Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup

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~

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:

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! 🙂

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.

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! 🙂

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 the 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 with a wooden spoon. Give it a quick mix.

Pressure Cook HK Borscht Soup

Add the beef shank pieces back in the 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.

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

• Pressure Cooking Method: Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 12 minutes + 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.

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).

*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).

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.

Enjoy your Instant Pot HK Borscht Soup!~ 🙂

Tools for HK Borscht Soup Instant Pot Recipe

• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker (6qt)
• Bamboo Wooden Spoons

Other Instant Pot Soup Recipes

Instant Pot Tomato Soup

Instant Pot Pork Shank Carrot Soup

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup