Pho Chay (Vegetarian Pho)

Pho Chay in a bowl surrounded by garnish and sauces in dishes.

5 from 7 votes

Pho Chay (Vegetarian Pho)

Enjoy Pho Chay, the vegetarian version of Vietnamese Pho. The broth boasts iconic flavors infused with spices like star anise and cinnamon!

Prep Time1

Cook Time15

Stock Cooking Time3

Total Time4 15

Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Asian, Vietnamese

Servings:

Calories: 455kcal

Author: Jeannette

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!

Video

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.

Nutrition