Vegetarian Pho
Total Time
50 minutes
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
30 mins
Rating
4.6 out of 5 stars
(112)
Ingredients
4 servings
- Two 3-inch cinnamon sticks
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 star anise
- 1 large white onion*, peeled and quartered
- 4-inch piece of fresh ginger*, peeled and halved lengthwise
- 4 cups (32 ounces) vegetable stock or broth
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 6 ounces (one large handful) rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil, mild extra-virgin olive oil or your neutral-flavored oil of choice
- 5 ounces thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms
- Salt
- Mung bean sprouts
- Sprigs of fresh basil (use Thai basil if you can find it) or cilantro
- Sprigs of fresh mint
- Thinly sliced green onions (mostly green parts)
- Very thinly sliced fresh jalapeño (omit if sensitive to spice)
- Small wedges of lime
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Preparation
Chef’s notes
If you love spicy pho:
Sriracha overpowers the delicate flavors in this soup, so I don’t recommend adding any. You can add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the broth as it cooks, and/or add extra sliced jalapeño to your bowls.
Make it gluten free:
Be sure to use gluten-free tamari or soy sauce (tamari is usually gluten-free, but check your bottle to be sure).
For even more flavor:
Char your onions and ginger before adding them to the pot. If you go this route, just slice the onion in half (instead of quarters), and don’t peel the ginger. You have a few options on how to char them—you can supposedly char them with metal tongs over a gas flame (I don’t have gas, so I couldn’t try this), or broil them, cut sides down, on a baking sheet, or—the most reliable method—roast them, cut sides down, on a baking sheet, on the upper rack in a 500 degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
Mushroom alternatives:
You can just omit the mushrooms altogether (I’d actually stir a couple teaspoons of oil into the broth, for body). Untraditional alternatives include crispy tofu or steamed edamame.