).
- Transfer the beef to a cutting board and use two forks to shred it. Put the meat back into the Instant Pot to soak up the juices for at least 10 minutes (while you’re preparing any side dishes, etc).
Notes
