There’s nothing like a huge bowl of piping hot Vietnamese pho to warm your bones when it’s snowing outside. The combination of rich broth, crunchy veggies, soft noodles, and fresh herbs soothe the soul.
Traditionally, the broth simmers for hours and involves toasting coriander, using star anise, and roasting ginger. Then thinly sliced meat is dropped in the hot broth to cook it. Lastly, a heaping bunch of bean sprouts, basil, and jalepeno slices are thrown in with a big squeeze of lime to top it all off.
Since this dish only needs a few cheap ingredients, it’s become a weeknight go-to in my winter rotation. Well, with the help of a ready-made broth that is, using creative licensing to simmer ginger and scallions into pre-made or store bought beef broth (you could you veg broth for a veg/vegan recipe, but beef broth is rich in collagen to help boost our immune system).
Combining a few of my favorite recipes, I replaced the meat with steak-like portobello mushrooms and the rice noodles with spiralized daikon radishes. The mushrooms soak up all the delicious flavor and make this a filling, energizing dish, while the daikon are mild enough and the perfect texture to serve as the noodles.
- 64 ounces homemade or store bought beef broth
- 6 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- Salt to taste
- 1½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6 ounces portobello mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed and sliced into strips
- 1½ tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 large daikon radish, made into noodles
- 8 ounces bean sprouts
- 2 jalapeño peppers, thinly sliced
- Fresh cilantro, basil, lime wedges, and sriracha for serving
- In a large pot, combine the broth, green onion, grated ginger, and salt. Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
- While the broth is cooking, coat large skillet in extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and sauté for about 6 minutes, or until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in the hoisin and sesame oil and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the mushrooms, about 1 minute more. Remove from heat.
- Add the daikon noodles to the broth and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.
- Divide the noodles between four to six large bowls, then fill each bowl with the ginger broth. Add bean sprouts, sliced jalapeños, mushrooms, fresh basil, and cilantro and serve with lime wedges, and sriracha or other chili sauce.