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Noodles in a bowl with chopsticks, quarted tomatoes, slied vegetarian ham and mushrooms with Thai basil
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5 from 8 votes

Bún Riêu Chay (Vegetarian Tomato Noodle Soup)

Fall in love with Bún Riêu Chay, the most soothing Vietnamese vegetarian noodle soup! It's topped with a delicious assortment of tomatoes, mushrooms and tofu, which makes for a great weekend meal!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time4 hours 30 minutes
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: Asian, Vietnamese
Servings: 10
Calories: 292kcal
Author: Jeannette

Equipment

  • Food processor

Ingredients

The Vegetable Stock

  • 800 g / 1.8 lb daikon
  • 500 g / 1.1 lb pear
  • 500 g / 1.1 lb red apples
  • 250 g / 0.6 lb carrots
  • 900 g / 2 lb chayotes
  • 1 stalk lemongrass
  • 25 g / 0.06 lb ginger
  • 2 L / 8.5 US cup coconut water
  • 5 L / 21 US cup water
  • 2 US cup lion's mane mushrooms (or to preference)
  • 2 US cup shiitake mushrooms (or to preference)

Stock Seasoning

  • 700 g / 1.54 lb tomatoes
  • 1 Bún Riêu Chay stock cube
  • 1 1/4 tbsp salt, or to taste
  • 10 g / 0.2 lb rock sugar, or to taste
  • 2 1/4 tbsp vegetable stock powder
  • 7 tbsp vegan fish sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 1/4 US cup water (to dilute the tamarind paste)

The Toppings

  • king oyster mushrooms
  • enoki mushrooms
  • 100 g / 0.22 lb oyster mushrooms (for blending with the vegetarian ham)
  • 4 eggs
  • 300 g / 0.66 lb silken tofu (for mixing with the vegetarian ham and oyster mushrooms)
  • fried tofu
  • 300 g / 0.66 lb vegetarian ham (plus more to be served as a sliced topping)
  • burdock gean
  • tomato paste
  • vegetable stock powder
  • vegan fish sauce (for the vegetarian ham and tofu mix)
  • cooking oil

The Garnish

  • bean sprouts
  • water spinach
  • Thai basil
  • Vietnamese coriander
  • mint
  • lizard's tail
  • lemon/lime

The Noodles

  • thin rice vermicelli noodles

Instructions

  • On medium to high heat, cook the stock fruit, vegetables, lemongrass and shiitake and lion's mane mushrooms in a large pot of water for 3 hours or until soft. Scoop them out when they have softened, separating the mushrooms to use as a topping for later.
  • While the stock is cooking, use a food processor to process the vegetarian ham and oyster mushrooms until well combined.
  • Set up a steamer and mix in the tofu,1 tbsp vegan fish sauce and eggs.
  • Steam the dish for 15 minutes. Let it cool for 10 minutes to firm up.
  • Roughly chop the tomatoes into chunks and slice the shiitake and lion's mane mushrooms into 1/2 cm (0.2") thick.
  • Heat up a pan with 2 tbsp cooking oil and simmer the tomatoes with 1 tbsp vegan fish sauce, 1 tsp vegetable stock powder and 4 tbsp tomato paste for 15 minutes or until they have consistency of fresh tomato sauce, then pour into the broth.
    Note: During cooking, use a utensil to flatten each chunk.
  • Pour 1 tbsp cooking oil into the same pan over high heat and stir fry the mushrooms with 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste and 1/2 tsp salt for 3 minutes.
  • Repeat the previous step with the remaining toppings.
  • Turn up the heat to high and transfer the cooked contents into the stock broth and season with the Bún Riêu Chay stock cube, vegetable stock powder, salt, rock sugar and vegan fish sauce.
    When it boils, lower the heat to a simmer and add the coconut water in.
  • Mix the tamarind paste with water to dissolve it, then pour it into the vegetable broth.
  • Bring another pot of water to boil and cook the rice vermicelli noodles for 5 minutes or until al dente. Run the cooked noodles under cold water to cool, then set in a colander to drip dry.
  • Cook the water spinach in the broth and assemble your bowl with noodles, toppings and hot soup.
  • Serve topped with fresh garnish and a squeeze of lemon!

Notes

  • Use softer, riper tomatoes for the broth and firmer tomatoes for serving. Ripe tomatoes have fuller flavor which is perfect to cook down and season your broth with. Save the firmer tomatoes for a quick boil and when you're just about to eat.
  • Like all other noodle soups, the broth will taste better the next day. So this is the perfect dish to make ahead of time and can just be reheated the following day.
  • Don't overseason it! You'll have plenty of opportunities to season the toppings as you cook them, but go light to start. You can always taste and add more salt or sugar towards the end of cooking.
  • Some of the fruits and vegetables for the stock can be easily found in the kitchen, but you can certainly use any others available in that season such as corn, cauliflower, nashi, wintermelon and celery.
  • The tamarind paste and Bún Riêu Chay stock cubes can be found in Asian supermarkets.
  • All of the tofu varieties and vegetarian hams can be found in the fridge or freezer section of Asian vegetarian stores. If they're not available, mushrooms are a great substitute.
  • All of these greens can be found fresh at your local Asian supermarket. If there are some that are no available, you can simply leave them out.
  • Bún Riêu Chay is traditionally eaten with thinner rice vermicelli noodles that have a milky white color when cooked. Be careful not to get it confused with vermicellli that is clear when cooked.

Nutrition

Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 2362mg | Potassium: 1298mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 4894IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 142mg | Iron: 2mg