Best Flavored Vegan Pho Broth from Scratch

It is the broth. No really, it is all in the broth. Spending time making your own vegan pho broth is something that has so much value. Often when made commercially, the vegan versions have a lot of salt or MSG in them to enhance the flavor. However, once you make your own from scratch, there is a whole new flavor profile that emerges that can support your journey to add fresh flavor with spices, herbs, and plants. And we know this leads to increased vitality. Making the “best” flavored vegan pho broth is going to be a recipe that you put on repeat once you get the kitchen flow of down. We make this at least 1-2 times per month and sometimes more.

The most expensive food you have is the food you throw away.

Steve Roberts

my dad

One of my favorite tips came from my dad. I’m not sure where he first learned it… however it was great to hear it from him. “The most expensive food you have is the food you throw away.” Wow, that was a mind-expanding phrase the first time I heard it. And started a whole new train of thought that would lead to me taking a new look at leftover kitchen veggie scraps. Now, each week, I save the extras in the fridge. And then, once a week, I make a broth with these scraps. And when I let them percolate overnight in the slow cooker with seaweed, shiitake mushrooms, and spices, it leads to a magical most flavorful vegan pho broth. So time is a factor here too.

Using Kitchen Scraps for Vegan Pho Broth

Making a vegan version of pho does require a commitment to taking time in the kitchen to create the flavor profile. However, the umami that comes from the shiitake and kombu cooking overnight can really lead to a very full flavor profile. Once you have the broth, any number of steamed veggies can be placed on top. I have special techniques for this and washing the soba noodles that are outlined in the video below. So even though “they” said it could not be done, I kept testing and in time found a vegan pho broth that I truly love. You can add miso, soy sauce, or Bragg’s amino acids at the end as you taste preference indicates.

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After you have had a chance to learn more about how to make the dish from the video above, please find below a print out of the recipe. You can print the recipe for your own records to sample in time or share this to your Pinterest board.

Recipe INFO

Tag me if you make this at home with your own variation and process. There are so many ways to cook this dish and I would like to encourage you to be in the kitchen and experiment.

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Best Flavored Vegan Pho Broth

This broth provides a rich and wonderful flavor base for vegan pho "soup".

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time8 hrs

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Diet: Vegan

Keyword: dinner, mealprep, noodle, pho, soba, Vegan

Servings: 4 people

Serving Size:

Calories:

Author: Siri Chand Khalsa MD

Ingredients

Broth Ingredients

• 1 charred medium onion
• 2 inches charred ginger
• 2 cups of kitchen scraps or 2 cups carrots, celery, winter squash cut into large cubes
• 1/2 cup daikon radish or radish
• 2 cups of chopped greens options: kale, bok choy, collard greens, chard, dandelion
• 1 tablespoon seaweed options: nori, dulse, wakame, kelp, or kombu
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• 1-2 clove per your taste
• 1-2 star anise per you taste
• 1/8 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 3-4 peppercorns
• 2-3 fresh or dried shiitake mushrooms optional
• sea salt to taste
• 16 cups water

Pho Soup Ingredients

• 4 oz buckwheat noodles
• 1 cup steamed veggies: carrots, greens, squash, radish, bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup fresh mint
• 1 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
• dash hot sauce per your taste

Instructions

• Making this broth is the an act of love to your digestive tract. Filled with beneficial phytonutrients that noursih and sustain vitality.
• Cut the onion in half and place it with whole ginger on baking pan. Place under broiler for 5 min at 500. Let cool. Slice the ginger and onion into smaller pieces and add to the broth mixture.
• There are two main concepts to make this broth after you have done the onion and ginger (these are not so negociable)
• You can use leftover scraps are leftover from other meals you have made that week. I generally cut them up and place the extra scraps in the freezer or into the back of the fridge. Then when i am ready to make the broth once per week, I take them out and use.
• Or you can use of blend of veggies to make the broth as noted.
• I place all the broth ingredients in the slow cooker overnight on low or medium setting. When I wake up in the morning, the whole house smells amazing.
• Once the broth is cooked, strain the spices and veggies out. This broth can now have miso or other flavors added.
• Typically I use buckwheat soba noodles and cook per the package instructions. However, the real shift came for me when I learned to rinse the noodles. It made everything so much tastier.
• You can then steam the vegetables and tofu that you would like to place on top. Check out the video to see the technique.
• Combine the broth, miso, steamed veggies into a bowl. It can then be topped with hot sauce, sesame seeds, cilantro, lime, or other flavors that you love.

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