Credit: Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt The pressure cooker makes chicken fall‑off‑the‑bone tender quickly, infusing spices and keeping broth clear without skimming. 30-Minute pho ga is ready in under half an hour, delivering rich, fat‑slicked broth and tender meat like the bowls enjoyed on a Vietnam honeymoon. The author now cooks from his in‑laws’ apartment in Bogotá, Colombia, at 8,000 feet altitude, where thin air slows cooking and a small 27-inch MacBook Air limits photo editing.

Working away from home creates inefficiencies: unfamiliar workspaces, limited kitchen tools, and new ingredients, including hard‑to‑find rock sugar. Yet an electric pressure cooker, which holds pressure independently of altitude, lets him achieve sea‑level results despite 10.5 psi ambient pressure. 15 to 20 minutes in the cooker yields gelatin‑rich broth, and the lack of boiling reduces cloudiness, eliminating the need for constant skimming.

Colombian markets supply chicken, cilantro, onions, and even fish sauce and thin vermicelli noodles, though rock sugar is scarce; panela or brown sugar substitutes work. After a quick strain, the soup is served with fresh herbs, bean sprouts, sliced onions, scallions, and lime wedges, completing a 20 minutes preparation from fridge to table.