This healthy vegetarian pho with zucchini noodles is easy to make. The broth is infused with onions, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and garlic.
I like to daydream about places in the world where I can live in besides the Bay Area. Seattle, Portland, England . . . If I really had things my way, I would own two homes of different character. One in the U.S. with the state-of-the-art kitchen and a garden so that I can pretend to grow things. Then another in England with a rustic kitchen and a nook for afternoon tea. That way, I can pop over to Mama Lin’s for a piece of her cake and have my Cornish pasties year round. Come to think of it, I would also like the ability to teleport, but that’s besides the point.
Wherever I live, there needs a LOT of Asian food around me. I don’t mean the one Chinese restaurant where everyone in town orders their greasy takeout. I mean somewhere that I can find some good dim sum, bún chà (rice noodles with BBQ pork), pad thai, curry, and lumpia in a pinch. Somewhere that I can find some obscure Chinese sauce if a recipe calls for it. How can I ever leave the Bay Area?
When I lived in D.C. a few years ago, there were two things that I missed sorely: a proper Asian supermarket where I can find all my Chinese sauces and a decent Vietnamese restaurant. The first problem was remedied by care packages from home twice a year (usually around finals time). The second problem was never resolved. That’s why I need to learn how to make Vietnamese food myself, so that I never run into any problems when pho or bún chà is hard to find.
Pho broth usually takes a few hours to make, but I used this trick from Bon Appétit to speed up the cooking process: charring the onion and ginger on a skillet before throwing it into the stock pot.
This pho broth involves onions and a few spices:
Just a word of warning, the flavor of star anise is STRONG. If you’re not a fan of it, just leave it out. The other spices will save the day.
Let’s get ready to slurp!
Quick Vegetarian Pho with Zucchini Noodles
This vegetarian pho is a play on the classic beef-based pho. With zucchini noodles and soft boiled eggs, this bowl is the perfect light lunch or dinner! Serves 3 to 4.
- Category: gluten-free, paleo
Ingredients
- 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
- 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced in half
- 1 star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- salt to taste
- 4 large eggs
- 3 large zucchini
Toppings
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 1 to 2 limes, sliced
- cilantro
- mint leaves
- 2 green onions, chopped
- red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Place onion and ginger on skillet over medium-high heat, cut side down. Char ginger for about 3 to 4 minutes and the onion for 5 minutes, turning them halfway. Transfer onion and ginger into a stock pot.
- Place star anise, cinnamon sticks, cloves and garlic into the skillet and stir until the spices become fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and transfer spices into stock pot.
- Pour vegetable stock into the pot and bring to a boil. Once the broth has boiled, reduce to a simmer and add fish sauce, coconut aminos, and salt. I used 1 tablespoon of kosher salt because my vegetable broth was not salted. Reduce heat to low and let broth simmer for 30 minutes, covered. There shouldn’t be many bubbles bubbling. The simmering allows the spices to set into the broth more.
- While broth is cooking, spiralize zucchini noodles. I like to give the noodles a few rough chops so that they’re easier to eat. Separate noodles into 3 or 4 bowls.
- When the broth is ready, strain it, and return it to the pot. Turn the heat on low and cover the pot.
- Fill a large saucepan with several inches of water (enough to cover an egg). Bring water to boil and set the eggs inside. Let the eggs cook for 7 to 8 minutes and remove them. Put eggs into a cold water bath so that the eggs are easier to handle. Peel and slice each egg in half. The outside of the yolks should be slightly hardened with a bit of runniness on the inside.
- Turn off the heat for the broth and taste it. Add more salt, if necessary. Fill each bowl of noodles with broth. Top each bowl with the soft-boiled eggs, bean sprouts, cilantro, mint, lime, and red pepper flakes. I like a lot of citrus in my soup, so I usually add about 1 tablespoon of lime juice to my bowl.
Notes
1. Adapted from The Kitchn and Bon Appétit.br][br]2. If you’re not the biggest fan of star anise, just leave it out. Also, if whole cloves are difficult to find, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves work, too. [br][br]3. The noodles should be softened in the hot broth but not mushy.[br][br]4. Update 6/29/15: I mistakenly named this recipe vegetarian pho even though there is fish sauce in the recipe. For a full vegetarian version, use soy sauce instead of fish sauce.[br][br]4. I made my vegetable broth from scratch using [this recipe from the Kitchn.
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
This looks truly amazing! And beautiful photos too! 🙂
Lisa says
Thanks, Rachel!
Kristen @ A Mind Full Mom says
I love daydreaming about places to live–although I have to say your hometown is one place I dream of. This fake “pho” looks incredible and I love traveling to new places through food 🙂
Lisa says
San Francisco is always in my heart, but it’s also getting darn expensive out here!
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says
I have never tried Pho, but I see it everywhere!! This recipe looks absolutely amazing too… I think it’s time I get my hands on a bowl of this tasty looking stuff!
Lisa says
Thank you, Tara! If you get a chance, definitely give pho a try!
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
I feel the same way and totally miss having a decent Asian supermarket around us ever since we moved to a smaller town. Pho is the ultimate comfort dish that I had to learn how to make at home too. I just made one with daikon noodles last week and absolutely LOVE your zucchini noodles version with vegetable broth 🙂 It looks amazing and so delicious! Wish I had a big bowl right now for lunch!
Lisa says
Oooh, I bet the daikon noodles would work so well in pho! I need to try that myself, too!
Mary @ The Kitchen Paper says
Gorgeous! This looks like such a great (healthy!) dinner! I also need to up my skills so I can have bún chà whenever I want… One of my favorites! (and the teleporting thing. duh. lemme know when you figure that one out!)
Lisa says
Haha, yes, will do, Mary! Also, the best bún chà I’ve ever had was from some random street stall in Hanoi. I wish I could just go back right now!
felicia | Dish by Dish says
This is beautiful Lisa!!
I’d love to feature this quick vegetarian pho with zucchini noodles recipe in a roundup for spiralized vegetables. If you’re cool with that, I’d love to use the first photo with a link back to your original post!
let me know what you think dear!
felicia
Lisa says
Yes, of course you may! Thanks, Felicia!
felicia | Dish by Dish says
Thanks dear!! I’ll let you know once the roundup is published! btw, I just realized that you used to live in DC a few years ago! So happens that my boyfriend and I are moving to DC next month! Do you have any tips for which neighborhoods to live in? And… it’s sad to hear there aren’t any good Asian supermarkets around! 🙁
Lisa says
No way! I lived in Logan Circle (11th and O) for 3 years, and I LOVED IT. Rental prices are probably quite high up there now, since P Street has been booming, and they’re starting to develop Shaw a bit more. I have a friend who lives in Shaw, but I think things are still a bit sketchy out there. It’s weird, when I was living there, I felt that anything to the east of 11th wasn’t to safe at night, but things were fine around my neighborhood. Other good (and more affordable) options might be Woodley Park and Cleveland Park and possibly Eastern Market if you’re willing to live in the SE quadrant of DC. Let me know if you have any more questions!
felicia | Dish by Dish says
Hey Lisa!
Thanks for the tips on DC! we’ve been checking out apartments on Craigslist and it seems sub-lets are much cheaper – do you have any thoughts on sublets? Is it usually scam-free?
On another note, I just wanted to let you know that the spiralized vegetables roundup for Parade Magazine’s Community Table site has been published! Thank you so much for allowing me to include your vegetarian pho with zucchini noodles recipe in the roundup!
Here’s the link if you’d like to see it and share it with your followers:
http://communitytable.parade.com/419229/felicialim/15-tasty-new-ways-to-do-spiralized-vegetables/
Have a great rest of the week!
Felicia
Lisa says
Hi Felicia! I have many friends who sublet their apartments in DC, so they’re usually not that bad. I can’t say they’re scam-free, of course, but just try to ask for photos of the space, if you can. The only issue with sublets is that a lot of the time, the renter doesn’t actually let the owner know they’re subletting their space, so be aware that the landlord might not be okay with it. Again, none of my friends who sublet their space over the summer ran into problems.
Thank you so much for featuring the recipe in the Parade round-up!
Amy @ Happy Healthy RD says
This looks so good – I’ve been collecting zoodle recipes since I just got a spiralizer. I can’t wait to try this one!
Lisa says
Thank you so much, Amy!
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
It’s definitely hard to beat the Bay Area with respect to variety of restaurants and grocery stores. You may never be able to leave!!!
Lisa says
I know, I’m soooo spoiled out here! Maybe I can just take the groceries stores with me when I move…
Megan Keno {Country Cleaver} says
I absolutely love pho! This looks incredible!
Lisa says
Thanks, Megan!!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living says
I love pho – and what a great idea using zucchini noodles in place of rice noodles!
Lisa says
Thank you, Jeanette!
Megan {Country Cleaver} says
You can totally come move to Seattle – and bring this beautiful Pho with you!!! We would love to have you!
Lisa says
I have a strong feeling that in 5 or 6 years, I would probably be living in Seattle! Oh, and I would totally bring this pho with me!
Joanne says
There are really not great Vietnamese options even in NYC! I might have to come to SF to visit and eat all the Asian foods that I’m missing out on here. Starting with this pho!
Lisa says
Joanne, if you are EVER out here, we will have some pho!
Jennifer @NourishedSimply says
I have never tried Pho, but have always been curious. The recipe and photo’s are wonderful.
Lisa says
Thanks, Jennifer!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
Oh yes, SF is the place for food I hear… Seattle is pretty darn great too. But being 2 hours North of the City, we have few options for great International food, especially Pho. But I’ve had some good Pho, in Seattle! Love your version of Veg pho – although the fish sauce can be replace with liquid aminos for those of us who are veg. I’ve not tried coconut aminos, is it similar to liquid aminos? This is sooo delicious, Lisa. Love the zucchini noodles in there, a great sub for rice or soba noodles. Thank you my dear!
Lisa says
Coconut aminos is definitely similar to liquid aminos, just paleo. I also think coconut aminos has a bit of a lighter taste to it. Thanks, Traci! And by the way, I really need to make another trip to Seattle just so I can eat my way around town!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
Pinning this recipe to make during the week! I love a good pho.. but never make them because I don’t like rice noodles. Great idea to use zucchini instead!
Lisa says
Thalia, thank you so much!
D says
Looks great. When do I add the garlic? Didn’t see it in the preparation…
Lisa Lin says
Hi D, thanks for your question! I’m sorry that I left that out of my instructions! You add it the same time you add the start anise, cinnamon and cloves. I have updated the recipe to reflect the changes.