March 25, 2014 March 25, 2014/ Morgan
Need a big bowl of awesome today? You’ve got to try this! If you’re a fan of Pho (“fu”) you will no doubt be excited to dive in to a bowl as soon as you can. NOW, just a little caveat: I do not claim that this is authentic in any way. There, now that’s out of the way let’s focus on making (but mostly EATING) a delicious veggie and tofu noodle soup!!
This pho starts with a very fragrant broth and then you add in tons of different fixin’s! It’s a great soup for a group of people that all like things a little different. You can make your own bowl extra spicy, extra brothy, with more Baked Ginger Tofu, tons of cilantro, or however you desire! I like lots and lots of herbs, lime juice and chili garlic paste – yummmy!!
Oh and with tons of the Baked Ginger Tofu. It is, by far, my favorite baked tofu recipe to date!
Vegan pho is a much lighter soup than a traditional meat pho but I really prefer it like this! (Lighter just means that I don’t feel so heavy and gross after eating a huge bowl.)
Oh and I had to throw in a picture below of what it looks like once you start devouring it. It’s still gorgeous and tempting once you stir everything together.
- 4 large shallots, cut in half lengthwise
- 2 large thumb size pieces of ginger, cut in half lengthwise
- 6 carrots, roughly cut into chunks
- 2 stalks of lemongrass, tops and bottoms trimmed off and sliced into 1/2″ pieces
- 1 whole bulb of garlic, peeled and smashed
- 3 whole star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 10 cups of water
- reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce to taste (I used a bit more than 1/4 cup. You may want more or less.)
- juice of 2 small limes
Preheat your broiler and place the shallots and ginger, cut side up on a baking sheet. Cook until they are charred and blackened in spots along the top.
Throw the shallots, ginger and everything else into a large soup pot and bring to a boil. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat to low and simmer for 90 minutes (You can also do this in your pressure cooker the same as you would make any broth.) Strain through a fine mesh strainer and discard the stuff left in the strainer.
You can make this broth ahead of time and refrigerate it or freeze it if you like. We freeze soup broths in large wide mouth mason jars (leave around an inch of headspace to prevent breaking your jars!)
Baked Ginger Tofu
This is my FAVORITE baked tofu recipe ever. I could eat it every day. It is super delicious in this soup!
After you have pressed your tofu and sliced it up place it in a zip top bag. Add in all of the remaining ingredients, close the bag and press all of the air out. Let the tofu marinate in the bag for half an hour or longer.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat. Place the tofu on the lined baking sheet in a single layer.
Bake for 20 minutes and then take out and flip. Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned.
Vegan Pho Soup
- Vegan Pho Broth (recipe above!)
- 3/4-1 lb wide rice noodles
- lime wedges
- mung bean sprouts
- reduced sodium tamari
- sriracha or chili garlic paste
- minced jalapenos or serrano peppers
- baby bok choi or sliced cabbage, blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds
- cilantro
- basil (thai basil if you can find it!)
- mint
- shredded carrots
- sliced green onions
- thinly sliced red onion or shallots
- sliced Baked Ginger Tofu (recipe above!)
I’m not kidding when I say that the herbs (cilantro, basil and mint) are NOT optional! Neither is the lime juice. Those just make this soup what it is. Beyond that, feel free to use what you like and leave out what you don’t. Adding every one of these things will result in a super amazing soup that is very refreshing and satisfying!
Boil the noodles in water until they are cooked according to the package directions. Drain them and add them to each bowl. Ladle some soup broth on top.
I like to set up the table with all of the fixings laid out so that everyone can add what they want in the amounts that they want.
This soup has all of the qualities and ingredients to balance out a great mix of salty, sweet, sour and spicy so add extra tamari, lime juice and hot sauce as needed!
March 25, 2014/ Morgan/ 
