Pho is a Vietnamese soup, usually made from a beef broth, rice noodles, and thinly sliced beef, and is often served with bean sprouts and other fresh herbs such as thai basil. After going to some vegan restaurants that served Pho, I got inspired and hooked up with the idea to make my own version! And I am glad we tried it out because it was such a fun experience, easier than I expected and I definitely recommend you try it too, if you haven't already. In addition, you will definitely blow your friends and family away with this unique dish. Because Pho is not just a noodle soup,... it has flavors that you won't experience every day and looks stunning too! So make sure to try it out! ;)
Pho Ingredients
Lemongrass - Lemongrass is one of my favorite flavors and adds a nice touch of exotic citrus flavor to this recipe.
Noodles - Ideally we recommend using vermicelli or rice noodles. Your decision! However, what we do NOT recommend is using wheat noodles for Pho, as these noodles are usually more suitable for Ramen.
Cinnamon Barks - Although this recipe is often made with cinnamon sticks, it works perfectly well with cinnamon barks as well.
Whole Chilies - To spice it up we used red, whole chilies but feel free to use any other ingredient.
Tofu - The tofu has to be fairly firm so that it doesn't crumble.
Pho Tips
Noodles - After a few tries with different types of noodles, we finally found our favorite for Pho; rice noodles! Again, we suggest not using any type of wheat noodles as it would result in a different dish.
Cutting your spices and veggies - Since the spices are only there to add flavor to the broth, don't cut or dice them too small. The vegetables should be bite-sized, not too big, but also not too small so that they don't soften too quickly.
Vegetable Choice - While I think the ultimate veggies for this dish are mushrooms, carrots, and bok choy, you can add other veggies you think would work.
Ingredients
Hard - 4 to 5 servings - 1 hour 2 onions, quartered
4 garlic cloves, quartered
⅓ cup fresh ginger, sliced
3 cinnamon barks
1 tsp peppercorns, heaped
6 whole cloves
11 cups water
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 tsp salt
3 red chilies, sliced in half
1 lemongrass stalk
6 tsp soy sauce
2 carrots, sliced
22 mushrooms, sliced
4 cups bok choy, chopped
*some additional vegetable oil for cooking
Recommended Garnishes
fresh bean sprouts
lime or lemon slices
fresh green onion slices
Instructions
Measure and prepare all ingredients. Cut the vegetables into medium thick slices and dice your garlic, onions, and ginger. For the lemongrass, cut it horizontally in the middle so that the flavors will meld in more easily.
In a large pot at medium to high heat, add onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon barks, peppercorns and cloves and ‘toast’ them for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add in the water,vegetable bouillon cube, lemongrass and red chilies and bring to a boil. Then, reduce to a simmer, cover with a lit and let it cook for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare your tofu. Heat oil in a pan and sprinkle coarse salt evenly into the pan. Add in the sliced tofu and ‘fry’ both sides until golden brown (you might have to reduce the heat). Then, remove them from the heat and set aside.
After your broth has been cooked for approximately 30 minutes, use a strainer to catch out all the onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon barks, peppercorns, and cloves. When you are just left with the broth, add in the soy sauce, carrots, mushrooms and bok choy and let simmer for about 10 minutes (or until the vegetables start to soften).
Now cook your rice noodles. Take a bowl, add in the rice noodles and cover them with hot boiling water and let sit for about 1 minutes (until al dente).
Make your bowl; add an amount of rice noodles, pour the veggies with the broth on top and add the tofu. Then, garnish with desired toppings and enjoy!
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