I was first introduced to Vietnamese Pho, a popular Vietnamese dish, six years ago, when I met a Vietnamese woman, Thuy, at the local Asian grocery store. She had an amazing story of how she came to the United States, having fled the war-torn city of Saigon, Vietnam, as a young girl.
She went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, got married, and dedicated her life to raising her three beautiful girls. I saw her a few times after that first chance meeting, but then didn’t run into her for almost two years.
Three and a half years ago, I heard through a friend that Thuy had Stage IV stomach cancer. I called her immediately, and over the course of that year, spent a lot of time with her, talking, eating, cooking for her, and just being by her side. I learned that she loved to eat and to cook. How ironic I thought, to love to eat and cook, but not be able to do either, with stomach cancer.
Thuy taught me about Vietnamese food, sharing Vietnamese spring rolls her friends from California sent her (she had lived in California before moving to the East Coast), and introducing me to a cuisine I knew nothing about. We took a couple of trips to a Vietnamese market where she insisted we had to arrive no later than 2PM on Fridays to get Bahn Mi, the Vietnamese sandwiches that were brought in fresh, weekly from Chinatown. After eating my first Bahn Mi, I was hooked, and understood why we had to get to the market early.
I became curious about Vietnamese cooking, and bought my first Vietnamese cookbook, anxious to learn more about this new cuisine. We flipped through the cookbook together,Thuy pointing out her favorites as a young child in Vietnam. I attempted to make some of her favorite comfort foods…chicken rice porridge, boiled peanuts (she immigrated to North Carolina), and pho.
Here’s a Vietnamese Vegetarian Pho recipe I came up with in memory of my friend Thuy. I apologize for the lengthy, detailed recipe, but Thuy was very particular about her food, so I wanted to make sure my recipe would meet her high standards. Thuy, I want you to know that I have spent the most time on this post so far, and I know you wouldn’t want it any other way!
To make Vegetarian Pho broth:
 |
| Rehydrated sh*take Mushrooms |
Rehydrate dried sh*take mushrooms by placing them in a bowl of hot water for about 30 minutes, until softened. Cut stems off.
 |
| Charred Onion and Ginger |
Place onion and ginger on baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until slightly softened and onion skin is charred.Remove onion skin and ginger skin.
 |
| Tender Part of Lemongrass Bulb, Crushed |
To prepare lemongrass, cut off stalky top part, leaving bottom 1/3. Trim about 1/2″ off bottom, and remove outer leaves until tender bulb is exposed. Crush bulb with flat side of a large knife.
Lightly toast star anise and cloves in a small skillet. Combine broth, water (note: if using homemade vegetable broth, use 2 cups more broth instead of water; boxed vegetable broth tends to be too strong), rehydrated sh*take mushrooms, onion, ginger, lemongrass, star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, palm sugar and soy sauce in a saucepan. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer 30 minutes. Strain broth, reserving sh*take mushrooms. Slice sh*take mushrooms and save for topping.
To prepare Pho toppings:
 |
| Baby Bok Choy |
Bring broth to a boil and add baby bok choy. Cook 3-4 minutes until just tender, but still with a bit of crunch; remove to a bowl.
Add fresh sh*take mushrooms and cook 3 minutes until just tender. Remove.
 |
| Enoki Mushrooms, With Root Removed |
Cut 1″ off root end of enoki mushrooms. Separate into strands. Cook enoki mushrooms in broth for 1-2 minutes until just tender. Remove.
To make rice noodles:
 |
| Rice Noodles (Banh Pho) – Buy “Size S” |
Bring a pot of water to boiling. Add rice noodles and stir. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until soft but still chewy; drain and rinse well with cold water.
To serve, place a handful of noodles in each bowl. Top with mushrooms (sh*takes reserved from broth, fresh sh*takes, and enoki mushrooms) and baby bok choy. Pour some broth into bowl over noodles.
 |
| Cooked Rice Noodles |
Garnish noodle bowls with bean sprouts, freshmint, basil, cilantro,chilies and lime wedges. Serves 4-6.
| Pho Spices and Garnishes |
Vietnamese Vegetarian Pho Recipe
Inspired by my friend Thuy who introduced me to Vietnamese food
Servings 4 -6
Author Jeanette
Ingredients
Pho Broth
- 2quartsvegetable broth
- 2cupswater
- 6dried sh*take mushroomssoaked in hot water for ½ hour, stems removed
- 1unpeeled onionhalved
- One 3-inch piece fresh gingerunpeeled, cut into 2 pieces and smashed
- 2stalks lemongrassbottom 1/3 only, outer leaves removed, and smashed
- 3whole star anise
- 4whole cloves
- One 3-inch cinnamon stick
- 1tablespoonpalm sugar
- 3tablespoonssoy sauce
Pho Toppings
- 1 ½cupsbaby bok choytrimmed
- 8ouncessh*take mushroomssliced
- 1package enoki mushrooms
- 1pack thin dried rice noodles
Pho Garnishes
- 2cupsmung bean sprouts
- 1bunch fresh mint
- 1bunch fresh Thai basil
- 1bunch fresh cilantro
- 2-3Thai chiliesthinly sliced
- 2scallionsthinly sliced
- 2limessliced into wedges
Instructions
Make Vegetarian Pho broth
Rehydrate dried sh*take mushrooms by placing them in a bowl of hot water for about 30 minutes, until softened. Cut stems off.
Place onion and ginger on baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes or until slightly softened and onion skin is charred. Remove onion skin and ginger skin.
To prepare lemongrass, cut off <g class="gr_ gr_1097 gr-alert gr_spell gr_disable_anim_appear ContextualSpelling" id="1097" data-gr-id="1097">stalky</g> top part, leaving bottom 1/3. Trim about 1/2" off <g class="gr_ gr_1101 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="1101" data-gr-id="1101">bottom</g>, and remove outer leaves until <g class="gr_ gr_1102 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="1102" data-gr-id="1102">tender</g> bulb is exposed. Crush bulb with <g class="gr_ gr_1103 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep" id="1103" data-gr-id="1103">flat</g> side of a large knife.
Lightly toast star anise and cloves in a small skillet.
Combine broth, water (note: if using homemade vegetable broth, use 2 cups more broth instead of water; boxed vegetable broth tends to be too strong), rehydrated sh*take mushrooms, onion, ginger, lemongrass, star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, palm sugar and soy sauce in a saucepan. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer 30 minutes. Strain broth, reserving sh*take mushrooms. Slice sh*take mushrooms and save for topping.
Prepare Pho toppings:
Bring broth to a boil and add baby bok choy. Cook 3-4 minutes until just tender, but still with a bit of crunch; remove to a bowl.
Add fresh sh*take mushrooms and cook 3 minutes until just tender. Remove.
Cut 1" off <g class="gr_ gr_1558 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins replaceWithoutSep" id="1558" data-gr-id="1558">root</g> end of enoki mushrooms. Separate into strands. Cook enoki mushrooms in broth for 1-2 minutes until just tender. Remove.
Make rice noodles:
Bring a pot of water to boiling. Add rice noodles and stir. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until soft but still chewy; drain and rinse well with cold water.
To serve
Place a handful of noodles in each bowl. Top with mushrooms (sh*takes reserved from broth, fresh sh*takes, and enoki mushrooms) and baby bok choy. Pour some broth into bowl over noodles.
Garnish noodle bowls with bean sprouts, fresh mint, basil, cilantro, chilies and lime wedges. Serves 4-6.
My Favorite Vietnamese Cookbooks:
Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavorsby Andrea Nguyen
Pleasures of the Vietnamese TablebyPham Mai
Authentic Vietnamese Cooking: Food from a Family TablebyCorinne Trang
More Information on Stomach Cancer:
MedicineNet.com: Stomach Cancer Prevention
National Cancer Institute: Stomach Cancer Prevention
Anticancer Ingredients: Mushrooms, Onion, Leafy Green Vegetables, Scallions
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