Vegan Pho Sure

celiclu
Dec 8, 2020
2 min read

The best cooking advice I can give anyone is to look at a variety of that recipe and then create your own version of it. When it comes to making pho, a popular Vietnamese dish, some recipes require to simmer the broth for hours. I did it another way and made it vegan.

For broth:

2 quarts of vegetable stock

1 1/2 tbsp. of sesame oil (if there are allergies, skip it)

3 tbsp.soy

1 large onion

about 3 inches long of fresh ginger

3 cloves of garlic

4 whole star anise (this is necessary - this is also a safe amount - if you really love that flavor I would drop in two more) 2 cinnamon sticks

I couldn't find cloves but allspice can suffice. 1 tsp.

pinch of salt and black pepper

Peel the onion and cut into quarters or half. Peel the ginger. You can either broil it or if you have a cast iron pan, bring the heat to high and char away. No need to add any flavoring. Just make sure not to burn it, if it's a little burnt, that's okay. When it's done, place all ingredients into broth and simmer on medium high for an hour. It should not come to a full boil. Once finished make sure to take out the onion and other ingredients out of the broth. We don't want anyone eating a whole ginger.

For noodles:

8oz of rice noodles

Bring water to a high boil, cook for 4 - 5 minutes, drain, then run the noodles under cold water in your colander.

If the noodles still taste a little hard just remember that once you pour the hot broth it helps a lot.

For tofu:

One 16oz package of extra firm tofu. Cut into squares or thin rectangles. Mix in two tbsp. of soy, 1 tbsp. of sesame oil and 1 tsp. of ponzu sauce. Sautee in a non-stick pan. Season as you wish with salt and pepper. Tofu has no flavor, have fun with it. Make sure it gets a nice brown color.

For toppings:

about 1 cup of oyster mushrooms

about 1 cup of shiitake mushrooms

1 small bunch of bok choy

1 large carrot

cilantro

fresh lime

scallions

I julienned my carrots. I did my best to julienne the oyster, shiitake mushrooms, and bok choy more for aesthetic but also texture for when you bite down. Throw the mushrooms into the broth (have the broth still on medium to low), cook about 5 minutes, the carrots and bok choy about 3 minutes. I like my carrots crunchy and I didn't use all the leafy parts of the bok choy since I prefer the crunchy white part. But if you like it softer, simmer away!