Phở Real It’s Vegan

September 7, 2014

I’m a huge fan of soup, any time and any where. Once I figured out how to make delicious vegan phở at home I was hooked. For this recipe you will need cooking utensils such as a stainless steel basket strainer,

and a large tea infuser.

 

You can use an electric steamer if you wish and you don’t have to use a tea infuser for your spices if you don’t have one. Making a bouquet garni will work as well, or you can have all of the spices free floating while cooking and then strain before serving.

If you’re looking to buy your own set of large, medium or small phở bowls, great places to search are Asian grocery stores or markets. There you will also find different kinds of spoons and dipping bowls as well. We use these bowls ALL of the time; it’s an investment definitely worth making.

I hope you give this soup a try, it looks like a lot of steps but trust me it’s easy if you prep and stay organized! Your kitchen will smell like heaven and this soup, bursting with flavour, will feel like Christmas dinner in your mouth 🙂

Vegan Phở

Serves 4 (large bowl servings)

Ingredients

Broth
2 900mL cartons of organic vegetable stock
6 cups of water
1 large sweet onion, peeled, cut into wedges and sections separated
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and flattened with a knife
1 piece of 2″ long ginger root, peeled
4 star anise
3 sticks of cinnamon
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp tamari
2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 vegetable bouillon cube

Vegetables, Proteins & Noodles (oh my!)
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into rounds
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 or 1-1/2 cups of cubed tofu (1/2″ x 1/2″ they tend to expand double in size while in the broth)
1/2 pound of dried flat rice noodles (I grab whatever width is available)

Garnish
2 green onions, sliced thin
1 lime, cut into wedges
1 sprig of Thai basil per person
1/2 cup of bean sprouts per person
cilantro (optional)
tamari or favourite soy sauce
Sriracha
Hoisin sauce

1. On a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil, arrange a single layer of sweet onion, garlic and ginger root. Place in a preheated oven on broil and bake until slightly blackened.

2. Meanwhile in a dry large stock pot, add spices (star anise, cinnamon and coriander seeds) and toast on medium-low heat until fragrant; be careful not to burn. Carefully (because they’re really hot!) put toasted spices (minus cinnamon sticks) into a large tea infuser and set aside.

3. Add vegetable stock and water to stock pot, drop in toasted cinnamon sticks and tea infuser filled with spices. Remove onions, garlic and ginger from oven and add to broth. Add tamari and rice vinegar, bring broth to a boil then reduce to a simmer. 15 minutes into the simmer, add the tofu and continue to cook for another 15 minutes.

4. In a small bowl or mug, break apart bouillon cube and cover with a ladle full of broth to dissolve. Once dissolved add to broth and taste. Season with more tamari or rice vinegar if necessary. At this point I might even add an additional star anise for a more intense liquorice flavour.

5. Remove cinnamon sticks before serving but it’s optional to strain out onions, ginger and garlic; I usually keep those in. Keep hot until ready to serve.

6. While your broth is simmering, in a separate pot using a steamer basket, steam your cut vegetables for 2-3 minutes or until slightly darker in colour but still firm. Once finished, remove from heat and place in an ice bath (or in your refrigerator) to halt the cooking process. Vegetables will stay cool (or room temp) until your ready to serve and will reheat once covered in the steaming hot broth.

7. Cook rice noodles according to package instructions. I will cook the noodles shortly before serving to avoid them clumping together after draining.

8. To serve, in a large phở bowls place vegetables, then noodles and cover with piping hot broth. Garnish with any combination of prepared toppings and provide each person with a small bowl filled with Hoisin sauce for dipping their veg and tofu. Enjoy!

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