← Nouns Cooking · Vietnamese

Ingredients

• 2 Onion, halved, skin on
• 60 g Ginger, halved lengthways
• 4 Star anise
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
• 1 tsp Fennel seeds
• 2.5 l Water
• 400 g Daikon radish, cut into chunks
• 3 Carrot, cut into chunks
• 300 g napa or white cabbage, roughly chopped
• 1 Apple, quartered
• 6 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 1 piece piece of kombu (10 cm) (optional)
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp rock sugar or white sugar
• 2 tbsp tamari or light soy sauce
• 400 g extra-firm tofu, sliced 1 cm thick
• 200 g king oyster or other mushrooms, sliced
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 400 g dried flat rice noodles
• 3 Spring onion, sliced
• 1 bunch Coriander (cilantro)
• 1 bunch Thai basil
• 150 g Bean sprouts
• 2 Lime, cut into wedges
• 1 Red chilli, sliced
• hoisin and sriracha, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Char the onion and ginger under a hot grill or over a gas flame for 10 min, turning, until blackened in patches. Toast the spices in a dry pan for 2 min until fragrant and tie them in a muslin bag.
2. Put the water, charred onion and ginger, daikon, carrot, cabbage, apple, shiitake and kombu in a large pot. Bring to the boil, then lower to a gentle simmer. Fish out the kombu after 10 min.
3. Add the spice bag and keep simmering, uncovered, for 50 min more.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the tofu for 3–4 min per side until golden. Sear the mushrooms in the same pan for 3–4 min with a splash of tamari.
5. Strain the broth, keeping the shiitake to slice for the bowls. Season with the salt, sugar and tamari: it should be well seasoned and slightly sweet. Bring back to a rolling boil.
6. Cook the noodles according to the packet and divide between bowls. Top with tofu, mushrooms, sliced shiitake and spring onion, ladle over the hot broth and serve with herbs, sprouts, lime and chilli.

Tips

• Charring the onion and ginger properly is what gives a meatless broth its phở depth, so don’t rush it.
• Hoisin usually contains wheat; skip it or use a gluten-free one.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Delightful Plate Vicky Pham Wok and Kin