vegan pho

i love pho!!! pho is a vietnamese beef noodle soup garnished with mint, basil, lime, and bean spouts.  i researched on different pho recipes online and put this recipe together. 

this is my first attempt trying to cook pho.  with all the spices that are used in this dish, it was quite overwhelming and discouraging.  although i could have easily gone down the street from my place and ordered vegetarian pho for $4.00 (pho broth is usually made with beef broth and there's no compassion in that!), i was determined to make this dish!   not only was it DELICIOUS but it's VEGAN!    when you're actually making the broth, the spices may seem overpowering but when all the ingredients come together at the end, it all seems to balance out nicely. 


broth ingredients:

1 filter ball

5 star of annise

1 tbsp corriander

1 tbsp fennel

6 whole cloves

1 dried cardamon pod

1 cinnamon stick

3 inch sticks of ginger, peeled

1 white onion halved and peeled
8 cups of vegetable broth

garnish:

jalepenos, sliced
lime, sliced
basil
mint
cilantro, chopped
1 stalk of green onions, sliced
1/2 white onion, sliced thinly
sriracha hot sauce
vegetarian hoisin sauce



Rice Stick Noodles:
Banh Pho Viet Mien Lao
** soak for 25 min

directions:

1)  in a large pot bring vegetable broth, onions, and ginger to boil.  add all of the spices, except the cinnamon stick, into the filter ball.  add the filter ball to the broth mix and the cinnamon stick.  cover and turn the heat down to medium low.  simmer for about 20-25 minutes.  when the broth is finished, take out the filter ball and spoon out the ginger, onions, and cinnamon stick.
2)  while you're waiting for the broth to cook, prepare soup garnish and soak rice stick noodles with warm water in a large bowl.
3)  in another pot, boil water and add noodles.  cook briefly for about 3-5 minutes.
4) when the noodles are soft, drain and spoon into a large bowl.  add the pho broth and garnish with