Vietnamese-Inspired Veggie Noodle Bowl
I’m kicking off the New Year with a new-to-me ingredient: lemongrass! Enjoy the unique, woody flavor lemongrass provides in this filling Vietnamese-Inspired Veggie Noodle Bowl, rounded out with a spicy kick from peppercorns, comfort from classic broth and noodles, and nutritious veggies!
It’s a new year for #TheRecipeRedux and I’m excited to still be participating in this wonderful group of health-minded bloggers and sharing a new recipe each month that adheres to that month’s theme! Every month I like to guess what I think the theme will be, so to kick off the new year I had a teeeeensy feeling it would have something to do with a healthier (than the already healthy) twist!
Well, I was wrong!
The theme this month is… A New Ingredient for the New Year…
“Pick a new ingredient that you’ve been wanting to try and cook up a new recipe in the new year. Show us how you’re cooking with something new (to you!) in 2016.”
If you’re a long-time reader ‘round here, you know ethnic food isn’t really my jam. You see, having allergies to sesame seeds, tree nuts and peanuts makes it difficult…I’ve only been eating sushi (and still the most basic of basic) for a couple of years…and prefer to DIY stir fry than order in Chinese (much to the dismay of him).
So when my med school roommate invited me over for dinner and told me she was making vegetable PHO I was SO excited. In addition to being a great cook, Kate is VERY well traveled and has exquisite taste buds, so I knew it would be great. Plus, we lived together for two years so she’s experienced the food allergies first hand (and she’s a doctor, so if I needed my EpiPen I was in good hands…just kidding!).
Being the vegetarian that I am, Kate made Tofu and Vegetable Pho with spinach and mushrooms. Although this isn’t traditional (usually pho is not vegetarian!), I was SO impressed! Kate didn’t really follow a recipe, so I squeezed every bit of information I could get out of her so I could re-create this DELICIOUS bowl of heaven! It’s totally not as difficult as it seems!
The very next morning I Googled “lemongrass” so I knew what I was looking for and hit up the Whole Foods near me. Although anyone who has eaten authentic Vietnamese pho will probably tell me I’m out of my mind, but here’s my veggie-filled version…so I’ll just call it a “Vietnamese-Inspired Veggie Noodle Bowl!”
Here’s how to make it…
Kate added deliciously browned tofu, so I decided to do the same to bump up the protein factor and make this a one-bowl-meal, but you can totally omit this part without drastically changing the flavor.
To do this, drain and squeeze excess water from a block of tofu. Cut into cubes, season, and drizzle with low sodium soy sauce. Then in a large pan, sear tofu on all sides, about 3 minutes per side, so a nice crust forms. Remove from the pan and repeat as necessary, so you do not crowd the pan.
The inclusion of tofu is optional so let’s get to the rest of the “pho”…
First you’ll sauté the onions and mushrooms in a light coat of oil and spices. Once the onions are translucent and the mushrooms soft, add frozen spinach and the broth, plus the key ingredients to create that classic “pho” flavor…lemongrass, peppercorns, and star anise.
Let simmer for at least 30 minutes so the flavors meld, then add the noodles just before serving.
[Tweet “Warm up with this Vietnamese-Inspired Veggie Noodle Bowl in under an hour! #vegan #glutenfree”]
Pho realz…
- For the soup:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup yellow onion, chopped or thinly sliced
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 3 cups mushrooms (any variety), sliced
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (or ¾ teaspoon whole black peppercorns)
- 1 cup scallions, sliced (additional for garnish)
- 1 lemongrass stalk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 6-8 cups vegetable stock or broth
- 1 cup frozen spinach or 4 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 package (8 oz) brown rice vermicelli noodles
- Optional: Sriracha for serving
- For the tofu:
- 1 package extra firm tofu, drained with excess water squeezed out, cut into cubes
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- Nonstick spray
- Over medium-high heat, add oil, yellow onions, and garlic clove to a large stock pot and sauté until onions are translucent.
- Add mushrooms, ginger and black pepper (or peppercorns) and continue to sauté until mushrooms begin to soften.
- To the vegetables, add scallions, lemongrass, cinnamon stick, star anise, vegetable stock, and frozen spinach. Bring mixture to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for at least 30 minutes.
- Prior to serving, remove lemongrass, cinnamon stick, star anise and whole garlic clove, bring soup back to a boil, add tofu (if desired), and rice noodles. Cook rice noodles according to package instructions (likely 5-6 minutes). Garnish with additional scallions and sriracha, if desired. Serve immediately. If not serving immediately, do not add noodles until just before serving!
- Prepare tofu by carefully squeezing out excess water, then cut tofu into cubes.
- Sprinkle tofu with freshly ground black pepper and drizzle with soy sauce.
- Prepare a large sauté pan with nonstick oil spray and pre-heat to medium-high heat. Sear cubes of tofu on all sides, about 2-3 minutes each side, until a nice crust forms. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan. Repeat as necessary until all tofu is cooked. Set aside.
See…it’s totally not as difficult as it may seem!
Now, let’s check out what new ingredients other Reduxers are using…
XO
Oh man, this looks awesome! This really is big ol’ bowl of comfort for me! I love pho but have never tried making it at home, I’m totally inspired 🙂
You must try Sonali! You’ll love it! XO
For some reason the thought of making Pho has always intimidated me but you make it sound so easy. I have to try this. Plus I love lemongrass! I’m going to try to grow it in my garden this year – in Vermont, should be interesting!
Thank you for your kind compliment! It always intimidated me too until I saw someone make this veggie version..you’ll have to let me know what you think! 🙂
This is lovely!!! I love lemongrass! I only started using it this summer, but now, one of my favorites!
I (obviously) just started using it, but it’s going to become a staple verrryyy quickly! 🙂
Oh my gosh I love this. It looks so warm and comforting not to mention healthy too! Pinning
Thanks Allie! I think you’ll love it..so hearty and warming!