We’ve had a spate of hot weather here in California and it instantly turned my attention to lighter eating. In Vietnam, people enjoy noodle soup year round because it comforts and satisfies without weighing you down. Chicken pho is tonic like and speaks to spring more than beef pho. You can make it from a whole chicken using my Instant Pot chicken pho recipe to feed four, or brew a more traditional pho ga in a big stockpot to serve eight.

But if you just want a quick pho for one or two, use my recipe for fast chicken pho (phở gà nhanh). I made it this week it’s splendid — chickeny, fresh tasting, and soulful in less than 45 minutes. It’s so much better than the “instant pho” sold at supermarkets, which you have to doctor up big time for it to be meaningful.

I originally published the recipe in The Pho Cookbook and this week, shared it at my website with lots of bonus tips. Go pho the fast chicken pho recipe and you won’t regret it! 😆

I adore last week’s classic bún chả for how the pork develops a smoky umami and lends those savors to the nuoc cham sauce. That’s the brilliance of the classic Hanoi rice noodle dish. But after spending a week thinking about and developing the recipe for the newsletter, I realized that the meat was simply a conveyor for the distinctive marinade. How could I make a plant-based version that tastes đặc biệt (special)? How could I craft a version that rivaled the meaty original? Do you need meat to make great bún chả?

Substituting an alt-meat such as Impossible Meat for the pork is not good enough. It has a strong flavor that’s not copacetic with bún chả flavors.

For an exciting, wholesome bún chả chay (“chay” means vegetarian in Vietnamese), I turned to tofu and springtime vegetables. I also rejiggered the marinade formula to be naturally vegan and to make the vegetables taste extra good and look very sexy.

At the end of a week of ruminating and recipe testing, I have a great recipe for you! Rory remarked how it perfumes the kitchen with wonderful aromas of caramelization, just like the meaty bún chả does. When we ate the tofu and grilled veggies, they had an uncanny meaty quality. A big veggie win!

Full of sensory razzmatazz, my bún chả chay is remarkably tasty and satisfying without being heavy. Meat does not have to define the dish’s appeal.

It’s also fun to eat because the various vegetables offered distinctive flavors and textures; go ahead and fish around the sauce bowl for different things! The best plant-based dishes fire on all cylinders to hit all your food pleasure points.

I’m so happy to present you with this recipe and all the accompanying elements so you can craft your own head-turning bún chả chay. This successful vegetarian riff underscores a culinary truth: Foundational Viet cooking lends itself to creativity so long as you understand the parameters of a dish.

For instance, with the recipe and insights below, you can:

• Vary the vegetables, depending on what’s on sale or growing in your garden and what you enjoy grilling!

• Serve this version alongside traditional pork bún chả to create an extra special, festive low-meat meal. You’ll thrill vegetarians and vegans while impressing jaded omnivores.

• If you’re calling the classic pork version the “Obama Special”, then nickname this one the “Michelle Obama Special” as an ode to the former First Lady’s health initiative for kids and White House vegetable garden.

Leave a comment

Supermarket ingredients go into this bún chả chay (pronounced “boon chahh chay”) to make it very accessible. If you want to use Asian market ingredients, by all means do. Here’s all you need for your vegetarian bún chả adventure:

• Bún Chả Chay recipe in full text and as a downloadable PDF

• Scalable Vegan Bún Chả Marinade formula and recipe for you to serve 2 or 10!

• Pointers on prep and vegetable butchering to help you succeed

• The same noodle prep video that’s in the meat version so you don’t have to click back (you’re welcome!)

• Ingredient swaps and advance prep ideas to save time

Make bún chả to enjoy Vietnam in your own kitchen, on your own terms!

Read more