Making Pho all in one go feels overwhelming to me so I do it over several days. Once I have started sprouting mung beans, I make one part each day - the sriracha. ‘ hoisin’ sauce and the broth. All of them can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or more..
When the mung beans have fully sprouted, assembling a bowl of pho takes no more time than cooking the sweet potato noodles and heating the soup broth.
Here is the recipe for the pho broth and how to assemble a bowl of pho. See yesterday’s blog for the sriracha and ‘hoisin’ sauce recipes. Unlike traditional pho, made with a beef broth, this version uses shiitake mushrooms instead of beef. Unlike the beef version, no added fats results in a lighter soup. Do not mistake no fat for a lack of taste! The broth consists of a robust homemade vegetable soup stock (see blog on 19 January 2022) cooked with soaked shitake mushrooms, grilled vegetables and the traditional spices.
Vietnamese Pho
Ingredients
50 grams dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked overnight or for several hours
4 medium brown onions, peeled and thickly sliced
1 large daikon, cut in thick slices
3 inches of ginger, peeled and pounded with a pestle
16 cups of homemade soup stock (no salt or fats added) see blog post on 19 January 2022
8 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
6 pieces of star anise
1 tbsp coriander seed
1 tsp whole fennel seeds
6 pods of cardamom or cardamon seeds
2 sticks of cassia or cinnamon bark
1 tsp cloves
300 grams oyster or assorted fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tbs porcini powder
2-3 tbs dashi (water from soaking the mushrooms)
5 tbs Redboat fish sauce
2 tbs raw honey
70-100 grams of sweet potato noodles, per bowl
Cilantro leaves (for topping)
Thai basil leaves (for topping)
Homegrown mung bean sprouts (for topping)
Lime, cut into wedges, one per bowl
Hoisin sauce, to taste
Sriracha, to taste
Instructions
The night before (or at least several hours prior), thoroughly rinse and soak the shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of filtered water. Once hydrated, add the mushrooms to a large soup pot along with 4 litres of homemade vegetable soup stock. Set aside. Keep the water the mushrooms soaked in. Store in a jar and keep in the refrigerator for future use.
Peel the onions and slice thickly. Wash and slice the trimmed daikon. Peel the ginger and pound once. Place them all on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and place under the grill for about 20 minutes. I put my oven on the grill setting at 160c. The vegetables are done when the onions and daikon begin to blacken. Do not worry if they burn slightly as this adds depth to the broth.
In a ceramic non-stick pan, cook the fresh sliced mushrooms with 1 tbs of porcini powder and the dashi (water mushrooms soaked in) until softened and browned.
Add the cooked mushrooms to the soup pot with the stock and soaked mushrooms. Once the onions, daikon and ginger have seared, add to the pot as well. Cover and bring to a boil; then simmer for an hour covered.
While the soup simmers, prepare your spice bag. Cut a piece of cheese cloth and place the star anise, coriander, fennel and cardamom seeds, cassia bark and cloves on the cloth. Fold the cloth over the spices like a parcel and tie string to make it secure. You do not want it to break open in the soup. Peel the garlic and thinly slice.
After one hour of simmering, add the spice packet and sliced garlic to the soup. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes.
After an hour and a half of simmering, add 5 tbs of fish sauce and 2 tbs of honey. Taste and make any necessary adjustments. For more saltiness, add fish sauce, more unami flavour, add porcini powder, more sweetness, add honey.
If you are going to store the broth, ladle the broth into a 4 litre airtight container. As you do this, remove any burnt onion, the crushed ginger pieces, the spice bag and the daikon pieces. Remove the shitake mushrooms and put to one side. Slice the shiitake mushrooms, removing any tough stems if necessary. Put the sliced shiitake mushrooms back in the soup broth.
When assembling pho, cook the sweet potato noodles for 6 minutes. While they cook, take a small handful each of fresh cilantro, mint leaves and basil leaves and tear or chop. Drain the noodles when cooked and place in a bowl. Pour ample hot broth over the noodles, top with the fresh herbs, a large handful of mung bean sprouts and top with a generous slice of fresh lime. Serve with a side dish of sriracha and ‘hoisin’ sauce.
Enjoy slurping delicious pho noodles!