Cindy Tran’s Phở Chay

Chef Cindy Tran from Shop Bao Ngoc recently shared her recipe for Phở Chay with us for our ‘Virtually a Cook’ digital cooking class series. Enjoy this delicious vegan phở below and let us know your thoughts!

Photo: Phở Chay by Cindy Tran.

Ingredients –

For broth

1 kohlrabi – peeled, cut into cubes

½ wombok – cut into thin wedges

1 daikon – peeled, cut into cubes

1 carrot – peeled, cut into cubes

1 leek – sliced 

1 apple or pear – peeled, cut into cubes

1 corn on cob

3-7 shiitake mushroom 

For mushroom oil

1 shitake mushroom

8tbs neutral oil 

For aromatics

1 onion – whole

1 knob ginger – whole

5 star anise

1 black cardamom

2 cinnamon sticks

4 cloves

2 tbs coriander seed

1 tsp fennel seed

1 mandarin peel (3cm x 3cm)

1 kombu seaweed (5cm x 5cm)

For assembling bowl

400g fresh rice noodles

3 sprigs spring onion – chopped

1 onion – thinly sliced

1 Tofu – sliced

1 Bok Choy – quartered

(Add any vegetables you like, such as enoki mushroom, carrot, kale, broccoli)

For garnishing

500g beanshoots

Fresh herbs such as thai basil, coriander etc

1 lemon

Hoisin sauce (for dipping)

Method –

Making the broth

Wash all your vegetables thoroughly and prepare them for action.

To start broth, place vegetables into a large pot filled with 5 liters of water. Add 1 cube of rock sugar and 1 tbsp salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to about medium low. Cook the vegetables for about 2-4 hours. If you have lots of time, try simmering for 12 hours at a low heat. 

Heat 8 tbsp of oil in a wok/pan at a medium low heat. Add shitake mushroom fry until golden. Turn off heat immediately. Let the mushroom oil cool down and infuse for a few minutes.

Prepare the spices for your broth. Grill the onion and ginger directly on an open flame until charred on the outside. Toast the star anise, kombu, cinnamon sticks, mandarin peels, cloves, cardamon, fennel and coriander seeds on a pan until fragrant. Watch carefully and don’t let it burn. Peel the grilled onion. Try to keep the stem and not let the onion layers fall apart. Scrap off any excess char bits and then rinse with water. Using a spoon, scrape off the charred skin of the ginger. Slice or smash the ginger to bring out more flavour. Drop all the aromatics into your broth. You can also put the spices into a tea bag/ cheesecloth. 

Add mushroom oil to the spiced broth and continue to simmer for an hour (more if you have time). If you do choose to simmer for longer, take the onion and ginger out after an hour to avoid a slightly sour broth. If the broth reduces, add more water. 

 Season to your taste with salt, sugar, soy sauce and stock powder. Add in a teaspoon at a time. 

Assembling

Blanch noodles in boiling water for 30 seconds. Blanch any vegetables (ie bok choy) that you would like to use as toppings too.

Place a handful of the cooked noodles to occupy one third of a bowl. Top with sliced tofu and vegetables. Garnish with the thinly sliced onion and chopped spring onion. Sprinkle some pepper. 

Ladle boiling hot soup into your bowl. Serve with a plate of fresh bean shoots, thai basil and a wedge of lemon.