If you enjoy the fresh zing of Vietnamese cooking, but prefer to avoid eating meat, then this vegan Vietnamese Pho recipe might be just the thing. Flavored with toasted spices including cinnamon and cardamom, this mild clear soup will give you something more exciting than the usual run-of-the-mill vegetable broth while you’re on the clear liquid diet.
Those of you familiar with Pho will know that it is usually served with noodles, bean sprouts, fresh mint and other herbs and accompaniments. While we can’t have all those sides sadly, the soup base for Pho has quite a lovely and unique flavor in itself which is suited to the clear liquid diet. It contains no chili, so don’t worry you won’t experience any, umm, burning on the other end.
Vietnamese Pho is normally quite a beefy soup, and while the soy sauce will bring in some of this umami flavor, another alternative you might like to consider is vegetable-based beef stock. There are a few beef stock brands that are actually 100% plant-based, that can bring in a meatier flavor while still sticking to the vegan principle. When you’re shopping next time have a look at the options, and you might be pleasantly surprised.
Vietnamese Pho (Vegan) for clear liquid diet
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 8 cups (2L) vegetable stock*
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 3in (7.5cm) piece of fresh ginger, halved lengthwise
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tsp rice vinegar
- 5 star anise
- 4 whole cloves
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 2 cardamom pods
- 1 Tbsp whole coriander seeds
- Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Cook onion in a dry pan over high heat, until charred (not burnt). Set aside.
- In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, toast the star anise, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and coriander for approximately 3 minutes, or until fragrant.
- To the stockpot, add the charred onion, ginger and stock.
- Bring the soup to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low.
- Cover with a lid, and continue cooking for at least 30 minutes.
- Strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve to remove all solids (vegetables, spices). If there is any remaining residue, strain the soup again through cheesecloth or coffee filter paper. Discard or compost solids.
- Add brown sugar and soy sauce to the hot soup. Taste the soup, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve immediately or transfer to containers for storage.
Cooking Notes
*For a quick option you can purchase ready-made vegetable stock from the supermarket. Be sure to buy a good-quality liquid stock (not bouillon cubes) since this will determine the overall flavor of the broth. Alternatively, you could make your own.
Nutritional Info | Calories: 352cal |Proteins: 16g |Carbohydrates: 54g | Fat: 9g
