Vegetarian Pho

Pho (pronounced fuh) is a common dish in Vietnamese cooking.  It is a delicious soup, but often very difficult to get without beef broth.  Just check out this video of Anthony Bourdain and how delighted he is with eating Pho.  You can imagine how happy I was when last week at Whole Foods I saw this:

As far as broths go, Pacific is not my "go to" brand.  I find that their soups and broths have a pretty strong onion flavor and are a bit too rich.  However, I couldn't pass up a vegetarian Pho soup base that was even organic. I gave it a try and it was pretty good.  You'll need:

- 2 cups of Pacific Organice Soup Starter Vegetarian Pho Soup Base

- 1 handful of rice noodles

- 1 large carrot, peeled and grated

- A generous handful of a mix of Thai basil, mint, and cilantro

- 1/2 tsp. of chile garlic paste

- Chopped vegetables like sliced mushrooms, bean sprouts, and scallion

- Lime wedges

Boil water and cook rice noodles for about 2 minutes. Don't overcook! Strain and set aside to cool. 

Prepare the carrots and wash and chop the herbs. 

Place carrots, chili paste, and broth in a pot until it comes comes to a boil.  Skim any foam from the carrots.  Remove from heat and pour over a bowl you have prepared that is filled with the rice noodles and vegetables (I didn't have the mushrooms and bean sprouts).  Top with the herbs and a squeezed wedge of lime.

Vietnamese Bun Salad and Nuoc Cham

Vietnamese isn't the most ethnically common type of food to find.  In fact, I never even tried Vietnamese food despite my 4 1/2 years living in San Diego where there is a pretty significant population of Vietnamese.  I first tried Vietnamese food when I lived in Columbus, Ohio.  There is a wonderful market there called The North Market, whose history goes as far back as 1876.  If you ever go to Columbus, you need to go there.  There is a little food vendor called Lan Viet Market inside of The North Market, and this is where I fell in love with Bun. I would actually dream about the combination of fresh vegetables on top of rice or cold rice vermicelli noodles. 

Bun can be vegetarian, or you can get it with meat or shrimp.  Another common vegetarian topping for Bun is spring rolls. A few weeks ago, I tried a Vietnamese restaurant here in New York and the Bun was delicious! Rice vermicelli, fermented carrot and taro root, marinated tofu, fresh cucumber and tomato, and bean sprouts.  The best part of Bun is the sauce, called Nuoc Cham. Nuoc Cham is sweet, salty, acidic, and if you like it can also be spicy.

Here is my version of a quick Bun, which I made for lunch the next day:
-Two handfuls of rice vermicelli noodles
-sliced cucumber
-sliced tomato
-chopped scallion
-chopped cilantro (if you have basil and mint you can also add this)
-2 tsp of sesame oil

For the Nuoc Cham sauce:
-1tbsp of sugar
-2 tbsp soy sauce (typically fish sauce is used)
-2 tbsp of rice vinegar (you can also use lime juice)
-3 tbsp of water
-pinch of garlic powder
-1/2 tsp of chili garlic sauce

Boil a pot of water and drop the noodles in for 2-3 minutes. Do not OVERCOOK the noodles. They will turn to mush. Gross. Drain and rinse with just a little cold water. While still warm, dress with the sesame oil so the noodles don't stick together. Place in a bowl and add the rest of the vegetable ingredients.  For the Nuoc Cham, in a separate bowl, mix ingredients together, making sure you dissolve the sugar.  Add more or less chili garlic sauce, depending on how hot you like it. Now pour on top of the Bun. That's it! So easy and good for you. If you have other ingredients like marinated tofu or vegetables such as carrot or bean sprouts, be sure to add those too!