As The Viet Vegan, I feel like homemade vegan Vietnamese pho is an obligatory recipe on here. So here is my version of vegan pho.
If it weren’t for the fact that I’ve now branded myself as The Viet Vegan, almost nobody would know I was Vietnamese (in real life, anyway). I’ve had people ask me if I was Chinese, Korean, Laotian, heck, one of my friends thought I was Tibetan. I don’t even know what a Tibetan person looks like, although my friend firmly insists that they look like me. My own people don’t even recognize that I’m Vietnamese! In Vietnam, I’m this pale, white whale of an Asian. People would often talk about me in Vietnamese as if I couldn’t understand them.
It’s pretty hurtful, but I don’t really know how else I can assert my identity as a Vietnamese Canadian. There are only a few people that I know (to whom I’m not related) who can relate to my upbringing. The loud karaoke long weekends, eating rice porridge when you’re sick… Oh, and awkwardly navigating family functions trying to figure out how you’re related to about 20 people. THEN figure out how to greet them with the proper honorific.
Is she older than my mom? Or younger? Wait how is she related to me… Oh she’s my grandma’s cousin, so now she’s bumped up a level in honorifics. Right?
Then I mumble the greeting and hope that I got it right.
How to pronounce phở
Whenever people find out that I’m Vietnamese, they immediately ask me if I like pho and if I’ve made it. Yes I like pho. No I have not made it because it takes forever (traditional beef pho does anyway, this stuff not so much). And then they ask me if they’re pronouncing it right. Usually it goes a little something like this:
“Pho! Wait no I know how to pronounce it. /feh/?”
“No, its-””
“/fuh/?”
“Sort of-””
“/fuUuh/, right?”
“Yes, that’s it. But it’s fine if you just say /foh/ or /fuh/”. (Really. It’s fine.)
People fawn and gush over pho like it’s a magical soup of wonder, which yes, it’s delicious. But in Vietnam, pho is just breakfast food. It’s like oatmeal. It’s delicious, but it’s morning food.
The spices for vegan phở
One of the unique things about vegan phở is the wonderful collection of spices all simmered into the rich, tasty broth. I tried the soup before I put in the spices, and it tasted…empty. Not quite finished.
But after simmering in the warming spices of black cardamom, coriander seed, star anise, cinnamon (specifically Vietnamese Cassia bark), clove, and fennel, it filled out the body of the broth with the liquid comfort that is pho.
You can find all of these spices at an Asian market! But if you don’t want to buy each individual spice, you can also buy the premade spice packs for pho!
Growing up with phở in Vietnam
When I was younger, I would visit my grandparents in Vietnam for weeks or months at a time. It was such a culture shock from the spacious lands of Canada. My grandparents’ house was a townhouse squeezed between hundreds of other houses on either side of an alleyway. Each house was quite narrow, about the width of my living room (14 feet) but long and at least 4 storeys high.
Early in the mornings before school, I would sleepily meander down 3 flights of stairs to the front gate to see a lady walking through the alleyway selling phở. My grandmother would flag her down and we’d grab 6 bowls from the kitchen. I watched as the vendor divided noodles and sliced meat into the bowl, and pour piping hot broth over top. My grandfather came lagging behind with a plate, and the vendor would scoop out greens and sprouts out for us. Little red gems of chilli pepper and a wedge of lime for each bowl sat on the edge of the plate.
After eating breakfast, I’d wash up and get dressed to go to school, fumbling with fountain pens and Vietnamese school customs, but that’s another story for another post. But the phở I had in restaurants in Toronto’s Chinatown never lived up to the street phở from the lady pushing the cart.
How to make authentic vegan phở
Traditionally, phở made with beef bones, but obviously that will not be the case here. The next best thing is to use two dozen dried shiitake mushrooms, carrot, charred cabbage, daikon, and onion. These will add smokiness and sweetness.. A low and slow simmer gently coaxes out the flavour of the mushrooms to create a flavourful vegan phở broth that rivals the beef version.
Next you build out the vegan pho broth with seasoning. An excellent broth has not only savoury flavour, but also depth. We first build the depth with a base of charred vegetables and mushrooms, but we round it out with rock sugar, vegan bouillon and mushroom broth powder. Add a touch of funk and umami with vegan fish sauce and MSG, and you will have a broth that will have your friends and family drinking it by the bowl.
How to Garnish Phở
But the broth isn’t the only thing that makes this soup delicious. Vietnamese people love eating greens. They love a variety of herbs and bean sprouts. I never knew what the herbs were called in English until I found the packages and labels. Thai basil is similar to the basil we are familiar with in Italian cuisine.
It has a bit more of a peppery aftertaste and has almost a minty bite to it. Curiander is related to coriander, and has a familiar taste. In Vietnamese culture, they say it has a positive “cooling” effect on the body, similar to eating basil seeds, cucumber, or chrysanthemum tea. By “cooling” (the direct translation from Vietnamese), they mean anti-bloating and anti-inflammatory.
Recipe Notes
A big thank you to my mom for helping me with this recipe! This is essentially her recipe, just whittled down from “a bunch of this” and “some of that” into this recipe here. Hoisin sauce and sriracha will help boost flavour to the soup when you serve. And don’t forget a handful of greens, bean sprouts, and a squeeze of lime!
I’ve also made an Instant Pot version of vegan pho. It’s faster but will make a smaller amount of broth. I have a youtube video of this recipe as well!
EDITED: This recipe has since been updated as of May 5, 2023. I’ll make a new video eventually to reflect the changes, but in the meantime, the recipe below is the new improved version of this vegan pho!
Homemade Vegan Vietnamese Pho
Ingredients
- 24 dried shiitake or flower mushrooms
- 4 medium onions
- 1 large daikon peeled and cut as coins, 1″ thick
- 3 inches of ginger washed well, halved and pounded with a pestle or heavy object to release the juices
- 1 large or 2 medium carrots peeled and cut into 2-3 inch sized chunks
- 1 head of cabbage quartered
- 1 apple or pear cored and halved (I used gala, but any that keeps its shape well after cooking is good)
- 16 cups of water 4 L
- 1 pint king oyster mushrooms sliced into 2 inch slivers
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Spices (see photo above)
- 5-6 pieces of star anise
- 1 tbsp coriander seed
- 1 tsp whole fennel seeds
- 5-6 pods of black cardamom
- 2 sticks of cassia bark you can use cinnamon sticks if you can’t find cassia bark
- 1 tsp whole cloves
To season* (see notes below)
- 3 tbsp mushroom broth powder OR 1-2 tbsp salt, to taste
- 2 tbsp vegan fish sauce
- 3 large chunks yellow rock sugar or 2-3 tbsp of sweetener of your choice
- 1/4 tsp MSG
- 2 cubes of vegan beef bouillon I get mine from Bulk Barn
- 1 package pho noodles boiled
- 1 400 g package soft tofu drained and cut into 1″ segments OR fried tofu, sliced (whichever you prefer really)
- Sliced cha lua chay Vegan Vietnamese sausage, you can find this in some Asian food markets in the frozen section
To serve:
- Culantro leaves ngo gai
- Thai basil leaves rau qua
- Cilantro leaves ngo chopped
- Green onion finely diced (or white, thinly sliced)
- Bean sprouts washed well
- Lime cut into wedges
- Hoisin sauce to taste
- Sriracha to taste
Instructions
Make the broth
- Cut off the tops and bottoms of onions and peel the onions. Peel and cut daikon.
- In a large pan over medium heat, dry sear the onions, peeled ginger, quartered cabbage, and daikon to get a caramelized browned edge. If you have a grill or BBQ, it would taste better to do this on there instead of the dry sear on a pan. They'll burn/char and that's okay, that's how you get a good depth of flavour. This will take 10-15 minutes. Alternatively you can broil everything in the oven, flipping until both sides gets some char. This will also take about 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile in another non-stick pan, cook the slivered king oyster mushrooms with 1 tsp of mushroom broth powder until browned and caramelized.
- To a large stock pot with at least 4 L of water, add the caramelized king oyster mushrooms (and dried shiitake mushrooms), charred daikon, onion, cabbage, carrot, apple and ginger and water and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cover. Let simmer for at least an hour. Ideally up to 5-6 hours for more depth. After about 45 min-1 hour, remove the onion and apple since they will completely dissolve if you cook it longer.
Toast the spices
- Meanwhile, in a dry skillet, toast the spices (star anise, coriander seed, fennel, cardamom, cassia bark and cloves) for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Remove from heat.
- About 15 minutes before serving, combine the toasted spices into a mesh bag, tea strainer/bag, or a sieve. Lower into the pot and simmer for 10 minutes, careful not to lose the spices into the broth. Don't leave the spices too long or it will become bitter.
- Remove the spices.
Prepare to serve
- Add the slices of tofu/fried tofu and Vietnamese sausage if using to heat them through. Add a tsp of vegetable oil to the broth if you're not adding fried tofu. The small about of oil adds a richness to the broth.
- Meanwhile, cook the pho noodles until al dente (so when you add the steamy broth, they're perfectly chewy and delicious!), drain and segment into servings. It's easier to do this when they're freshly cooked, otherwise they'll drain into one big clump and be hard to divide.
- Remove everything but the mushrooms from the pot. Start seasoning the broth with mushroom broth powder (or salt), vegan fish sauce, yellow rock sugar, MSG, and vegan beef bouillon cubes. Start out a little of each ingredient at a time until you have the full-bodied broth you like.
- Pour broth over pho noodles, garnishing the tofu, sliced mushrooms (from the broth), vegan Vietnamese sausage, culantro leaves, Thai basil, bean sprouts, cilantro, green onion and a squeeze of lime. Add hoisin sauce and sriracha to taste!
Laura O|PetiteAllergyTreats says
Wow Lisa… So much to say about this post; the amazing looking soup, new blog name and identity issues… I really appreciate you taking the time to create such a painstakingly looong recipe and flipping it to Vegan. I’ve always wanted to make Pho but stopped with scary long time commitment. I LOVE the new blog name! It totally suits you (and people will find your blog!) LOL a bit about other Asians not ‘knowing’ your origin, I get that all time. Ironically enough, it’s the Koreans who can figure out “who” I am. (I’m Korean and adopted so EVERYONE is confused) :-o I can only imagine the stress of greeting family at a party with all the titles etc.
Pinned this and I’ll probably have to try this soon!
Katie @ Produce on Parade says
OMG I am losing my mind right now!! Pho is my absolute favorite, though I have made a point to never, ever attempt to make it for several reasons. Now that a certified Viet buddy of mine has produced a recipe, I will have to try my hand at it! You are a superstar! Also, I love that pho = oatmeal, hehehe. P.S. you are not a giant white whale…but if you had to be something similar definitely be a narwhale because they are sick as hell.
Rylee says
Hey!
If im using fresh shitake will it still be ~skunky~ without soaking them?
Lisa Le says
You don’t need to soak fresh shiitake, but it won’t have quite the same depth of flavour as the dried ones.
Adelina says
Hi, Lisa – Been reading your blog and loving your new blog name! There’s a local restaurant about 5 minutes away from my home that prepares pretty decent vegan pho, and we usually head there quite often. I’ve never tried to create vegan pho, but after reading your post, I probably will give it a try. One thought, have you tried include 1-2 medium size of carrots to make the broth? I think it adds some natural sweet to the broth, which is quite nice. I’ve just learned how to make a vegan version of “Bun Bo Hue”, (it was quite good!) so I think it’s about time for me to try making vegan Pho!
Lisa Le says
Thanks Adelina! Glad you like the name! I’m sure that’s quite good. Daikon fills a similar role in this recipe, but adding carrot would be good too =)
Jennifer says
Hi.. I’m trying out your recipe tonight! I’m going over the instructions though and the shiitake and crimini mushrooms aren’t there. What do I do with them? Thanks
Lisa Le says
Oh thank you for pointing that out! You add them in with the water and ginger! I’ve fixed it now. You can add the cremini mushrooms closer to the end if you don’t want them to be as soft as the shiitake mushrooms, but I like my mushrooms juicy. It’s up to you =)
Tanuja says
I tried this recipe and the Pho was really good. Thank you.
Lisa Le says
So great to hear! Thanks for the feedback =)
Cynthia says
I have come down with a summer cold. When I saw your post, I knew it would hit the spot. This was an awesome recipe!! Both my husband & I loved it. For me, the sriacha was essential in bringing all the elements of the soup together. It had depth of flavor, balance of spice and then adding in the basil & lime gave it instant freshness. Yum! Thank you.
Lisa Le says
So glad you liked it! Yes sriracha is a very important element in pho. Hope you feel better soon =)
Davita says
Hi! i am really excited to try this recipe. my only question is if you think it would be ok for me to use another kind of mushroom. i have maitake mushrooms and baby bella’s and rather than getting more mushrooms before using these up, thought i could substitute. thoughts?
Lisa Le says
Hi Davita,
Shiitake mushrooms are sort of unique in the funghi world in that they can impart a super meaty flavour to broths and soups, unlike most other mushrooms. Maitake mushrooms are a little more delicate and are better for eating braised or pancooked and whatnot, but baby bellas could work too. What would be absolutely delicious is if you used those mushrooms in addition to shiitake. I actually am planning on doing a video with this recipe because I’ve made some additions to it that make it even more flavourful than this recipe. But in essence, shiitake mushrooms are the best for a umami-filled broth.
Davita says
Thanks so much!
Joana says
Wow really nice pots. I hope i can manage to get all these ingredients ;)
Cheers from Berlin
Joana
Lisa says
Lisa,
Thank you to you and your mom for this recipe. My Mom taught me how to make Thai Beef noodle soup and other Thai dishes, but I’m trying to eat healthier for my health. People mistake me for being from all different places too. I’m half Thai and half American. I get Hispanic a lot because I live in Florida. I’m so happy that I found your YouTube channel and Rose’s Cheap Lazy Vegan. Thank you again.
Lisa AZN aka lbsassy73
Ruth says
Hi! I love your recipes and am a subscriber on YouTube. Can i use ground up mushroom powder instead of the mushroom broth? The mushroom broth I found all have msg in it and I want to avoid msg. Please reply when you can. Won’t be able to start this recipe until you do, I am looking forward to your reply and making this vegan pho.
Lisa Le says
Hi Ruth! You could, but it won’t taste exactly the same. MBP is not only mushroomy, but it’s got a salty savouriness to it. So if you use ground mushroom powder, you may find you just need to add extra salt.
Grace says
Would you have a suggestion for cooking times if I converted this to a crockpot?
Could I simmer the broth say, for 10 hrs or more?
Lisa Le says
I’m not sure! I’ve never made it in a crock pot before but 10 hours seems sufficient lol.
Lucas Smith says
Hi Lisa,
I watched your video and skimmed your blog post, but I am unsure if by “fennel” you are referring to whole fennel seeds, the leaves of a fennel plant, or chopped fennel.
Lisa Le says
Whole fennel seeds :) I’ll specify in the recipe, thanks for asking!
Ben Spigle says
I’m a bit confused by the first part of step 9. It says remove the daikon, onion and garlic from the pot. Number 1 the recipe does not call for garlic, so I assume you mean the ginger? But the ginger has been pulverized in a mortar and pestle so it seems it would be hard to remove. Also, once your remove the daikon and onion there aren’t much in the way of veggies left. Plan on trying it as it looks much more complete than any other vegan recipes I have seen, but if you get a chance to clarify this it would help. Thanks!
Lisa Le says
Whoops you’re right! I definitely meant ginger :) The video also shows what I did if you want to see that process.
Marina says
Can’t wait to try this!
Thank you so much for posting!!!
EL Mehdi says
It is one of my favorite dishes. Very easy to make and and healthy not to forget it’s tasty xD
Gabrielle Av says
This recipe is so good. I prefer to eat this over the pho I can buy. Delicious. Non-vegans loved it. My friends have brought up several times how good this recipe is. Thank you so much. It is incredible. Definitely needs a good long time to brew but very worth it.
Gina says
Hi,
thanks for the receipe. I’m just wondering if i could also use fresh shiitake mushrooms instead of dried ones?
Greets
Gina
Lisa Le says
You could but the flavour wouldn’t be as concentrated. Dried mushrooms tend to be more compact with flavour.
Howie says
This was fucking sensation. Swapped out the normal tofu and some spiced stuff, but we couldn’t get over how beautiful and complex this tasted. Awesome work!
za. rizik says
I absolutely LOVE pho & would love to try this vegetarian version. However, I am allergic to mushrooms. Any suggestions on a good substitute? Hard to duplicate that flavor & texture. What might make this just as rich tasting without mushrooms? Thanks for the help!
Lisa Le says
Hi there! Mushrooms really do have a very unique and meaty flavour that lend well to pho. You could use some dark miso or soy sauce to get some of that depth?
Jade says
This recipe is soooooooo goooooodddddd i cant even believe it. Thanks Lisa!!!! I’ve always found it hard for me to find recipes that are vegan that i love!!!! I’m so happy!! Will be making this again and again! Thank you xxx
Lisa Le says
Yay!! I’m so happy to hear that <3
Dat says
That broth looks amazing!
Victoria Scales says
I chuckled reading this! I’m mỹ lai (half Viet, half American white), and my trip to Vietnam sounds similar to your experience. I was a fat (115 lbs), “slutty” short and tank top wearing tourist, who can speak and understand Vietnamese. (Sigh) Nonetheless, the trip was great, I was able to see family and learn about my moms childhood. I love that I found this recipe! I’ve been vegetarian for years and always searched for restaurants with vegan pho. There’s a few, but something is always lacking. I’m making this as I type!
Antti says
I tried this recipe today, but I didn’t use the mushroom broth powder. With 2 hour boiling time the flavours were really goot but not intense enough. Should the boiling time be longer without the mushroom broth powder?
Lisa Le says
The mushroom broth powder adds a lot of the salt and a boost in the umami flavour. I’d recommend adding salt to taste, and boil a bit longer to extract more flavour.
Ben says
I followed your recipe and it was excellent! Thank you very much for sharing this.
I could not find mushroom broth powder here in Germany, but the broth turned out to be delicious.
I soaked the dried mushrooms overnight. I also added the mushroom soaking water to the stock. Is there a reason not to use this?
I let the brother simmer for about 4 hours. Then I had to go out so left it sitting with the lid on for about 2 hours, then simmered again for about an hour when I got home.
Ralph says
Wooooow! I madd this Pho last Monday ‘quickly’ (so i soaked the Mushrooms only 4 hours and boiled just for 2-3). Even that tasted already amazing. I’ll be trying it again next week with soaking them over night and boiling it longer. I live in Berlin and we have heaps of (vegan) Vietnamese Restaurants but i never had a Pho that good. Maybe in Vietnam, but I cant remember. I also love your recipes for the Spring Rolls and Banh Mi Tofu& Pâté. ‘Cam on’ to you and your mum. :)
Kat says
This Pho tastes absolutely amazing – thank you so much for sharing this!
Jillian says
This recipe was bomb! I halved the recipe because my family members are non vegan pho connoisseurs and I was afraid they wouldn’t like it. But once they tried the broth, before I even added the mushroom broth powder, they were amazed. Everyone ate huge bowls and we were all wishing I hadn’t halved the recipe! So so good, this is definitely going to be a new staple recipe.
Also question for the blog owner, could this soup be simmered for many hours (I’m thinking 5 or 6) to make the broth even more flavorful?
Lisa Le says
You can simmer for a few extra hours yes, but I would recommend removing the onions by 2 hr mark. The best way to make it even more flavourful would probably be to increase the amount of mushrooms and onion to add more umami and oomph :)
EL Mehdi says
I love the vegan pho. It is so famous and delicious. Although sometimes I gets irritated when people tend to pronounce the word pho as foe instead of “fuh” lol.
I have made a whole article just about this famous noodle recipe. Feel free to check it out https://www.desiredcuisine.com/the-famous-vegetarian-pho-noodle-soup-recipe/
Vy Pham says
THIS WAS SOOOO GOOD!!! I can’t believe how it turned out. I’m Vietnamese and have been missing out on big flavors in the original Pho since I went veggie. This is a game changer! My roommates, partner loved it. Now gotta make some for my mum so she’d be proud 😆 thank you for the mushroom soup powder alternative. I’m not an 8 hour ahead planning kinda person for meals so that was so great!!