Tofu & Fried Egg Pho with Crispy Onions & Furikake
 
Prep time
Cook time
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Makes: 2 servings
Ingredients
  • ½ yellow onion, very thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
  • 1 star anise (or ½ tsp fennel seed)
  • 1 T light cooking oil, divided
  • 2 cups beef stock (or 2 cups water prepared with 2 tsp Better Than Bouillon)
  • hoisin & sriracha sauces, to taste (about 1 tsp each, plus extra for serving)
  • 3-4 oz dry bun tuoi (rice vermicelli)
  • 7 oz firm tofu (about half brick), drained and thinly sliced into 12 pieces
  • 2 large eggs
  • salt and pepper
  • canned crispy fried onions (such as French's or Trader Joe's)
  • furikake (Japanese nori seasoning) for serving, available at most Asian markets or online
Instructions
  1. Liberally salt and pepper sliced tofu. In a nonstick griddle or frypan, heat ½ T oil until very hot. Add tofu slices in a single layer and fry until golden brown and they release easily from the pan, about 1-2 mins. Flip and repeat on second side. Reserve.
  2. In same hot pan, fry eggs to desired doneness. (I like mine with a set white and runny, sunny-side up yolk, so I throw a lid over the pan. Technically, I think this becomes a "basted" rather than a fried egg. Does it matter?)
  3. Meanwhile, heat remaining ½ T oil in a medium soup pot or dutch oven. Add onion, garlic and anise or fennel and saute briefly until onions begin to soften. Add stock, sriracha and hoisin and bring to a boil.
  4. While soup heats, prepare noodles according to package instructions. Do not overcook. Divide noodles among bowls.
  5. Divide soup among bowls, pouring over noodles. Top with seared tofu, fried eggs, onions, furikake and sriracha to taste. Slurp to your heart's content!
Notes
Update: After making this soup a few times, I found that the best way to preserve the integrity of the noodles is to prep them separately from soup and then serve the hot both over the noodles in the bowl. This prevents the noodles from accidentally overcooking directly in the soup.

Good news vegetarians: Make this with veggie stock (something rich with ginger and lemongrass, perhaps), and you're looking at a comforting meal that any herbivore would be proud to call suppah.
Recipe by the pig & quill at https://thepigandquill.com/tofu-fried-egg-pho-with-crispy-onions-furikake/