Tofu Pho

Tofu Pho

Andrea says, "This is a Vietnamese noodle soup recipe inspired by my travels in the mountain villages of Ha Giang, traditionally served at breakfast, which I adapted to make vegan and eat for dinner very often!"

Taste: Simplicity: Cost:

Recipe by Andrea Stevenson

Tested by Lynara Attewell

Ingredients

• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 400ml boiling water
• 1 tablespoon teriyaki sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
• 1 block of Pad Thai rice noodles
• 1 pak choi (chopped)
• 1 cup shredded oyster mushrooms
• 1 mild red chilli
• 3 slices of root ginger
• 5 kafir lime leaves
• 5 Thai basil leaves
• 200g firm tofu
• A handful of chopped coriander

Method

1. Chop the tofu into small squares and pan-fry in a dry pan for 10 minutes on medium heat. Turn until golden brown on all sides.
2. Whilst the tofu is browning, chop the pak choi, mushrooms, chili and ginger.
3. Put the vegetables, chilli and ginger into a saucepan with the rice noodle block and crushed stock cube.
4. Add the boiling water to the pain.
5. Add the leaves and sauces (teriyaki, light soy sauce and tabasco sauce).
6. Once boiling, turn off the heat and pour into a high-edged bowl.
7. Add the tofu and sprinkle the coriander over the top.
8. Serve with a traditional East-Asian soup spoon and chopsticks if available.

Notes

• If you don't like spice, you can leave out the chilli and tabasco sauce.
• Ginger, kafir lime leaves and chilli are optional to eat or leave in the bowl for flavour.
• I used regular basil instead of Thai basil as it was more readily available
• I allowed the broth to sit off the heat briefly before serving to let the flavours infuse.