Simple Vegetarian Pho Broth Recipe (2024)

The broth is perfect! We didn't find it sweet, nor bland - rather very balanced and nuanced in flavour. My husband who is a big pho lover (and connoisseur), found this broth to have the perfect amount of body for his brisket. I don't eat beef, so I keep it vegetarian with shiitakes, button mushrooms and tofu. For some heat, we top it with homemade (sort-of-like) sriracha.
Have a pot of it simmering as I speak. Thank you so much Ms. Shulman! We have used and loved many of your recipes.

This turned out beautifully on its own, but I do think the broth was enhanced a TON after topping the completed pho with lime zest, green onion, hot (spicy) sesame oil, sriracha, cilantro, basil, a tiny bit of soy sauce, and some pickled ginger. I used mushrooms, carrots, and celery sautéed in garlic and a little hot sesame oil, cubed tofu, and thin rice noodles, finished with two soft boiled egg halves in each bowl. Heavenly.

For a vegan fish sauce stand-in you could try Bragg’s Amino Acids

The broth was a bit bland and a bit sweet. I'll probably eliminate the sugar next time.

I made the broth in my Instant pot (20min, i think). The broth was phenomenal.

I’ve experimented with fermented vegetable (like kimchi or good quality sauerkraut) juice in place of fish sauce. It gives it the funky salty flavor without the fish.

This seems like a waste of some delicious and expensive produce: I make vegan broth by saving kitchen waste - garlic/onion/shallot skins and peels, green parts of leeks/scallions, asparagus shavings, pea pods, cabbage cores, tomato tops, potato skins, celery knobs, carrot peels, mushroom stems, etc. I save them in a bag in the freezer and then just boil for an hour in salted water and strain. Sometimes I add miso.I do like the idea of adding the spices and will try that next time.

The recipe says the fish sauce is optional. That is how it is vegetarian. If you would like vegetarian, don’t add the fish sauce. Pretty simple.

The variety of carrots can change the overall sweetness of the broth -- I recommend holding out on the sugar until the end.

1. the high concentration of salt in the fish sauce can alter the time and flavor of the veggies as they cook, also, the fish flavor becomes less prominent the longer it's cooked.2. it's not traditionally made with oil, as many asian vegetarians avoid it, but you could finish the broth with a dash of sesame oil during plating. 3. keeping the heat low and preventing the broth from ever reaching a boil will make the broth less sediment-y and more clear. cheap restaurants sometimes use a mix.

I just made it for the first time. My adult son is a big pho fan. Finally seeing him this weekend after the long Covid pause so I thought I would surprise him. Just finished this base broth & found it very tasty. I am looking forward to adding beef (for him), mushrooms (for me) to the noodles, Thai Basel, cilantro, lime, mint, scallions, etc. It is nice to be cooking for someone again

Uss coconut aminos: there are several great brands available including TrerJoe’s own house brand... great stuff, different flavor than soy, and great umami-builder ...

This was bland. Maybe double (or even triple?) the spices next time.

I'm allergic to Fish, so I am wondering what other sauce I can use in the place of the fish sauce for this recipe?

Absolutely delicious, I think adding the fish sauce is necessary though. I'm vegetarian so I made my own: 4 cups of water, 1 small charred yellow onion (just like used in this recipe), 5 smashed cloves of garlic, 1 large sheet of kombu, 1 Tbsp wakame flakes, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 Tbsp sea salt, simmered over medium heat until 2 cups of liquid remain.

Smelled amazing and I was so excited for this and it just tasted bleh. Bland and lacking that sweetness of good pho. Tried to salvage and add lime, chili and onion but was still not a fan. Followed the recipe exactly (though I had to use dried lemongrass) so really not sure what happened.

If you have the time, you can really bump this recipe up. I simmered the veggie stock for 2-3 hours, strained it and added the fish sauce and let it simmer for another 1-2 hours. Top notch and worth the investment of time.

For the star anise pods I substituted with 3x1/2 teaspoons of ground all spice. The whole cloves I substituted with 2x1/2teaspoons of ground cloves. If no cheesecloth, just cut a corner off a dye free cotton pillowcase and it'll hold the ground spices perfectly.If you want to add meat: I got thin cut sirloin beef and cut it into strips with scissors. Season the meat with salt, a little brown sugar, minced lemon grass, and garlic powder. Simmer the beef in the broth until it's cooked.

Fantastic.. used what I hadNo leeksOnly one large carrotLemon peel instead of lemongrassI did char the onion and ginger. Tossed everything in the IP for one hour high pressureRestaurant quality! Thank you!

Broiled onion and ginger until charred. Replaced rest of veggies with two tsp of better than bouillon veggie, halved spices, sugar and used three cups of water and cooked in IP for 20 min on pressure cook then manual release. added 1 tbsp of fish sauce

You can substitute wheat-free tamari or soy sauce for the fish sauce to keep it vegetarian/vegan.

I don’t understand why you would tie the spices in a bag if you are just going to strain it anyway.I suppose if you are thrifty (like me) and want to somehow use the cooked veg later (pureed and added to a soup?) that would make sense.But that being said, I have a flock of chickens that would really love to turn the cooked veggies into eggs for me. The spices won’t bother them at all!

Very bland. Trying to save it now with some other vegetable broth. Anise smelled great as cooking

I just made it for the first time. My adult son is a big pho fan. Finally seeing him this weekend after the long Covid pause so I thought I would surprise him. Just finished this base broth & found it very tasty. I am looking forward to adding beef (for him), mushrooms (for me) to the noodles, Thai Basel, cilantro, lime, mint, scallions, etc. It is nice to be cooking for someone again

Doubled all spicesX2 heads of garlicShould probably be x2 onionsProbably even more spices, had to heavy on salt at the end Didn’t use turnips. No sugar

Finally! Vegetarian pho broth that’s super delicious. I did add fish sauce which I love, and did only a tablespoon of sugar. The lemongrass along with charred onion & ginger are really key. Loved it!

It gets better every time we make it, a sweet nectar of a broth. You might stand at the pot tasting it for the rest of the night.My kids want it vegan, though the missing element is definitely the fish sauce, it just gives it that deep umami salt that's otherwise lacking. The fish sauce is also the only fat in the broth, which you miss otherwise. Gardein veg meatballs are great; baked tofu pieces too. Can't add too much lime, cilantro, sprouts, mint, basil, sliced jalapenos, green onion

I made this but the broth ended up a rather unappealing greyish color. Yuck! Any ideas why?? It tasted good though.

A fine recipe if you stick with it. Skip the sugar and add 2 tbsp of tamari at the end; as is, it’s way too sweet for pho. There are better uses for produce and better, simpler broth recipes, but I suppose if your turnips are starting to turn this is a good way to use them.

Broiled onion and ginger until charred. Replaced rest of veggies with two tsp of better than bouillon veggie, halved spices, sugar and used three cups of water and cooked in IP for 20 min on pressure cook then manual release. added 1 tbsp of fish sauce. broth was delicious and used it for vegetarian pho