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Vegetarian Pho Soup

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This recipe works in an 8 quart instant pot. If you have a smaller instant pot, reduce the ingredients and water amounts to fit your pot. Charring all the vegetables on the grill brings a deep, intense flavor to the soup. Keep in mind that the pho (pronounced “fuh” not “foe”) broth, on its own, is not finished. There isn’t much salt, so it is a little bitter and a bit bland before the finishing ingredients (miso, lime juice, soy sauce) are added.

  • Author: Mary Leir
  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 60
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: 10 1x
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: Thai

Ingredients

Scale

Vegetarian Pho Broth

  • 1 large onion peeled and quartered
  • 1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger
  • 2 large leeks, tough ends cut away, halved lengthwise, cleaned
  • 2 medium turnips cut in wedges
  • 3 large carrots
  • 1 piece of Kombu (edible kelp)
  • 4 – 8 mushroom stems
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 2 stalks lemon grass, trimmed and sliced
  • 1 tsp smoked salt
  • 6 star anise pods
  • 5 whole cloves
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 1 tablespoon cardamom pods (black if you can find them)
  • 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
  •  A 2- to 3-inch cinnamon stick
  • 4.5 quarts water
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons vegan fish sauce, to taste (see below)

Vegan Fish Sauce

  • 1 teaspoon Better than Beef bouillon
  • 1 tablespoon Vegemite
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce

Soup Finishes

  • 1 tablespoon earth balance per 2 cup serving of broth
  • sliced mushrooms to taste
  • 1 teaspoon white miso per bowl
  • 1 – 2 cups rice noodles, prepared according to package directions
  • bean sprouts
  • cilantro
  • basil or thai basil
  • greens, chopped (mustard greens, radish greens, spinach or bok choy)
  • pea pods
  • green onions, sliced
  • jalapeno slices (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice, per bowl
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce, per bowl

Instructions

To make the broth

  1. Char the onion, ginger, leeks, turnips, and carrots, ideally on a natural charcoal grill. Alternatively,  scorch the vegetables by holding the pieces above a flame with tongs, or in a dry frying pan if using an electric stove, or under the broiler, or by roasting in a very hot oven (500 degrees). Turn the pieces until they are scorched black in places on all sides.
  2. When cool enough to handle, cut the leeks into slices, and cut the turnips and carrots into chunks. Slice the ginger lengthwise.
  3. Combine the charred vegetables with the water, kombu, mushroom stems, garlic, lemon grass, and salt in an 8 quart instant pot. Add the spices. Close the lid and bring to high pressure for 20 minutes. Allow pressure to naturally release for at least 30 minutes. Open the instant pot and allow the broth to cool further in order to strain and squeeze out the additional liquid from the vegetables.
  4. Once strained, add the vegan fish sauce. Strain through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. Taste and adjust salt and sugar.
  5. The broth will keep in the refrigerator for a few days and can also be frozen.

To make the soup

  1. Prepare your rice noodles by cooking them according to package directions. Rinse under warm water to remove extra starch and keep them from sticking together. Set them aside.
  2. Warm a medium soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the pho broth (2 cups per serving), mushrooms (if using) and earth balance. Bring the mixture to a simmer and heat until earth balance has melted.
  3. Once the broth is done heating, add 1 tsp white miso muddled with a little hot broth to bottom of each bowl. Place a serving of noodles into the bottom of each bowl.
  4. Add bean sprouts, chopped greens, and pea pods to  bowl.Ladle the broth, along with the mushrooms, into bowls.
  5. Top cilantro,basil, green onion slices, and jalapeno slices. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce over each bowl. Serve immediately, with chopsticks and soup spoons.

Notes

  • The recipes uses tender greens that will wilt into the warm broth. If you want to add hardier greens like kale, swiss chard, broccoli, or collard greens, consider blanching them for a few seconds in the simmering broth to make them more tender.
  • Add cubed tofu or sliced seitan for more protein.
  • Consider adding julienned radishes, daikon radishes, salad turnips, or kohlrabi for more crunch.
  • If you don’t want to make the broth from scratch, you can simmer charred onions and ginger, along with the spices, in vegetable broth for 30 minutes. Strain to discard the solids. Add vegan fish sauce, at this point and continue on to making the soup.

Find it online: http://shiftycrafty.com/vegetarian-pho-soup/