🍜 Pho chay (vegan pho)
Pho chay is the vegan version of Vietnamese pho. The broth is simmered from vegetables such as charred onion, ginger, carrot and daikon with star anise and cinnamon, giving the familiar aromatic flavour without meat. It is poured over rice noodles and pan-fried tofu and served with bean sprouts, Thai basil and lime.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 onion and a 5 cm piece of ginger, charred
- 2 carrots and 1 small daikon, in chunks
- 3 star anise and 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 litres water, salt and a little sugar
- 300 g firm tofu, sliced
- 400 g flat rice noodles
- 1 tbsp oil
- Bean sprouts, Thai basil and lime wedges to serve
Method
- Simmer the charred onion and ginger, carrots, daikon, star anise and cinnamon in the water for 1 hour.
- Strain the broth and season with salt and a little sugar.
- Pan-fry the tofu in the oil until golden.
- Cook the noodles, divide into bowls and top with tofu.
- Pour over the hot broth and serve with sprouts, basil and lime.
How to make it lighter
- Bake or steam the tofu instead of pan-frying it to save oil.
- Add extra vegetables such as bok choy or mushrooms to the bowl.
- Use a smaller nest of noodles and more broth and sprouts.
History
Vegetarian pho is closely tied to Vietnam's Buddhist food tradition, in which meat-free versions of popular dishes are cooked for temple meals and observance days. Today it is widely sold at vegetarian restaurants in Vietnam and abroad.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →