Stimulate Your Digestion with this Delicious Noodle Soup
If you ask me what I would like to eat, my answer is usually going to be "Pho". I always feel like a skit from Saturday Night Live when I try to pronounce it, but after many years I may be getting the hang of it. Maybe. People would often talk about how much work it is to make the broth though. So... y'all know that I had to try it.
I did try making it, a bunch of times. It isn't necessarily a lot of "work". Especially when compared to making other broths. It does take some practice though to get the right spices to make the delicious symphony of flavors that make up a really good pho. And it does take a little bit of time to cook in all of those flavors.
This recipe is a particularly nice balance to the big, heavy meals that most often make up Thanksgiving. The herbs and spices combined with fresh veggies and plenty of broth should help ease your digestion back from Thanksgiving. The recipe is vegan, but you could always add turkey to the finished soup. Or, you might even experiment with making it as a turkey-bone-broth-pho. If you try this, please be sure to let me know!
In any case, pho is great to have on hand for easy meals following a busy holiday weekend. Hope you enjoy this one!
Don't forget to bring the love this holiday season, folks.
Vegan Pho -- Rice Noodle Soup
Prep time: 45 minutes
Total time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
Broth:
1 quart of Vegetable Broth
1-3 quarts of water
1/2 of a large onion, peeled and cut into quarters
1 shallot, peeled and cut into quarters
6 garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
3 large carrots, cleaned and cut coarsely
3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
6-8 inch piece of lemongrass
1 cinnamon stick
4-6 star anise
6-8 cloves
1t coriander seeds
1T black peppercorns
1 inch piece of rind from lime
Handful of stems from the basil
Handful of stems from the cilantro
1/2c mushrooms
2T Bragg's amino acids or soy/tamari sauce
Cheesecloth
Soup:
Mushrooms
Broccoli
Celery
Carrots
Bok choy or other greens
1 package rice noodles
1 package tofu
3T olive oil
2T Bragg's amino acids or soy/tamari sauce
Garnish:
Basil
Cilantro
Limes
Chili garlic sauce or Sriracha
Bean sprouts
Jalapeno
Scallions
Instructions:
Make the broth:
Place all ingredients for broth (except cheesecloth) in a large soup pot. Cover.
Bring to a light boil. Reduce heat to a very light simmer. Cook covered for 1-2 hours.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for 45 minutes to an hour.
Line colander with a cheesecloth to strain the broth. Using caution, there will still be a lot of heat in the veggies/spices. Carefully, squeeze excess broth through the cheesecloth.
Broth can store covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and in the freezer for 3-4 weeks.
Prepare the soup:
Remove tofu from packaging. Place between two plates to remove excess liquid. It is best if you place a water bottle, can of beans, or something wla with some weight, on top of the plates. The extra weight will help to remove more liquid.
Prepare rice noodles according to the package.
Heat up 1T of olive oil in a large saute plan. Gently saute mushrooms, broccoli, celery, carrots, and bok choy/greens. It seems to taste best to saute each of these separately.
Drain excess liquid from tofu and pat dry. Cut into large cubes (about 1/2 inch squares).
Using the same pan large saute pan to heat up the remaining 2T olive oil. Once oil is heated, place in tofu squares. Mix to allow oil to cover all sides of tofu. Saute over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until side is browned. Stir and allow 3 or 4 sides to brown. Cover with Bragg's or soy/tamari sauce. Mix well to cover tofu with sauce, cover, and remove from heat. Allow to cool, covered, steaming, for 3-5 minutes at least.
Place a 1/2 cup of rice noodles at the bottom of a large bowl. Cover with 1/4c tofu, 2c sauteed veggies, and 2c of broth. Top with garnishes to flavor.
Enjoy!!!
