Vegetarian Pho

     

     After making the Pad Thai yesterday, I thought I'd share another recipe that uses the rice stick noodles. Pho is a popular Vietnamese soup. It is one of those comfort soups, similar to chicken soup. Eaten in warm or cold weather, it just makes you feel good! The broth is flavored with aromatic spices and is a perfect contrast to the fresh herb garnishes and crunchy mung bean sprouts.

Vegetarian Pho
vegan, vegetarian, gluten-dairy free

serves 4-6

Ingredients:

Broth- (see Cook's Note below)

2-3 pieces of star anise

1- 3” cinnamon stick

4 whole cloves 

1 tsp. coriander seed
½ tsp. fennel seed

6 C. vegetable broth 

1 - 2 C. water, as needed

1 leek- wash thoroughly, leave whole or cut into a few big chunks

2 “ piece of ginger, sliced (or leave whole and smash to extract flavor)

¼ tsp. black pepper

1 ½ T. brown sugar

Soup-

1/2 pkg. 3 mm or 5 mm rice stick noodles

1 ½ - 2 C. vegetables (mushrooms, greens, snow peas, bok choy, cabbage etc,)

6-7 ounces tofu

Toppings-

Fresh herbs such as mint, Thai basil, or cilantro

Handful of mung beans, washed

Lime or lemon wedges

Hoisin sauce and Sriracha sauce (optional)

Left- soup vegetables & tofu (picture here- baby kale, snow peas, mushrooms)   

Right-garnish (mint, cilantro, mung beans, lemon)

Directions:

Broth- 

1. In a 5 quart soup pot, dry roast the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, coriander seed, fennel seed over medium high heat a few minutes, until aromatic.  Shake the pan or stir to prevent burning.

2. Add the remaining broth ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes.

I improvised here and added celery

3. After 30 minutes, strain the broth, then return it to the soup pot. Add the vegetables and tofu, simmer for a few minutes until vegetables cook and tofu heated. If needed add 1-2 cups of water. Depends on your taste. I usually add the extra water to keep the broth light.

Noodles-

While the broth is simmering, soak the rice stick noodles (follow directions the same as in the Pad Thai recipe- Pad Thai)

To serve-

Place some rice noodles in a bowl. Top with vegetables and tofu. Ladle on some broth. Then tear up some of the garnish toppings and sprinkle on top. Add a squeeze of lime or lemon. Ready to eat!

Cook’s Note: If you would like to skip making the broth, Pacific foods carries an organic vegetarian pho soup base. Pacific Organic Vegetarian Pho

Another helpful short cut is to use the 3mm noodles, the thinner the noodle the less time required for soaking.