Vegetarian Pho.

The rain has set in today, putting our little house in a cocoon and making me pine for the exact moment when it’s late enough in the evening to don my cushy bathrobe and slippers.  But before that time, we had to have dinner – and what better on a cool, damp evening than pho?

For a long time, I didn’t make pho because I was terrified it would be too complicated.  But then I came across this recipe over at Tablespoon, and my world changed.  I use vegetable broth rather than chicken, and I omit the star anise because who has the time?  As the broth simmers, I sliced a block of tofu into thin rectangles and baked them at 400 in the oven for 20 minutes, turning once 10 minutes in, and heated up the soba noodles in another pot, draining the water when they were fully cooked. 

Once the broth was ready, I added the noodles and tofu in turn and gave everything a hearty stir to combine.  After that, it was time to eat!  I placed all the relevant toppings – basil, bean sprouts, lime wedges, jalapeno slices – on a serving plate for easy access and made sure we both had plenty of access to the Sriracha.  Once our bowls were customized to our liking, we chowed down, casting out the day’s chill with a piping-hot bowl of hearty, healthy, filling pho.

:)