Enjoy the magic of Pho Chay, Mum’s vegetarian version of the most recognized Vietnamese noodle soup! The broth is made from scratch and boasts its iconic flavors deeply infused with spices like star anise and cinnamon. Try it this weekend for a super satisfying meatless meal!
An iconic noodle soup made with love
Anyone who has tried one of Mum’s vegetarian recipes will know that she is an AMAZING cook, and this Pho Chay is a testimony to that.
Just like her Bún Bò Huế Chay, Bánh Canh Chay and Bún Riêu Chay, it’s a true labor of love.
In fact, you’ll find that many authentic noodle soups take almost a whole day to make!
They really show just how much dedication and commitment goes into cooking delicious Vietnamese and Chinese food, and Mum’s Pho Chay is a classic example of that.
It’s one of those recipes where the stock’s naturally sweet aromas waft through the kitchen for hours.
Then when the spice bag is added to the mix, the star anise and cinnamon flavors infuse deeply into the broth to unleash Pho’s signature flavor.
But the excitement doesn’t just end there. The noodle soup is LOADED with toppings full of texture and balanced by fragrant fresh herbs.
Try it this weekend to be blown away!
Using mock meat
Traditional beef Pho is made with rare beef slices. For our Pho Chay, Mum prefers to not use ingredients that resemble meat. Her argument is that we have so many other delicious fresh toppings so there’s no need for it.
However, there may be some of you who would like your noodle soup to closely resemble the meat version, which is why we’ve included textured soy protein in this recipe.
Textured soy protein comes dehydrated in packets from specialty Asian vegetarian shops. They need to be soaked beforehand to rehydrate prior to use. It looks very much like cooked beef and even has an earthy flavor, but is made from soy flour.
This ingredient is entirely optional, so make your Pho Chay to your prefered taste!
Why this recipe works
- Using a variety of fresh vegetables naturally sweetens the base stock without any additives.
- Premade pho seasoning keeps the flavor authentic and easy to use.
- Dried and fresh mushrooms is ideal for adding an earthy aroma to the soup that can then also be enjoyed as a topping.
What you’ll need
For the stock
About the fresh ingredients
We use vegetables that are naturally sweet. You can use any that you have available, including apple, pineapple, pear and corn.
Mum also follows Buddhist vegetarianism, which doesn’t include eating onions but you can certainly add that in if you do eat it.
For the stock seasoning
About the pho chay seasoning
All the ingredients can be found in Asian supermarkets. The seasoning packet is a pre-mix made up of spices like star anise, Chinese cinnamon bark, cloves, fennel seeds and cardomom.
If you can’t find it, buy the spices separately along with a spice filter bag to put them in when submerging it into the stock.
For the toppings
About the toppings
We used a range of vegetarian ingredients that we purchased from the Asian vegetarian shops. If you don’t have that local to you, all of these toppings can be substituted for your favorite mushrooms, tofu and vegetables.
Other alternatives include tofu skin, vegetarian ham and woodear mushrooms.
For the noodles
About the noodles
Banh pho is the type of noodle that we use for our Pho Chay recipe, which comes freshly made or dried in packets from Asian supermarkets.
Our family prefers the fresh ones because it’s already cooked and takes much less time to heat up but the dry version also works well for this recipe. It just needs longer to boil and cook.
For the garnish
About the herbs
Traditionally, this noodle soup is eaten with spring onions, bean sprouts, Thai basil and coriander. For Mum’s Buddhist vegetarianism, she doesn’t eat spring onions but you can add that in if you’d like to.
How to make this recipe
Bring the pot to a boil and add all the stock vegetables in to cook on a low simmer for a minimum of 3 hours.
When the vegetables have softened, take everything out except for the carrots and daikon. Add the snow fungus, shiitake and lion’s mane mushrooms along with the pho seasoning packet.
Heat up a pan on high heat and add 1 tbsp oil in. Add the soy protein and stir along with 1/4 tbsp vegetable stock powder. When mixed in, transfer everything into a serving dish.
Add 1 tbsp oil into the pan and pour the vegetable tofu in. Stir for 3 minutes or until lightly golden, then transfer onto a serving dish.
Pour 1 tbsp oil into the pan and add the pearl mushrooms in along with 1/4 tbsp vegetable stock powder. Stir and let it cook for 1 minute, before plating the mushrooms.
Leave the liquid in the pan and pour that into the stock pot.
Season the stock with the vegan fish sauce, rock sugar, salt and vegetable stock powder, then add the vegetarian meatballs and fried tofu in. Bring it to a low simmer for 20 minutes, then turn off the heat until just before serving.
Take the snow fungus out and cut them into chunks roughly 4cm (1.6″) wide, then thinly slice the lion’s mane mushrooms. Set aside in serving dishes.
To serve the Pho Chay, reheat the noodles in hot water or the microwave and put it into a bowl. Top with your favorite toppings, pour hot soup over the top and garnish with fresh herbs, chili and a squeeze of lime!
Recipe FAQs
If you’re using the fresh version, it can be very easy to overcook them. If you find that the brand you’re using makes noodles that break easily, skip the step where you cook it in hot water.
Yes, you definitely can! I would suggest charring the aromatics if you’re using the whole ones before adding in the water and vegetables. You’re looking at pressure cooking the soup for about 15 minutes with natural pressure release.
Tips for the best results
- Roast the aromatics. It may take a little bit more time, but use whole spices such as star anise, Chinese cinnamon bark and onions and roast them until charred like we did with our Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang. Adding this into the broth will give it much deeper flavors.
- Use coconut water. This will give the Pho Chay broth another layer of sweetness. I would suggest replacing 1L (4.22 US cup) of water with coconut water.
- Use dehydrated mushrooms. Fresh ones are great as a topping, but dehydrated shiitake and lion’s mane mushrooms gives the stock a deeper flavor.
Check out more of our favorite Vietnamese noodle soups!
- Bò Kho (Beef Stew)
- Miến Gà (Chicken Glass Noodle Soup)
- Vịt Nấu Chao (Duck and Fermented Bean Curd Hot Pot)
- Cà Ri Gà (Chicken Curry)
- Vietnamese-Inspired Tom Yum Noodle Soup
Want more home cooked recipes?
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Pho Chay (Vegetarian Pho)
Equipment
- A large pot
Ingredients
For The Stock
- 5 L / 21 US cup water
- 900 g / 2 lb cabbage
- 200 g / 0.44 lb Chinese cabbage
- 1 kg / 2.2 lb chayote (peeled and quartered)
- 400 g / 0.88 lb daikon (peeled and cut into large chunks)
- 450 g / 1 lb celery
- 550 g / 1.2 lb carrots (peeled and cut into large chunks)
- 350 g / 0.77 lb jicama (peeled and cut into large chunks)
Stock Seasoning
- 5 tbsp vegan fish sauce (we get it from the local Asian supermarket)
- 35 g / 0.08 lb rock sugar
- 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 tbsp vegetable stock powder (reserve 1/2 tbsp for stir frying the toppings)
- 30 g / 0.07 lb pho chay spices (roughly 1 bag)
For The Toppings
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 85 g / 0.19 lb soy protein (rehydrated)
- 100 g / 0.22 lb shiitake mushroom (rehydrated)
- 200 g / 0.44 lb lion's mane mushroom (rehydrated)
- 400 g / 0.88 lb pearl mushrooms (separated and washed)
- 280 g / 0.62 lb fried tofu
- 350 g / 0.77 lb vegetarian meatballs (quartered)
- 400 g / 0.88 lb fried vegetable tofu (halved diagonally)
- 100 g / 0.22 lb snow fungus (rehydrated)
For The Noodles And Garnish
- 2 packet rice noodles
- bean sprouts
- Thai basil
- coriander
- sawtooth coriander
- lime
- chili
Instructions
- Bring the pot to a boil and add all the stock vegetables in to cook on a low simmer for a minimum of 3 hours.
- When the vegetables have softened, take everything out except for the carrots and daikon. Add the snow fungus, shiitake and lion's mane mushrooms along with the pho seasoning packet.
- Heat up a pan on high heat and add 1 tbsp oil in. Add the soy protein and stir along with 1/4 tbsp vegetable stock powder. When mixed in, transfer everything into a serving dish.
- Add 1 tbsp oil into the pan and pour the vegetable tofu in. Stir for 3 minutes or until lightly golden, then transfer onto a serving dish.
- Pour 1 tbsp oil into the pan and add the pearl mushrooms in along with 1/4 tbsp vegetable stock powder. Stir and let it cook for 1 minute, before plating the mushrooms.Leave the liquid in the pan and pour that into the stock pot.
- Season the stock with the vegan fish sauce, rock sugar, salt and vegetable stock powder, then add the vegetarian meatballs and fried tofu in. Bring it to a low simmer for 20 minutes, then turn off the heat until just before serving.
- Take the snow fungus out and cut them into chunks roughly 4cm (1.6") wide, then thinly slice the lion's mane mushrooms. Set aside in serving dishes.
- To serve the Pho Chay, reheat the noodles in hot water or the microwave and put it into a bowl.
- Top with your favorite toppings, pour hot soup over the top and garnish with fresh herbs, chili and a squeeze of lime!
Notes
- Roast the aromatics. It may take a little bit more time, but use whole spices such as star anise, Chinese cinnamon bark and onions and roast them until charred. Adding this into the broth will give it much deeper flavors.
- Use coconut water. This will give the Pho Chay broth another layer of sweetness. I would suggest replacing 1L (4.22 US cup) of water with coconut water.
- Use dehydrated mushrooms. Fresh ones are great as a topping, but dehydrated shiitake and lion's mane mushrooms gives the stock a deeper flavor.
- We use vegetables that are naturally sweet. You can use any that you have available, including apple, pineapple, pear and corn.
- Mum also follows Buddhist vegetarianism, which doesn't include eating onions or spring onions but you can certainly add those in if you do eat it.
- All the ingredients can be found in Asian supermarkets. The seasoning packet is a pre-mix made up of spices like star anise, Chinese cinnamon bark, cloves, fennel seeds and cardomom. If you can't find it, buy the spices separately along with a spice filter bag to put them in when submerging it into the stock.
- We used a range of vegetarian ingredients that we purchased from the Asian vegetarian shops. All of these toppings can be substituted for your favorite mushrooms, tofu and vegetables. Other alternatives include tofu skin, vegetarian ham and woodear mushrooms.
- Traditional beef Pho is made with slices of rare beef, which we have substituted with textured soy protein, but this ingredient is entirely optional.
I love Pho and yours looks amazing. Admittedly I have never tried a vegetarian version so this is going to be on my to cook list. Those noodles -yummo!
Thanks, Adrianne! I hope you get to enjoy it soon!
It looks great! I’ve never made one of these, but you’ve made it look easy.
Thanks, Jacqueline! Glad you found the steps helpful.
We were in Vietnam in 2018 and loved the pho’s we tried out there. Really want to recreate it back in the UK but it is hard to find the ingredients needed. Can you recommend what to use instead of jicama and daicon?
The pho spice I can find online, but I don’t have an Asian supermarket near me for the vegetables.
Hi, Kay! You can use ingredients like pear or apple to replicate that sweet flavor 😀
I just love all the ingredients and have been trying to learn more on this cuisine, this is one of the next recipes I am going to try for sure
I’m glad you get to try this one, Claudia! Enjoy!
i’ve been experimenting with vegetarian noodle broth dishes. the base for this particular broth is quite good! i’ve only used cabbage, apples, carrots, onion and dehydrated mushrooms in the past. but the jicama, daikon and chayote really adds more flavor!! especially the jicama. my friends and i love this recipe; even those who aren’t vegetarians (i used shredded chicken as a topping for friends who love chicken pho and they said they couldn’t tell that it’s a vegetarian based broth).
i’ve now used this broth base for other vegetarian noodle broth dishes as well (like bun rieu and bun bo hue), adding additional things for these two dishes but the base of this broth remained the same. this recipe is definitely a great find and a great base broth to use for other dishes!
Hi, Trung! That’s so wonderful to hear! My Mum makes variations of this vegetable stock for all of her noodle soups, so I know you’ll be enjoying delicious meals each time you do as well! Glad it worked out for you.