Vegan Pho! (Plus black eyed peas three ways- bonus!) (soy, crunchy, meat)

[MoonBeam33]

I stopped eating meat late last year and have been investigating different broth options, especially something that would make good pho since I love it and it isn't available in a vegetarian option anywhere near me.


We had black eyed peas for New Year's day (not made by me) and the broth (pot liquor/pot likker) was so delicious it inspired me to try it myself and find multiple uses for the recipe.

Here's what I did:

1/2 lb black eyed peas
2 onions, quartered
salt and pepper - added at the end.

Rinse and soak the black eyed peas overnight up to 24 hours.
Discard soaking water, put peas in a large slow cooker and add 8-10 cups of water, and onions.
Cook on high for one hour, then turn down to low til done (2-4 hours, your slow cooker may vary), stir once or twice.
When finished cooking, add salt and pepper to taste. Stir and let sit a little longer.

This is delicious with/over crunchy cornbread.


I didn't have everything I wanted for the Pho broth, but I had enough and I wanted to experiment. I took about two cups of the broth (peas separated out) and simmered it with a star anise, a crushed cardamom pod, and a small piece of cinnamon for about 15 minutes. Then I added a tiny squirt of ginger paste, squeeze of half a lime, and a dribble of low sodium soy sauce. Added the rice noodles and let simmer on very low heat until noodles were soft. Then added some fresh cilantro.

It was so good! As close as I've gotten to that pho taste I have been missing. I have reserved the rest of the broth and will simmer it with larger portions of the above ingredients, plus I will char some fresh ginger if I remember to get it at the store.

I know this is not a recipe and it's very flexible to add other traditional pho ingredients that I didn't have on hand (thai basil, jalapeno slices, and bean sprouts come to mind). I am looking forward to creating a great recipe.

Now, I have all these left over cooked black eyed peas that I will need to eat up! Here's the second use:

Roasted Black Eyed Peas

Take about 1 cup of peas and spread out on a double thickness of paper towels on a rimmed cookie sheet. Let sit for several hours until mostly dry, but still squishy is ok! Preheat oven to 450.

In a bowl, add peas and olive/canola oil (I didn't measure, probably two tablespoons), salt, pepper, and garlic powder, to your taste. Mix and spread out on oiled baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 and then turn down to 350. Stir peas and roast for another ten minutes. After the second ten minutes, take a pea out and try it when it is cool. If not crunchy to your liking, stir and bake for another 10 minutes, then test again. Mine were done after 30 minutes total.

They are crunchy, salty, and delicious! I am struggling not to eat them all tonight.

The third pea recipe will be Hummus, which I will post here when I make it!

Hope you enjoyed!

[fastninja500]

I too love Pho. I'm trying this tonight.
Thank you.

[Mightyqueen801]

Yum, sounds good.

It was a year for me since I ate meat November 1.

[MoonBeam33]

Success!

I made the hummus just a few minutes ago. Again, no recipe, but roughly 1to 1 1/2 C peas, 1 heaping TBSP of minced garlic (from a jar), juice of half a lemon, and a good amount of tahini, plus salt to taste. I put it all in the blender and blended until the consistency that I wanted - it was a little chunky at first. It is a bit thin because there was still some broth with the peas, but seems to be thickening up as I let it sit. And the flavor is very good!