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A square picture of a bowl with vegan pho made from scratch
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5 from 2 votes

Vegan Pho

Vegan Pho, a super comforting Vietnamese food, nutritious and full of protein. Perfect for a cozy day, this dish is tasty, healthy and delicious!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Main Dish, Soup
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Diet: Vegan
Servings: 4
Calories: 283kcal
Author: Iosune Robles

Ingredients

  • 4 pieces star anise
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 2 small or 1 big cinnamon sticks
  • 4 cardamom pods
  • 1 tablespoon cilantro seeds
  • 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorn
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves peeled and chopped
  • 1 2-inch piece of ginger root peeled and chopped
  • 4 cups vegetable broth or store-bought or homemade vegan beef broth
  • 4 cups water
  • 8 oz seitan sliced
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce
  • 4 oz dried rice noodles
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Mix all the spices in a pot (star anise, cloves, cardamom, cilantro seeds, and black peppercorn) and golden brown over medium-high heat for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
  • Add the vegetable broth, water, onion, garlic, ginger, and seitan. Stir and simmer for about 20-30 minutes (I cooked it for 20 minutes).
  • Set aside, strain the broth and discard the spices and veggies. Keep the broth and seitan.
  • Pour the broth again into the pot and add brown sugar and tamari or soy sauce. Stir and set aside.
  • Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse.
  • I like to serve Pho with some rice noodles, broth, seitan and some toppings like cilantro, basil, soybeans, and chopped chili pepper. You can also eat it plain or with onion, lime juice or even add Sriracha sauce. 
  • Keep the leftovers separately in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Notes

  • If you can’t find some of the spices, don’t worry, omit them or use similar ones instead. 
  • You can use any kind of sweetener instead of brown sugar.
  • Substitute the tamari or soy sauce with salt to taste if you don’t eat soy.
  • Try the broth before serving to check if you need to add more salt. 
  • Feel free to add spaghetti or any other kind of pasta instead of rice noodles, although traditional Pho is made with this type of pasta.
  • Add a little bit of oil if you want to eat your vegan Pho with more fat. Oil also gives the soup more flavor.
  • Seitan isn’t essential, so feel free to omit it or add tofu or tempeh as meat substitutes. 
  • If you want to reduce the amount of sodium in this recipe, use low-sodium broth and omit the tamari or soy sauce.
  • Ingredients discarded after the broth is made are not included in the nutritional information box.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 283kcal | Carbohydrates: 12.5g | Protein: 43.3g | Fat: 2.3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1727mg | Fiber: 2.7g | Sugar: 4.3g