Would a noodle soup by any other name be less soul-soothing? Pho may be a relative newcomer to the American melting pot, but a craving for those distinctive flavors paired with slippery rice noodles has quickly taken hold of the nation’s appetite. Redolent of exotic spices with a certain savory richness ever-present in the background, it’s traditionally meat that brings the umami element to the party, but vegan alternatives abound. The largest stumbling block for recreating this unfamiliar flavor profile in my own kitchen was one simple spice: Anise. A lovely, licorice-like, naturally sweet warmth, by no means is it a despised ingredient in my eyes, but I can’t help but approach it with great hesitation. A powerful component of any dish, it can quickly overwhelm, even when added with the lightest hand. No matter how I tried to trust the plentiful online recipes, I couldn’t bring myself to attempt them faithfully.
For the pho-fearing, there is at last an easy, approachable answer. Pacific Natural Foods, purveyor of a whole world of soups and stocks, has just unveiled their new Vegetarian Pho Soup Base, a blank canvas for your very own Vietnamese noodle soup masterpiece. Built upon a foundation of mushroom broth, it has savory flavor to spare, with comforting, familiar undertones capable of supporting any combination of toppings and hearty additions.
What really makes most servings of pho, however, is the myriad condiments that you choose to complete your bowl. Aside from noodles and tofu, chilies, hot sauce, lime juice, beansprouts, mint, basil, cilantro, green onions, and/or shallots are all fair game, depending only on a matter of taste. Taking a more sparing route to better taste the broth in question, there was nothing to obstruct the unique seasoning of this surprising soup. Immediately struck by the clear anise essence, at first, it was just as I had feared. Within a few worrisome moments however, it transformed into something entirely new to my palate, a highly nuanced and complex amalgamation of both sweet and hot spices. Not for the timid, it was somewhat sharp upon my initial slurp, but still nothing to dive into a bucket of non-dairy milk over. Impressively fearless for a commercially available packaged offering, regardless of authenticity, I was thrilled to get such a bright, bold kick right from the first spoonful.
Forget about that plain Jane “chicken” noodle next time you’re craving comfort; Pho delivers all that heart-warming familiarity, plus an exciting bouquet of delicate but highly flavorful Vietnamese seasoning all in the same bowl.
It sound delicious, I’ll have to try it! Thanks!
Wow, a veg pho base! I love love love a good bowl of pho (and could really go for one with this rainy/cold weather), hope the base comes to my town sometime in the near future. :)
Mmm that looks and sounds sooo good!
Gorgeous photo, as always. I’m stoked to find out about a packaged veggie pho base! I’ll have to keep an eye out for it, I’m much more likely to make pho at home if most of the work is done already.
Great, now I’m craving pho! ;) That’s actually such a smart move on their part; I’ll definitely keep an eye out for it to try it myself.
Yummie! Your bowl of pho looks delicious. Haven’t had one for a while.
Hope you are having a great week Hannah :-)
Clever title :) Awesome that someone made a packaged pho base. It might not taste as good but for someone like me who’s never had the real thing, it sounds like a great starting point and a little less intimidating. I;ll have to check it out. Thanks!
One of my roommates is a pho addict so i am certainly going to have to point her in the direction of this product!
I was craving Vietnamese too today! I will be looking for this pho broth- sounds amazing, and I don’t blame your hesitance on the anise.
I crave pho on a regular basis, but my last such craving was only half sated by a bowl of insipid mediocrity. Sometimes my life is very hard.
P.S. I wish I could have given you a big squeezy hug at the Vida Vegan Con! *crosses fingers for 2013*
Cool product, I’ll have to look for it. The broth is totally what makes pho so yummy to eat, everything else just builds on top of that. :-)
I’ve really gotten into Vietnamese food ever since I saw the Vietnam episode of ‘No Reservations’, this soup looks absolutely delicious! Pho Sho!!! :-}
I’ve never had it, but I always thought that pho looked like such a comforting, flavorful dish! And the plethora of condiments really has me hooked since I’m a condiment junkie, lol!
I love that someone actually carries a pho soup base. Fun. It is one of my absolute favorite soups and so comforting. I usually make a variation with a lot of cinnamon that I am sure is not at all authentic, but still very delicious. Veg Times (or maybe Eating Well) also has a recipe I love.
I love pho so much. It’s pretty easy to throw together, and it tastes so exotic and yummy.
lovely picture hannah.. i’ve made my own broth and tried Pacific natural in my pho. i think i like my own better:) because i can adjust the spices by my taste! pho is such an awesome healing soup! super loved the blueberry bundt cake posted earlier !
I love pho and would be so curious how a vegetarian pho would be! I’ll have to try it.
I love pho – can’t say I’ve made it at home though! I will definitely be looking for this product.
Oh…I can’t wait to try this. Pho is a big staple in my family!!!
my brother used to work at a vietnamese restaurant that would specially make us vegan pho(i think the pho on the menu had beef broth and other animal products in it). it was so delicious. this post reminds me that i miss pho and i should make my own ;)
Mmm, that looks truly yummy.
looks stunning! Something that I should consider trying for myself.
I go out for pho once every other week for sure. LOVE the stuff! I’ve never tried making it at home though!
Looks and sounds delicious. Fab photo!
Ooo how fun that there’s a vegetarian pho noodle soup base you can buy now!! :)
I love pho! hard to recreate…I wonder if it has star anise in it?