Local name: Phở chay
Vietnam's great noodle soup gone plant-based, a broth scented with star anise and cinnamon, rice noodles, tofu and a pile of fresh herbs.
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Charring the onion and ginger is the step that gives phở its signature smoky depth. Do not skip it.
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.
This is the step that gives phở its signature smoky note. The cut faces should genuinely blacken in places, under the grill or in a dry pan; an onion simply dropped into water will not perfume the broth the same way.
Keep it at a bare simmer, uncovered, and never let it boil hard, which emulsifies particles and clouds the liquid. Then strain it carefully, without pressing the vegetables in the sieve.
Yes, and it even improves after a night in the fridge before reheating. Never cook the noodles ahead in the broth, though: they would drink the liquid and fall apart. Assemble the bowls at the last minute, boiling broth over cool ingredients.
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Fermented pastes, kombu and dried shiitake, tofu and high heat — four sources of flavour that stand in for meat in Chinese, Japanese and Korean cooking.
Learn to make dashi without bonito, tell the forms of tofu apart, and build a Japanese vegetarian meal from small plates.
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