This recipe has been a LONG time coming. Apologies for the unjustifiably long delay (I've been working on it since 2014!), but on the bright side, I'm happy to share that the end result of all that time recipe testing is this super quick, super easy and SUPER delicious pho! They say good things come to those who wait, and in this instance, hot damn does that saying ring true!
Despite still not being entirely certain how to pronounce the name of this dish (is it "fuh" or is it "fo"???!), it is nonetheless one of my favourite foods ever! I first discovered the wonders of pho when on a trip to southern Vietnam in 2014 and I very quickly fell in love. The sad news though, is that typically pho is made using a bone broth which is clearly very not vegan friendly and also kind gross. Anyways. I returned home and set out to make a veggie loaded vegan version of this wonderful Vietnamese noodle soup dish and five short years later, I'm happy to finally deliver the goods.
The secret to a good pho is a good broth, and the secret to a good broth is good spices. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the two stars of the show are star anise and cinnamon, both of which give this broth a really intense depth of flavour and quite frankly, make the dish. I've never used star anise for anything else in the kitchen and truthfully I'm not entirely sure what what one do with it aside from make pho broth but the good news is that it is widely available (I got some from one of the main supermarket's here in Australia for just a few dollars) - a big plus because normally quirky spices like that are hard to source and ludicrously expense.
Aside from being vegetable based, this pho differs from the traditional ones in that the broth will not take you hours to make and brew. In actual fact, I've been making this pho for the last week every second day (I'm obsessed with it) and while I've never timed myself, I guesstimate that it takes me about 30 minutes from start to finish!
Before leaving you with the recipe, one final word of advice - use fresh herbs VERY generously to top off your pho. As with most things I eat, I use a ridiculous amount of herbs which isn't always to everyone's liking, but trust me, on this pho, ALL OF THE HERBS.
Ingredients;
(serves 3-4)
2 onions, chopped into slices approx. 1cm thick
Sesame seed oil
2 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
8 cups water + 2 vegetable stock cubes (or alternatively 2 litres veggie stock)
2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce/tamari
1 200gm packet rice noodles
1 head broccoli, cut into bite size florets
450gm firm tofu, roughly crumbled
Sesame seed oil
2 tbsp gluten free soy sauce/tamari
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
Pinch dried chilli flakes
Cracked black pepper (to taste)
Bean shoots
Vietnamese basil
Coriander
Mint
*for reference, I've divided the ingredients above into the separate elements of the dish and usually I will cook them all concurrently*
1. In a large pot over high heat (make sure it's big enough to hold 2 litres of water minimum), add a splash of sesame seed oil, then add in the onion. Cook the onion for a few minutes until it starts to lightly brown.
2. Add in the spices to your pot (cinnamon, star anise, chilli flakes, garlic and ginger) and mix around the pot with the onions for a minute or so (the smell at this stage will be magnificent, appreciate it!).
3. Turn the heat down to medium/low, then add in the water and stock cubes (or veggie stock, depending on which you're using) and soy sauce/tamari, stir and place the lid on to allow that to cook a little.
4. Place a fry pan over medium/high heat. Add in the sesame seed oil, crumbled tofu, soy sauce/tamari, hoisin, chilli flakes and pepper, then stir well. Keep stirring this every few minutes - you'll know the tofu is cooked when it starts to brown, which should take 10 minutes or so.
5. By this stage the broth should be simmering - add in the broccoli florets and rice noodles, stir through and place the lid back on. Keep an eye on this pot, stirring occasionally until your noodles are cooked which may vary depending on the thickness of the noodles you use, but typically takes a few minutes.
6. When the noodles and the tofu are both cooked, remove from the heat. Take some bowls (would suggest a relatively deep one) and pour/scoop some noodles, broth and broccoli in each. Add some of the tofu on top, along with a generous handful of bean shoots and some fresh Vietnamese basil, coriander and mint leaves and voila, you have yourself the most delicious bowl of pho ever! HAPPY DAYS!
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