Veggie Pho Recipe

I've been craving a good bowl of pho lately, so I decided to make it myself. My husband prefers ramen over pho, but I'm the absolute opposite. I like being able to make dishes like these at home so that I can control the exact ingredients & see how much fat, oil, etc. is in it.

This recipe is pescatarian friendly & can also be made vegan if you omit the fish sauce from the broth. My husband chose to cook up some chicken breast and slice it thinly to put it on top of his bowl. As a quick disclaimer, the two steps that I took which I felt like were GAME CHANGERS were searing the onions before putting them in the broth & using my own homemade veggie scrap broth.

Now onto the recipe:

Ingredients: (yields about 4 big bowls of pho)

BROTH:

• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 tbsp cloves
• 3-4 star anise
• 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp peppercorns
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 5 cups water
• 5 cups veggie broth
• 1 whole white onion
• 1 hand of ginger (4 in. piece)
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (omit to make vegan)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce or coconut aminos

TOPPINGS (all optional):

• Handful of shiitake mushrooms
• 2 baby boy choy
• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 bunch of mint
• 1 bunch of Thai basil
• 3 limes
• Sriracha or chili paste
• Oyster sauce or hoisin sauce

OTHER:

• 1 packet of rice noodles (your choice in thickness. I used Three Elephants Rice Stick Noodles, size L in thickness, 16oz.)
• Optional to add meat (my husband cooked 1 chicken breast for his pho)

STEPS:

1. Peel & cut white onion into fourths, then sear it in a pan until it has sear marks
2. Peel & cut ginger into chunks, set aside
3. In an empty & warmed dutch oven, toast all the spices for 3-4 minutes on medium heat (cinnamon, cloves, star anise, coriander, peppercorns) until fragrant
4. Pour broth & water into the dutch oven & raise the temperature to high; add onion, ginger, fish sauce (optional), sugar, & soy sauce/aminos
5. Bring broth to a boil and then simmer on low heat for an hour minimum
6. About 15 minutes before broth is done simmering, start preparing any toppings
7. Slice limes & set aside on a plate with mint, Thai basil, cilantro, and bean sprouts
8. Boil a pot of water & cook desired amount of rice noodles according to the package directions (I undercooked them from what the package said & took them out as soon as they softened). Drain the pot & rinse noodles with cold water
9. In a separate pan, lightly sear/panfry the bokchoy & mushrooms (I seasoned mine with paprika, salt, & pepper)
10. If you're choosing to cook chicken with it: pound out the chicken breast so it's thin/flat, season with paprika, garlic salt, & ground pepper, then grill until cooked. Slice into thin slices to place on top of pho
11. Place cooked noodles & veggies (or meat) into the bowl first, then pour broth on top. (Use a metal sieve to strain solids out of the broth)
12. Top with desired toppings & enjoy!