Bún Riêu Chay (Vegetarian Tomato Noodle Soup)
Fall in love with Bún Riêu Chay, the most soothing Vietnamese vegetarian noodle soup! It's topped with a delicious assortment of tomatoes, mushrooms and tofu, which makes for a great weekend meal!
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 3 hr 30 min
- Yield
- 10 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 800 g / 1.8 lb daikon
- 500 g / 1.1 lb pear
- 500 g / 1.1 lb red apples
- 250 g / 0.6 lb carrots
- 900 g / 2 lb chayotes
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 25 g / 0.06 lb ginger
- 2 L / 8.5 US cup coconut water
- 5 L / 21 US cup water
- 2 US cup lion's mane mushrooms ((or to preference))
- 2 US cup shiitake mushrooms ((or to preference))
- 700 g / 1.54 lb tomatoes
- 1 Bún Riêu Chay stock cube
- 1 1/4 tbsp salt, or to taste
- 10 g / 0.2 lb rock sugar, or to taste
- 2 1/4 tbsp vegetable stock powder
- 7 tbsp vegan fish sauce
- 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1/4 US cup water ((to dilute the tamarind paste))
- king oyster mushrooms
- enoki mushrooms
- 100 g / 0.22 lb oyster mushrooms ((for blending with the vegetarian ham))
- 4 eggs
- 300 g / 0.66 lb silken tofu ((for mixing with the vegetarian ham and oyster mushrooms))
- fried tofu
- 300 g / 0.66 lb vegetarian ham ((plus more to be served as a sliced topping))
- burdock gean
- tomato paste
- vegetable stock powder
- vegan fish sauce ((for the vegetarian ham and tofu mix))
- cooking oil
- bean sprouts
- water spinach
- Thai basil
- Vietnamese coriander
- mint
- lizard's tail
- lemon/lime
- thin rice vermicelli noodles
Instructions
- 1
On medium to high heat, cook the stock fruit, vegetables, lemongrass and shiitake and lion's mane mushrooms in a large pot of water for 3 hours or until soft. Scoop them out when they have softened, separating the mushrooms to use as a topping for later.
- 2
While the stock is cooking, use a food processor to process the vegetarian ham and oyster mushrooms until well combined.
- 3
Set up a steamer and mix in the tofu,1 tbsp vegan fish sauce and eggs.
- 4
Steam the dish for 15 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes to firm up.
- 5
Roughly chop the tomatoes into chunks and slice the shiitake and lion's mane mushrooms into 1/2 cm (0.2") thick.
- 6
Heat up a pan with 2 tbsp cooking oil and simmer the tomatoes with 1 tbsp vegan fish sauce, 1 tsp vegetable stock powder and 4 tbsp tomato paste for 15 minutes or until they have consistency of fresh tomato sauce, then pour into the broth.Note: During cooking, use a utensil to flatten each chunk.
- 7
Pour 1 tbsp cooking oil into the same pan over high heat and stir fry the mushrooms with 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste and 1/2 tsp salt for 3 minutes.
- 8
Repeat the previous step with the remaining toppings.
- 9
Turn up the heat to high and transfer the cooked contents into the stock broth and season with the Bún Riêu Chay stock cube, vegetable stock powder, salt, rock sugar and vegan fish sauce. When it boils, lower the heat to a simmer and add the coconut water in.
- 10
Mix the tamarind paste with water to dissolve it, then pour it into the vegetable broth.
- 11
Bring another pot of water to boil and cook the rice vermicelli noodles for 5 minutes or until al dente. Run the cooked noodles under cold water to cool, then set in a colander to drip dry.
- 12
Cook the water spinach in the broth and assemble your bowl with noodles, toppings and hot soup.
- 13
Serve topped with fresh garnish and a squeeze of lemon!