Tofu and Vegetable Pho

One of the great cooking milestones that I had never attempted before today was making broth from scratch. I just could not grasp the concept of turning water into delicious broth by merely boiling vegetables or chicken in it. However, when watching one of my favorite Food Network shows this weekend, Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, I got inspired to give it a try. Guy Fieri, who is quite possibly one of my least favorite/least desirable people on earth, visited a random shmo diner that apparently had the best pho in the world (sidenote: my hatred of Guy Fieri does not in any way take away from my love of the show somehow). I love pho, and have yet to try a vegan version, and it just so happens that this random diner somewhere in the midwest made completely vegan pho. I took careful mental notes, and was shocked by how easy it looked to make it. That gave me the final push I needed to try making my own broth once and for all. There were serious ups and downs, and moments when I doubted if it would turn out, but in the end it was truly excellent, and stacks up against most other bowls of pho I have had. Though time consuming, the recipe is overall very easy and I promise you that it is delicious. I will never go back to store bought broth again (...that's a lie, but I will definitely be making my own broth much more often)!

Tofu and Vegetable Pho

• 16 cups of water
• 2 large lemongrass stalks, with small slits cut down the side
• 1 medium clove ginger, sliced
• 2 jalapenos, sliced (seeds still in)
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 6 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 bunch of celery, chopped
• 1 box of baby bella mushrooms
• 6-7 cloves garlic
• 1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 box pad thai rice noodles
• Salt, about 3-4 tablespoons (to taste)
• Pepper, to taste
• 1 box Forest mushroom mix (fancy mushrooms from Whole Foods)
• 1 box shitake mushrooms
• 2 red peppers, sliced very thin
• 1 box tofu, extra firm
• Mint, cilantro, and basil to garnish
• Lime slices, to garnish

Before it became a magical broth

1. Arrange the carrots, celery, baby bella mushrooms, garlic, and lemongrass on a large baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray and generously season with salt. 
2. Roast vegetables on 400 degrees for about 30 minutes.
3. Place the roasted vegetables in a large stock pot. Add the jalapeno, ginger, onion, and water, and bring to a boil.
4. Add about half of the salt and bring to a light simmer. 
5. Cover and let simmer for at least 2 hours.
6. Continue to taste the broth, and add salt and pepper as needed. I added a very generous amount of salt, and added it in small bits throughout the 2 hours.
7. In the last 30 minutes that the broth is cooking, drain the tofu and cut into 8 squares. 
8. Heat a large sauce pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray and about 2 tsp. of soy sauce.
9. Once the pan is hot, add the tofu and sear until browned on each side, about 5-8 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside.
10. Spray the same pan again and add the red pepper, forest mushroom mix, and shitake mushrooms. Saute with salt, and cover until the vegetables are beginning to get soft, but not mushy. Remove and set aside.
11. Cook the rice noodles as per the directions, set aside.
12. Strain the broth and remove the vegetables. You can salvage some of the carrots, celery, and onion if you want to add them to the soup. Set aside. 
13. It is now time to assemble the soup! Just to be clear, you should have in separate bowls: the red pepper and mushroom mixture, cooked rice noodles, tofu, and broth. 
14. In the large pan, add your desired amount of cooked vegetable mixture for your serving. Add 1-2 pieces of tofu (per serving). Add you desired amount of broth, and heat together until the broth begins to bubble, about 4-5 minutes. 
15. In a large bowl, place some of the rice noodles at the bottom. Pour the soup, vegetables, and tofu from the pan on top.
16. Garnish with the mint, cilantro, and basil, and serve with lime wedges.
17. ENJOY!!

This recipe makes at least 5 serving of pho, so I just heated up 2 servings in the pan and put the rest in tupperware to enjoy later :) 

**Note: When I originally made the broth it was a little too heavy on the ginger, so I dumped some out and added water to dilute it a bit. So be very careful to only use one small clove of ginger.