after eating at the jasmine deli yesterday, i havent been able to get pho out of my mind! i attempted to replicate the soup with ingredients i had on hand, and although it was tasty, until i find out how to make the flavorful clear herbal broth mine will only be second banana. and as if i hadn’t already eaten enough seitan this week, i took my basic seitan recipe and used hoisin sauce and chinese 5 spice to jazz it up. cooking everything including the seitan in one pot keeps things streamlined and simple. if you’re gluten free, swap a pound of fresh tofu cubes for the seitan and double check your hoisin/mushroom sauces for wheat.
simple faux-pho
serves 4-6
1 pound raw seitan (use 1/2 c stock, and 2tbs each hoisin and mushroom sauce for the liquid)
1 10 oz bag rice vermicelli
3 medium carrots
1 crown broccoli
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 bag bean sprouts
scallions
lime wedges
sliced jalapenos
cillantro
8 cups vegetable stock
black pepper
peanut oil
saute the shallots in a large stock pot with the peanut oil until soft and brown. add the stock, and bring up to a boil. while you wait on the stock, roll out the seitan dough to a disk about 7″ in diameter. using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, slice the seitan into strips 1/2″ wide by 1′ long. drop them into the stock, and reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes. start a second pot of water to boil for the vermicelli. after the 15 minutes has elapsed, drop in the carrots and cook until softened but still crisp. now toss in the garlic, and the broccoli. once the noodles are done, flush them with cool water until the water runs clear, and divide among 4-6 bowls. when the broccoli is crisp-tender, divide the soup between the bowls and garnish with black pepper, cilantro, sprouts, scallions, sliced of jalapeno, and sriracha if its around.
faux-pho
*we even scored cute new soup bowls and spoons wandering down nicolet! cheap thrills!
