One of my favorite foods is pho. The broth is so fragrant and warming. It’s perfect for chilly evenings. However, what it’s not perfect for is my budget. I used to hit up my favorite pho place as an occasional treat. Once I found a decent recipe and realized that paying for one bowl of pho out is what it would cost me to make a pot of it at home, I had to try it. While mine definitely isn’t the most authentic pho out there, the picture above is of a bowl of it, it certainly does the trick.

After I won the Earth Balance giveaway on The Vegan Crew, I received a Cooking with Coconut recipe book along with the product vouchers. This recipe is from that book, which was put together by Earth Balance. I modified it by adding a few ingredients and leaving a few out.

Read on to see my recipe for vegan pho. Again, it’s definitely not authentic, but it’s still really tasty. If you make pho, please comment and let me know what your recipe is like.

Ingredients for the broth :

• 8 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 1 inch lengths
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 3 inch piece of ginger, sliced into medallions
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 whole star anise

I left out 1 cup shredded coconut. The original recipe called for the shallots to be quartered, but I wanted to eat them in the soup and not waste it so I opted to slice them instead. I also originally used a 4 inch piece of ginger (the original recipe said to use a 6 inch piece) but still found it too strong, so here I suggest using less when making it or using young ginger, which is milder, instead.

Combine all the ingredients for the broth in a large sauce pan. Cover, bring to a simmer, and cook on low heat for one hour. Strain the broth if desired (I didn’t).

Ingredients for the Pho :

• 5 large mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 1/2 medium onion, sliced
• 1 8oz package dry vermicelli rice noodles or bean noodles
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 12 springs Thai basil
• 1 lime, quartered
• Sriracha sauce

I left out 1 10 oz. package of extra firm tofu fried in 2 tbsp. Earth Balance Coconut Spread.

After the broth has cooked for an hour, add the mushrooms, zucchini and onion.

If you wanted to add pan seared tofu slices, warm a pan with Earth Balance Coconut Spread over medium heat. Add the tofu and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until golden and crisp. Then set aside.

When the veggies in the soup are almost done, stir in the bean noodles and let them warm up. Your noodles may have different directions. If so, follow the package directions for best results. The original recipe said to cook the noodles in another pot, in fresh water, but I wanted them to absorb the flavors of the broth.

Ladle broth and noodles into large bowls. Top with the pan seared tofu if desired. Then add bean sprouts, cilantro, Thai basil, lime and Sriracha sauce as desired.