Pho Recipe

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped fine
6 garlic cloves, minced
¼ ounce dried porcini mushroom, rinsed and minced
1/4 cup water
6 cups water
4 cups vegetable broth
1 pound portobello mushroom caps, gills removed, caps halved and sliced thin
3 stalks lemon grass, trimmed to bottom 6 inches and bruised with back of knife
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce, plus extra for seasoning
4 star anise pods
2 whole cloves
6 ounces (1/4-inch-wide) rice noodles
1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce, plus extra for seasoning
Salt and pepper
2 ounces (1 cup) bean sprouts
½ cup fresh Thai basil leaves
Lime wedges

Directions

Using 1/4-inch-wide rice noodles is important for the success of this soup; do not substitute other types of noodles. Be sure not to overcook the rice noodles or else they will become mushy.

1. On stove top in large soup pot cook onion, garlic, porcini mushrooms stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in water, broth, portobello mushrooms, lemon grass, soy sauce, star anise, and cloves. I like to put the star anise, cloves and lemon grass in a filter paper bag so they can be removed more easily after cooking. Bring to a boil, stir, turn heat to simmer and cover and cook until portobello mushrooms are tender around 1 hour.
2. Stir noodles into soup, bring to boil and cook for 5 minutes or until noodles are tender. Discard lemon grass, star anise, and cloves. Stir in Sriracha and season with salt, pepper, extra soy sauce, and extra Sriracha to taste. Top individual portions with bean sprouts and basil and serve with lime wedges.

Modified from a recipe on America’s Test Kitchen. Nobody tests recipes like ATK, so you can their recipes to the bank. They have a great vegan cookbook out, The Complete Plant-Based Cookbook, and I highly recommend it for all.

Check out the sunflower cheddar recipe here

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