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This vegan pho soup recipe is bursting with flavor, healthy, and easy to follow. It’s made with the most delicious homemade pho broth and comes with vegetables and tofu.
Pho Bo, also known as Vietnamese noodle soup, is one of the most popular Vietnamese dishes. It’s more than just a soup cause it comes with the most delicious soup add-ons such as marinated tofu, rice noodles, vegetables, and fresh herbs.
A cozy, warming, healthy, and super delicious light meal for winter, weight loss, or when you are longing for Asian food. We could say this recipe is a welcome change to vegetable soups!
Homemade Vegan Pho Broth
Admittedly, homemade pho broth is a bit elaborate to prepare. But to achieve the most delicious flavor, you need to make it from scratch, including fresh vegetables and Asian spices – the canned vegetable broth isn’t welcome here!
Therefore, the ingredients list is a bit long, and the recipe is time-consuming yet not difficult. Even if you are not very familiar with the Vietnamese cuisine, you will succeed with this recipe.
Hence, if you look at the recipe and would prefer to walk away, stop. Take a deep breath and break the recipe into two parts! Prepare the broth on day one, pour it into a large glass bottle, and store it overnight in the fridge.
Then, when day two comes, you only need to prepare the vegetables (wash & cut), marinate and cook the tofu (whereas you could also do this one day ahead of time), reheat the broth, and here you go: Your cozy hot bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup is ready! Sounds better? Alright!
If you go crazy on pho soup, cook a large batch of the broth and freeze it in portions. → One of the best and easiest ways to endure the winter!
Traditional pho is cooked with meat, but as we are making a vegan version, you can skip this without hesitation. Asian spices such as cinnamon, star anise, and cloves make up for it!
Just to be sure, the Vietnamese kitchen doesn’t season as passionate as the Chinese or Thai kitchen does. The soup has a gentle flavor. Thus, a handful of fresh herbs are very welcome to top it off.
Pho Soup Add-Ons
Let’s go over to the exciting part, the soup ingredients! Most important: Rice Noodles! Healthy, gluten-free, and easy to prepare.
Add in some marinated tofu, shiitake mushrooms, pak choi (bok choy), fresh cilantro, and mint – that’s it! My favorite way to serve this vegan pho soup!
Feel free to vary the soup ingredient to your liking.
It tastes delicious with:
- Bean Sprouts
- Leek
- Chinese Cabbage
- Finely chopped or julienne carrots
- Scallions
- Cabbage
- Any kind of Mushrooms
Note: Since the broth is poured over the ingredients boiling hot, you don’t need to cook the vegetables beforehand. However, if you prefer softer and more digestible vegetables, you can add them with the shiitake mushrooms to the Pho broth and cook them briefly (not too long – they should still have some bite).
How To Make This Vegan Pho Recipe
Read through this visual step-by-step guide with lots of extra tips! The exact quantities and everything else you need to know for the recipe can be found in the recipe card below.
Pho Broth
- Heat a large pot with oil. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger, and roast for 3-5 minutes over high heat. → You want it lightly burned for a beautiful roasting flavor.
- Stir in carrot, leek, star anise, cloves, and cinnamon (add more oil if necessary). Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in water and soy sauce, bring to a boil, pop on the lid, and let it simmer for one hour over low to medium heat.
- Drain it over a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl/pot. Transfer back into the pot and feel free season to taste with sriracha/sambal oelek and more soy sauce. → Add a few splashes of lime juice if you like!
Marinated Tofu
- Cover the tofu in a paper towel and press to remove excess water (or use a tofu press). Cut into thin 12 slices and place them in a deep dish.
- Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, sambal oelek, ginger, and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour over the tofu and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- Heat a skillet with some oil (~1 tbsp) and cook each side of the tofu for 5 minutes until brown and lightly crispy. → Add the remaining marinade in the last few minutes to the skillet.
Pho Soup
- Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions and rinse under cold water.
- Arrange the rice noodles, tofu, and pak choi in 4 bowls.
- Add the sliced shiitake mushrooms to the pho broth and bring to a boil.
- Pour it over the bowls and top with cilantro and mint.
More Asian Recipes You’ll Love:
- Tofu Banh Mi Sandwiches
- Vegan Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce
- Udon Stir Fry
- Vegetarian Pad Thai
- Vegan Sushi
- Vegan Dumplings with Tofu
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📖 Recipe
Vegan Pho
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Ingredients
Pho Broth
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 white onion peeled and quartered
- 2 cloves cloves garlic peeled and mashed
- 2 inch piece (5 cm) ginger sliced
- 1 carrot peeled & sliced
- 1 stalk leek sliced (use both green & white parts)
- 5 star anise
- 5 cloves
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 6 cups (1 ½ L) water
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tsp sambal oelek or Sriracha, to taste
Marinated Tofu
- 7 oz (200 g) firm tofu
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil optional
- ½ tsp sambal oelek or sriracha
- ¼ tsp grated ginger
- a pinch black pepper
- 1 tbsp oil
Pho Soup
- 3.5 oz (100 g) rice noodles
- 3.5 oz (100 g) shiitake mushrooms sliced
- 2 pak choi stems separated or roughly chopped
- a bunch cilantro roughly choopped
- a bunch mint roughly choopped
Instructions
Pho Broth
- Heat a large pot with oil. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger, and roast for 3-5 minutes over high heat. → You want it lightly burned for a beautiful roasting flavor.
- Stir in carrot, leek, star anise, cloves, and cinnamon (add more oil if necessary). Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Pour in water and soy sauce, bring to a boil, pop on the lid, and let it simmer for one hour over low to medium heat.
- Drain it over a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl/pot. Transfer back into the pot and feel free season to taste with sriracha/sambal oelek and more soy sauce. → Add a few splashes of lime juice if you like!
Marinated Tofu
- Cover the tofu in a paper towel and press to remove excess water (or use a tofu press). Cut into thin 12 slices and place them in a deep dish.
- Mix soy sauce, sesame oil, sambal oelek, ginger, and black pepper in a small bowl. Pour over the tofu and let it marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- Heat a skillet with some oil (~1 tbsp) and cook each side of the tofu for 5 minutes until brown and lightly crispy. → Add the remaining marinade in the last few minutes to the skillet.
Pho Soup
- Cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions and rinse under cold water.
- Arrange the rice noodles, tofu, and pak choi in 4 bowls.
- Add the sliced shiitake mushrooms to the pho broth and bring to boil. Pour over the bowls and top with cilantro and mint.
