Easy Vegan Pho (15-Minute Noodle Soup)
Pho feels like restaurant food — the kind of bowl you assume needs hours of simmering. This version is my weeknight cheat: a gingery broth built in 15 minutes, with soybean sprouts and strips of fried tofu standing in for the chicken. The tofu does what the meat usually does — soaks up broth and gives you something substantial to chew.
A squeeze of lemon at the end wakes the whole bowl up. Light, clean and done before your delivery app would even confirm the order.
Ingredients
- Dried rice noodles (bánh phở)2 1/2 to 3 oz
- Soybean sproutsor mung bean sprouts1 cup
- Onion, thinly sliced1/8 large
- Aburaage (fried tofu sheet)see substitutions1/2 sheet
Broth
- Water1 1/4 cups
- Vegan Chinese-style stock powderor vegetable bouillon1 tsp
- Fresh ginger, julienned1 knob
- Salt1/3 tsp
- Soy sauce1 Tbsp
- Cumin, coriander, cinnamon (optional)a pinch each
Toppings
- Cilantroa handful
- Lemon or lime wedgesto serve
Nutrition
per serving🛒 Ingredient notes & substitutions
Aburaage: Thin sheets of deep-fried tofu, sold refrigerated or frozen at Asian groceries. No luck? Pan-fry strips of extra-firm tofu until golden — you want something to soak up the broth.
Rice noodles: Any width of bánh phở works. Truly stuck? The original Japanese recipe notes that somen, glass noodles or even udon make a fine (if unorthodox) bowl.
Instructions
Julienne the ginger and slice the onion thin. Pick the cilantro leaves and cut the stems into 1-inch (3 cm) pieces — the stems go in the broth. Rinse the aburaage with hot water to remove surface oil, halve it lengthwise, then cut into strips.
Blanch the sprouts briefly and drain.
Soak or cook the rice noodles according to the package, then drain.
Bring the broth ingredients to a boil. Add the onion, aburaage and cilantro stems and cook through, then add the noodles and simmer 1–2 minutes. Taste and adjust.
Bowl the noodles and broth, pile on the sprouts, and top with cilantro leaves and a wedge of lemon or lime.
Tips
Don't throw away the cilantro stems — simmered in the broth, they give more flavor than the leaves.
The pinch of cumin, coriander and cinnamon is optional but takes the 15-minute broth surprisingly close to the long-simmered kind.