Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup

Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup | Pressure Cooker HK Borscht Soup | Instant Pot Soup | Pressure Cooker Soup | Instant Pot Recipes | Pressure Cooker Recipes

Easy to make Cha Chaan Teng Classic Flavorite: Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup with simple healthy ingredients! Comforting Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup with a balance of savory-sour-sweet flavors, spiced with a hint of paprika.

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Hong Kong Borscht Soup Instant Pot

One of Cha Chaan Tengs’ (Hong Kong Style Restaurant) most iconic characteristics is their Hong Kong Style Western Cuisine (Chinese: 港式西餐).

The set meals often come with a Main Course + HK Style Drink (i.e. HK Milk Tea) + Soup.

Then, you’d get to pick either Chinese Soup (Chinese: 中湯 or 例湯) or Western Soup (Chinese: 西湯).

Western Soups are almost always:

  • White Soup = Cream of Mushroom Soup (Chinese: 忌廉湯 or 白湯) or
  • Red Soup = Hong Kong Style Borscht Soup (Chinese: 羅宋湯 or 紅湯)

And I’m always torn between picking which soup to get!! heh~

Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup

What is HK Borscht Soup?

As you can see, Hong Kong Borscht Soup is not the blood-red Ukrainian beet-based sour Borscht soup topped with a dollop of sour cream.

However, this “Chinese Borscht” was in fact introduced by Russian refugees who migrated to Shanghai.

Hence the Chinese name: 羅宋湯, which derived from the pronunciation of “Russian Soup”.

Since Shanghai doesn’t have the suitable environment to plant beets, plus the Shanghaiians were not used to the sour flavors, this “Chinese Borscht” doesn’t include beets at all. But rather, Beef, Cabbage & Tomatoes.

It was not until the 1940s, with the influx of immigrants from Shanghai to Hong Kong, that this soup was brought alive in Hong Kong.

We’ve been having so much fun recreating all sorts of Cha Chaan Teng Food with our Instant Pot, and are thrilled to share this Classic HK Borscht Soup with you!! 😀

How to Make Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup

Here are the ingredients for cooking Hong Kong Borscht in Instant Pot:

Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup Recipe Ingredients

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Dump & Start Method


For Dump & Start method, cut beef shank into bite-size pieces.

Then, add all the ingredients in Instant Pot, and jump straight to “Step 4: Deglaze”.

The Dump & Start Method will still be tasty! 🙂

1

Brown Beef Shank


Heat up Instant Pot using Sauté More function.

*Tip: For older version, press “Saute” button, then “Adjust” button. For newer version, press “Saute” button twice.

Pat dry, then generously season one side of the beef shank with salt + black pepper.

Drizzle inner pot with 1 tbsp olive oil. Then, brown the seasoned side of the beef shank in Instant Pot.

brown beef shank

Season the other side of beef shank with more salt + black pepper.

*Pro Tip 1: Brown the two sides of Beef Shank in Instant Pot for 5 minutes per side.

*Pro Tip 2: I recommend preparing the remaining ingredients while the Instant Pot is preheating and the beef shank is browning. This way you will save a lot of time! 🙂

2

Saute Onions & Vegetables


Rest browned beef shank on a chopping board.

Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup: browned beef shank in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Add sliced onions in Instant Pot, then saute until soften (roughly 3 minutes).

saute onions until soften

Add crushed garlic, celery chunks, carrot chunks, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp (4g) paprika, and 3 tbsp (45ml) tomato paste in Instant Pot. Saute for another 2 minutes.

Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup: saute vegetables in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Then, add in the quartered tomatoes.

add in quartered tomatoes

3

Cut Beef Shank


While the onions are being sauteed, cut beef shank into bite-size pieces.

cut beef shank into bite-size pieces

4

Deglaze


Pour in 1 cup (250ml) unsalted chicken stock or high-quality beef stock, then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Give it a quick mix.

deglaze with unsalted chicken stock

5

Pressure Cook HK Borscht Soup


Add the beef shank pieces back in the Instant Pot. Don’t forget all the meat juice!

Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup: add beef shank in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Pour in 4 cups (1L) unsalted chicken stock or high-quality beef stock.

add in unsalted chicken stock

Layer the potato chunks + cabbage pieces on top.

layer potatoes and cabbage on top, then pressure cook borscht soup

Close lid, turn the Venting Knob to the Sealing position.

  • Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 12 minutes + Full Natural Release

pressure cook at high pressure for 12 minutes, then full natural release

*Pro Tip: The natural release should take roughly 30 minutes. If the pressure doesn’t get fully released after 30 minutes, slowly turn the Venting Knob to the Venting position to release the remaining pressure.

6

Thicken & Season


Use the Saute function to bring the soup to a boil.

*Tips for Thicker Soup: Give the soup a few quick stirs with a ladle to break up the potatoes, then let it boil for another 5 minutes. You can also add some cornstarch + water mixture in the soup (this is what some Hong Kong restaurants do).

use saute function to bring borscht soup to a boil, stir to break up potatoes

*Pro Tip: This is totally optional, but add in a tablespoon of fish sauce for another extra layer of flavor. Ah yes..we can’t help it but boost it up with some umami-ness. 😉

Taste and season the soup with more salt + paprika (if desired).

season and thicken borscht soup in Instant Pot

For reference, we used a bit more than a tablespoon of salt to season the soup. We also added in a few more teaspoons of paprika.

Hong Kong Borscht Soup

Enjoy your Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup!~ 🙂

Tools for HK Borscht Soup Instant Pot Recipe

4.98 from 43 votes

Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup

Author: Amy + Jacky
Make Cha Chaan Teng Classic Flavorite Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup in Pressure Cooker. Extremely easy to make with simple healthy ingredients! Comforting Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup with a balance of savory-sour-sweet flavors, spiced with a hint of paprika.
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Servings 6 - 8
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Rate this Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 - 1.5 pounds (742g) beef shank
  • ⅓ - ½ (600g) cabbage , cut into pieces
  • 1 (500g) large onion , roughly sliced
  • 1 (460g) large russet potato , cut into 6 pieces
  • 4 (1lb or 454g) tomatoes (2 roma + 2 avalantino) , quartered
  • 2 (250g) medium carrots , chunks
  • 2 (160g) ribs celery , chunks
  • 4 (20g) garlic cloves , crushed
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5 cups (1.25L) unsalted chicken stock or good quality beef stock
  • 3 tablespoons (45ml) tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon (15ml) olive oil
  • 1 - 3 teaspoons (4g - 12g) paprika
  • Salt + black pepper to taste

Share this Recipe so We can create more yummy recipes for you.  Thank you 🙂

Instructions 

A. Dump & Start Method:

  • Cut beef shank into bite-size pieces. Add all the ingredients in Instant Pot, then jump straight to "Step 4: Deglaze" below. This method will still be tasty! 🙂

B. Flavor Enhancing Method:

  • Brown Beef Shank: Heat up Instant Pot using Sauté More function. Pat dry, then generously season one side of the beef shank with salt + black pepper. Drizzle inner pot with 1 tbsp olive oil. Then, brown the seasoned side of beef shank in Instant Pot. Season the other side of beef shank with more salt + black pepper. 
    *Pro Tip: Brown the two sides of Beef Shank in Instant Pot for 5 minutes per side.
  • Saute Onions & Vegetables: Rest browned beef shank on a chopping board. Add sliced onions in Instant Pot, then saute until soften (roughly 3 minutes). Add crushed garlic, celery chunks, carrot chunks, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp (4g) paprika, and 3 tbsp (45ml) tomato paste in Instant Pot. Saute for another 2 minutes. Then, add in quartered tomatoes.
  • Cut Beef Shank: While the onions are being sauteed, cut beef shank into bite-size pieces.
  • Deglaze: Pour in 1 cup (250ml) unsalted chicken stock or high-quality beef stock, then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot. Give it a quick mix.
  • Pressure Cook HK Borscht Soup: Add beef shank pieces back in Instant Pot. Don't forget all the meat juice! Pour in 4 cups (1L) unsalted chicken stock or high-quality beef stock. Layer the potato chunks + cabbage pieces on top. Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 12 minutes + Full Natural Release.
  • Thicken & Season:
    Use Saute function to bring the soup to a boil. Give the soup a few quick stirs with a ladle to break up the potatoes, then let it boil for another 5 minutes. You can also add some cornstarch + water mixture in the soup. Taste and season the soup with more salt + paprika if desired (For Reference: we added ~1 tbsp Salt + few more tsp Paprika here). 
    *Pro Tip (Optional): add 1 tbsp Fish Sauce for an extra layer of flavor.  😉

Notes

Rate Amy + Jacky's Recipe: If you've tried our recipe, rate the recipe in the Comments section. Thank you!
Calories: 237kcal
Course: Dinner, Soup
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Hong Kong
Keyword: hong kong borscht soup, instant pot borscht soup, pressure cooker borscht soup

Nutrition

Calories: 237kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 187mg | Potassium: 1180mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 6440IU | Vitamin C: 47.7mg | Calcium: 102mg | Iron: 3.3mg
Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup | Pressure Cooker HK Borscht Soup | Instant Pot Soup | Pressure Cooker Soup | Instant Pot Recipes | Pressure Cooker Recipes #instantpot #pressurecooker #soup #recipes #easy #chinese #healthy
Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup | Pressure Cooker HK Borscht Soup | Instant Pot Soup | Pressure Cooker Soup | Instant Pot Recipes | Pressure Cooker Recipes #instantpot #pressurecooker #soup #recipes #easy #chinese #healthy
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