Vegan Pho with Scratch-Made Broth (Pho Chay)
This vegan pho recipe includes a homemade vegan broth that tastes eerily similar to beef pho broth. The entire recipe also takes just an hour to make!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 50 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 cabbage (quartered)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 piece ginger (3 inch piece)
- 8 oz shiitake mushrooms
- 5 sticks celery
- 3 carrots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 daikon (cut into 2 inch pieces)
- 32 oz vegetable broth
- 6 cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tsp granulated sugar
- 3 star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 tsp fennel seeds
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 ½ lbs pho noodles (see note 4)
- 8 oz fried tofu (homemade or store bought)
- 2 oz enoki mushrooms (optional)
- ¼ cup green onions (thinly sliced)
- ¼ cup cilantro (minced)
- ¼ cup mint (optional)
- 1 cup bean sprouts (optional)
- 1 lime (cut into wedges)
- 2 tbsp shallot oil (optional but recommended, see note 5)
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup sriracha
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to broil (~550 degrees F/288 degrees C).
- 2
Cut 1 cabbage into 4 pieces and place on a baking sheet. Add the onion and ginger to the baking sheet. Broil for 10 minutes until the edges are slightly charred.
- 3
Add 3 star anise, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 tsp of fennel seeds, and 2 tsp of coriander seeds to a small pan. Toast for 30 seconds to a minute until the spices are fragrant. Place them in the center of a 5x5 inch piece of cheese cloth. Tie the corners together to create a spice pouch, and set aside.
- 4
Place the cabbage, onion, and ginger in a large soup pot. Follow with the toasted spices, 8 oz of shiitake mushrooms, 5 celery sticks, 3 carrots, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 daikon, 1 quart of vegetable broth, 6 cups of water, and 2 tsp of salt.
- 5
Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the shiitake mushrooms and set aside. Continue simmering for 30 minutes.
- 6
While the soup is simmering, prep the rest of your ingredients. Boil the pho noodles and enoki mushrooms. Enoki mushrooms should be boiled for 30 seconds. Slice the green onions and cilantro, and fry the tofu. To fry the tofu: First, pat the tofu dry. Heat up vegetable oil to 356 degrees F and fry it on all sides until golden brown. Season with salt and set aside.
- 7
Once the soup is done simmering, add ¼ cup of soy sauce and 1 tsp of granulated sugar. Simmer for another 10 minutes before removing the soup from the heat. Taste the soup, and if it tastes bland, add more salt.
- 8
Remove all the ingredients from the broth, and prepare to serve. I like to do this with a fine mesh sieve.
- 9
Now it's time to assemble your noodle bowl! First, add a few handfuls of noodles to the bowl. Follow with the fried tofu, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, green onions, cilantro, mint, and bean sprouts. Ladle soup over the top, and finally, finish with a squeeze of lime, a drizzle of shallot oil, hoisin sauce, and sriracha. Enjoy!