Vegan Coconut Ginger Pho Soup for the Soul

For those readers that follow me on Facebook, you know that my family and I have been sick for the last week. Tonight, I was finally feeling up to making something for us for dinner and all that I could think about was that I wanted some Pho. Before I went vegan, whenever I was sick, Pho was my go to soup since I am not a fan of most other really brothy soups.

Pho (pronounced "Fuh", no it's not a bad word! Though, my sister and I used to giggle at it because we still felt like we were saying one.) is a traditional Vietnamese soup that usually contains beef and noodles. This recipe is my vegan version! The broth has a delicious taste like it's been simmering for hours!

Healing ingredients that taste amazing!

I really wanted this soup to be a great healing soup, so I decided to add things to the broth that would be fragrant, tasty and full of healing properties. With this broth being steeped with immune building spices and herbs such as:

• Ginger: Ginger has long been used for natural treatment of colds and the flu as well as it's powerful anti-nausea properties.
• Garlic: Garlic is a well known broad spectrum antibiotic and has been used for centuries in the natural treatment of colds, the flu, ear infections, and many other ailments and viruses.
• Cinnamon:  Cinnamon is not just a blood sugar regulator, it also has antibacterial properties to it.
• Lemongrass: The primary chemical component in lemongrass is citral which has strong anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties, helping to prevent and cure many bacterial infections.
• Anise: Anise is a great expectorant and also contains antioxidants such as Vitamin-C and Vitamin-A.

Vegan Coconut Ginger Pho Soup for the Soul

BROTH INGREDIENTS

• 10 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1-2 stalk lemongrass (cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 8 cloves garlic (peeled and crushed)
• 2 shallots (peeled and quartered)
• 1 6-inch piece of ginger (peeled and thinly sliced into medallions)
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 2 whole star anise (or if you are out like I was, 2 tsp. of crushed anise seed)

PHO INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 10 oz. package extra firm tofu (sliced and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices)
• 1 8 oz. package rice noodles
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 bunch cilantro (chopped)
• 12 sprigs Tai Basil
• 1 lime (cut into 8 wedges)
• 4 green onions (chopped)
• 1/4 red onion (sliced very thinly)
• 1 jalepeno (thinly sliced)
• Sriracha sauce

BROTH DIRECTIONS

1. Add all of the broth ingredients to a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.
2. Strain the broth and pour it back into the pan. Keep it warm on low heat and add the red onions to the broth.

PHO DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the coconut oil over medium heat and saute the tofu on each side for about two minutes or until golden and crispy.
2. In a saucepan, bring enough water to boil, to cover the noodles. When the water comes to a boil, remove from heat and put the rice noodles in and cover. Let them sit for 6-10 minutes, or according to package. Drain.
3. Put an appropriate amount of noodles into your bowl and ladle the broth over the top. Add any of the condiments, spices, tofu, etc. that you want in your soup.
4. enjoy!