Pho noodle salad with tofu, wombok and broccolini

There are no fancy ingredients - all that is needed to achieve an amazing flavour is a bit of time.

Hetty McKinnon's salad is a clever vegetarian version of pho. Credit: Luisa Brimble

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  1:30 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

It looks pretty ordinary - like a big bowl of noodles - but when people taste it, they are always surprised by the flavour. I love that. And vegetarians are very thankful for this recipe. Finally, they too can be a pho participant, rather than a spectator!

Ingredients

• 350 g thick dried rice noodles
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 400 g broccolini, trimmed and sliced diagonally into 2.5cm pieces (see Notes)
• 120 g wombok cabbage, finely sliced (see Notes)
• 220 g five-spice tofu (about 1 packet), finely sliced into thin strips
• 180 g bean sprouts
• 1 cup Asian herb leaves (Thai basil, coriander, Chinese shallots, Vietnamese mint or perilla)
• 1 long red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• sea salt and white pepper

Pho dressing

• 2 onions, peeled and halved
• 7 cm piece of ginger, peeled and halved lengthways
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 white peppercorns
• 3 star anise
• 3 whole cloves
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1.5 litres (6 cups) vegetable stock or water
• 1 tbsp tamari
• 6 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 3 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• sea salt

Instructions

To make the dressing, place the onions and ginger pieces directly on the flame of a gas hob or under a very hot grill until they are slightly blackened all over. Heat a large saucepan over a medium–low heat. Add the cinnamon, peppercorns, star anise, cloves and coriander seeds and toast, stirring to prevent burning, for 30 seconds until aromatic.

Add the vegetable stock, tamari, carrots, mushrooms, charred onion and ginger to the pan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 60–80 minutes until reduced by a third. Strain. Season with salt to taste and whisk in the olive oil.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, add the rice noodles and cook for six to eight minutes until tender. Drain and refresh under cold running water.

In a frying pan, add the olive oil and pan-fry the broccolini for about five minutes, until just tender and lightly charred.

Combine the noodles, wombok, broccolini, tofu, bean sprouts and herbs and pour over some of the dressing. Mix together well, making sure everything is coated in the dressing and season with salt and white pepper.

Serve topped with chopped chilli (if you like) and lime wedges.

Notes

• You can substitute broccoli for broccolini and green cabbage for wombok.

Recipe courtesy of Neighbourhood by Hetty McKinnon (Plum, $39.99).

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

It looks pretty ordinary - like a big bowl of noodles - but when people taste it, they are always surprised by the flavour. I love that. And vegetarians are very thankful for this recipe. Finally, they too can be a pho participant, rather than a spectator!