Description
This Pho-Spiced Egg Drop Udon Soup is a mash up of several Asian dishes: egg drop soup, pho, and udon noodles. It is a cold-busting bowl of vegetarian comfort! Spiced, rich broth, silky eggs, and hearty rice noodles make this bowl of soup irresistible!
Ingredients
Scale
For the Broth:
- 1 tablespoon coconut or canola oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (2-inch) piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons lemongrass paste (I find mine in the produce section. You can also use fresh!)
- 3 star anise
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 3 whole cloves
- 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 6 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
For Serving:
- Whole eggs, one per bowl of soup
- Udon noodles, cooked, drained, and rinsed (see Notes)
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Fresh scallions, chopped
- Fresh jalapeños, sliced
- Lime wedges
- Hot sauce
Instructions
For the Broth:
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium.
- Add the onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and all the spices. Add a pinch of salt and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, or until everything is fragrant and the onion/ginger are mostly tender.
- Add in the broth, fish sauce, brown sugar, and soy sauce and stir to combine.
- Bring the broth to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes so all the flavors can meld. Season the broth, to taste, with additional salt and black pepper.
- Carefully pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl or another pot. Discard the strained aromatics and spices.
- Return the broth to the stovetop and bring to a simmer.
For the Soup:
- For each serving, place cooked udon noodles (see Notes below) into serving bowls.
- Top with the hot broth (it MUST be hot for this part to work). For each serving, crack an egg into a measuring cup and beat it with a fork. Slowly pour the egg into each bowl of hot broth, stirring as you add it. This will cook and scramble the egg.
- Garnish each bowl of soup with fresh cilantro, scallions, sliced jalapeños, lime juice, and a dash of hot sauce (or however you prefer your soup!). Serve immediately.
Notes
- I buy frozen udon noodles and keep them on hand for dishes like this. I cook them separately from the broth, according to the package directions. I then drain them well and rinse under cold water. I keep them in an airtight container in the fridge and use them as needed. They’ll last in the fridge for a few days.
- I like to add the noodles to the bowls of broth as I’m going to serve, so they don’t get too gummy or dilute the broth with extra starch.
- This makes four servings of broth. I recommend using one egg per bowl of soup.
- I like to keep this dish vegetarian, so I usually use vegetable broth and skip adding any meat. I just don’t think you need it! You could certainly use chicken or beef broth here (which is more traditional with pho) and add meat as you like. Because of the noodles and eggs, though, this is very satisfying sans meat!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: soup
Keywords: pho recipe, homemade pho recipe, vegetarian pho, vegetarian pho recipe, egg drop noodle soup recipe, egg drop soup, udon noodle soup recipes, udon noodle recipes, Asian noodle recipes, vegetarian soups