Phở Chay - Vegetarian PHO - Helen Le

Peel and cut the vegetables into pieces. Mince the white part of the leek and cut the rest in 3-inch lengths.Fill a large stockpot with 4 liters (16 cups) water. Add the vegetables, rock sugar and sale. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer for 30 minutes.To create the PHO aroma, grill all ingredients for PHO aroma directly on the stove (open flame). Then rinse under warm water and scrape of the charred bits. Insert these items into large tea bags (or wrap securely in a piece of cheese cloth) and add to the soup pot. Season to your taste with salt, and mushroom seasoning powder.Combine the deep-fried tofu, tofu skin, an vegan beef slices in a large bowl and season with salt, sugar, mushroom seasoning powder and some five-spice powder. Do the same with the mushrooms.Cook the noodles following package instructions. Then rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process and remove the outside starch. AND rinse again under hot water. This helps the noodles to get dried faster (hot water evaporates quicker) and become more fluffy (rather than stick to each other and turn lumpy).Add vegan balls to the soup pot if any. Adjust the soup to your taste with salt, and mushroom seasoning powder.In a large serving bowl, place a handful of noodle to fill one third of the bowl. (You can quickly blanch the noodle before serving to make it warm). Top up with the toppings of your choice and garnish with some chopped sawtooth herbs. Ladle the hot soup over the noodles.Served with a lime wedge, some sawtooth herbs and sweet basils. Optional: blanched bean sprouts, Sriracha or hoisin sauce, pickled garlic chili etc.