I’ve always admired vegetarians because I don’t think I can omit meat from my diet. My mother and uncle have been vegetarian all their life, but why can’t I follow their path? Must be all the great food that I don’t want to miss!!
Being a vegetarian doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all the good food. Take Cat, my girlfriend, who is a vegetarian as an example. This foodie hunts everywhere for great vegetarian food, cooks great vegetarian dishes and a true animal lover. So when she requested me to cook a meatless Vietnamese soup, I know I couldn’t turn down her pretty face.
This crab vermicelli soup usually consists of pork broth, crab and shrimp paste. However, for this vegetarian version, we used tofu, tomatoes, and mushrooms as substitutions. This simple soup entails of two easy peasy steps: making the vegetable broth and adding the vegetarian mixture into the broth. The main ingredients you can’t omit here are jicama and annatto oil. The jicama will yield a flavorful, sweet broth and the annatto oil will add a reddish color to the broth mixture. This magnificent tangy broth also invited tamarind to the party for a more sour taste. And, of course, the party can’t be complete without the band which stars green onions, bean sprouts and lime wedges.
- For the Vegetarian broth:
- 12 cups water
- 2 Fuji apples (peeled & seeded)
- 1 medium daikon radish (chopped)
- 1 medium jicama (cut into 4)
- 1 onion (peeled)
- 1 can 28oz of vegetarian broth
- 1 can water
- 3 tablespoon of vegetarian powder
- 1 teaspoon of tamarin powder
- For the toppings
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
- 9 oz soft tofu
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon of annatto seed oil
- 3 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of vegetables powder
- A pinch of black pepper
- 2 cups of fried tofu (chopped into small pieces)
- 5 plum tomatoes (sliced into 1 inch pieces)
- 1 pack of eoki mushrooms (about 5 oz.)
- For servings:
- 1 packet of vermicelli noodles (cook according to package instruction)
- Bean sprouts
- Lime wedges
- 1 cup chopped green onion
- In a large pot, fill with 12 cups of water. Add apples, daikon radish, jicama & onion and simmer on low heat for at least 1-2 hours. When the broth is ready, discard the fruits and add 1 can of vegetable broth, vegetables power and tamarin to the broth.
- While the soup is simmering, prepare the “crab-less” mixture in a bowl. Using a spatula, smash the soft tofu and add a teaspoon salt. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and slightly fry the soft tofu mixture. Pour the soft tofu in the soup pot.
- Using the same pan, add 2 tablespoon of oil and stir fry the tomatoes, mushrooms, and the fry tofu. Season with 3 tablespoon of annatto oil, a tablespoon of vegetables powder and a pinch of black pepper.
- Pour the vegetables mixture and tofu into the soup pot.
- Season according to taste and let the broth simmer for an additional 15 minutes before serving.
- To serve: add some rice vermicelli, pour the broth with all of ingredients. Sprinkles chopped green onion, squeeze of lime and bean sprouts.
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