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Vegetarian Bun Rieu Chay

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By: Cindy Lam Lorimer
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 5 hours
Servings: 15
Bun Rieu Chay is a vegetarian version of the classic Vietnamese noodle soup, featuring rice vermicelli in a tangy tomato broth, enriched with tofu and fresh herbs.

Ingredients 

Annatto oil:

  • 1 cup avocado oil, or any neutral oil
  • 1 Tbsp annatto seeds

Broth:

  • 1/3 cup annatto oil for frying
  • 3 onions, peeled, cut in halves
  • 3 large shallots, cut in halves
  • ½ cup mushroom powder
  • ½ cup kosher salt, plus 2 Tbsp
  • 1 Tbsp rock sugar
  • 2 Tbsp tamarind paste
  • 3 Fuji apples, peeled
  • 2 Asian pears, peeled
  • 3 chayotes, peeled
  • 1 jicama, peeled
  • 1 opo squash, peeled
  • 1 cabbage, whole
  • 1 napa cabbage, whole
  • 2 corn on the cob
  • 4 king oyster mushrooms
  • 8 oz white button mushroom
  • 2 portobello mushrooms
  • ¼ cup vegan fish sauce
  • 1 bunch cilantro stems, stems only and not the leaves

Tomato mix:

  • 5 Tbsp annatto oil
  • 2 leeks, white part only, chopped
  • 2 large shallots, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 10 oz jar fermented bean curd, strained
  • ¼ cup tomato paste
  • 3 tomatoes, chopped
  • ½ Tbsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper

Tofu crumble mix:

  • ¼ cup leek, white part only, minced and sauteed
  • 4 14 oz firm tofu, crumbled
  • 8 oz white mushroom, minced
  • 8 oz brown mushroom, minced
  • ¼ cup mushroom powder
  • 20 eggs
  • ⅓ cup annatto oil
  • ⅓ cup tomato mix
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp sugar

Remaining ingredients:

  • 2 lb bag vermicelli noodles
  • 4 14 oz soft tofu, deep fried
  • 8 tomatoes, quartered
  • 8 green onions, cut in one inch lengths, smashed
  • ¼ cup annatto oil

Optional garnish:

  • green onions, chopped
  • cilantro, chopped
  • bean sprouts
  • water spinach, thinly sliced
  • cabbage or red leaf lettuce, julienned
  • basil
  • mint leaves
  • perilla leaves
  • lime wedges

Instructions

Annatto oil:

  • Add ½ cup oil to a pan. Heat, and once oil is hot, remove pan from heat. Add annatto seeds, stir and let sit for 5 minutes for the red coloring from the annatto seeds to seep out. Strain the oil into a small bowl and set aside for later use.

Broth:

  • In a 24 quart pot, add annatto oil and fry the onions and shallots until they are nice and brown on both sides.
  • Add the rest of the broth ingredients and fill pot all the way to the rim with water.
  • Bring it to a boil, then turn heat down and let it simmer for 3 hours.
  • After 3 hours, strain the broth. Try to squeeze out the vegetables as they hold a lot of water.
  • Transfer to a 16 quart pot.

Tomato mix:

  • In a pan, on medium high heat, add 5 tablespoons of annatto oil.
  • Sauté leeks, shallots and garlic for a few minutes until they soften.
  • Add fermented bean curd and tomato paste and stir fry for 2 minutes.
  • Then add chopped tomatoes, add salt and pepper on the tomatoes to season, and stir fry for a few minutes so all the flavors blend together. Turn off heat.
  • Scoop out 3 heaping tablespoons of this mix and set aside. Set pan aside.

Tofu crumble mix:

  • In a small pan, on medium heat, add oil and saute leeks until their softened, around a few minutes. Set aside and let cool.
  • In a medium size bowl, add the remaining ingredients of the tofu crumble mix including the sauteed leeks and gently mix, do not overmix.
  • Cover and put in the refrigerator for at least an hour or until the 3 hours is up from simmering the broth.

Vermicelli noodles:

  • Cook the vermicelli noodles as per instructions on the bag. Drain and set aside.
  • Make sure to rinse the vermicelli noodles with cold water several times to get all of the starch out, then dump into an ice water bath and drain. 

Puffy tofu:

  • Cut tofu blocks into 12 pieces.
  • Heat frying oil to 380 degrees, then deep fry tofu.

Combining the soup:

  • Pour the tomato mix in the pan that you set aside into the broth.
  • Turn the heat up so the broth starts to boil. Take “tofu” mix out of the fridge.
  • Scoop “tofu” mix with an ice cream scooper and gently immerse into the broth.
  • Add fried tofu, the remaining half of the quartered tomatoes, one inch smashed green onions and drizzle ¼ cup annatto oil to the top of the pot to give it a nice red color.
  • Lower the heat and let is simmer for at least another 15 minutes and serve.
  • When serving, scoop vermicelli noodles into a bowl, pour broth to fill the bowl, and add your desired garnish and squeeze a lime.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 733kcal | Carbohydrates: 106g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 218mg | Sodium: 6007mg | Potassium: 1356mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 1767IU | Vitamin C: 72mg | Calcium: 225mg | Iron: 5mg

Equipment

  • 24 qt pot
  • 16 qt pot

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