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Life Made Sweeter

Healthy & Delicious Recipes to sweeten up your life

Easy Pho with Daikon Noodles

An easy version of Vietnamese pho soup that’s made healthier with daikon noodles and packed-full of veggies. Perfect for slurping on a cooler day and easy to customize with your favorite protein.

Daikon Pho is a healthy twist on Vietnamese pho using sprialzed daikon noodles with a sweet & spicy vegetable broth.
Have you heard of Pho before? Like “pho-gettaboutit.”?

If not, it’s a wonderfully delicate Vietnamese soup, made with rice noodles steeped in an insanely flavorful broth.  It’s often made with beef or chicken and topped with lots of fresh aromatic veggies.  It’s the ultimate comforting dish to enjoy on a cold, rainy or snowy day.

It was one of the foods I would crave for everyday when I was pregnant and it was especially satisfying after a few runs down the ski hills when the hubs and I used to go skiing.

Daikon Pho is a healthy twist on Vietnamese pho using sprialzed daikon noodles with a sweet & spicy vegetable broth.
There’s just something about a piping hot bowl of the fragrant broth flavored with star anise, cardamom, fennel seeds and cinnamon that come together to create soup perfection.

The best part about is that you can customize any and all the condiments you desire to make it your own.

Daikon Pho is a healthy twist on Vietnamese pho using sprialzed daikon noodles with a sweet & spicy vegetable broth.
Pho is usually made with beef and you can find my version of it HERE  (a reader favorite) but this time I based this recipe off of Ali’s recipe from Inspiralized with shrimp for the hubs and a meatless version for myself with tofu.

(Be sure to scroll down for the giveaway for your own copy)

Instead of using rice noodles, Ali’s recipe calls for a lighter and healthier version using spiralized daikon noodles.  With a spiralizer or a vegetable peeler, you’re able to turn almost any vegetable into noodles!

Daikon Pho is a healthy twist on Vietnamese pho using sprialzed daikon noodles with a sweet & spicy vegetable broth.
The soup was nice and light which is perfect for this time of year when we’re still transitioning from summer to fall.

Although it doesn’t have all the complex flavors you get from simmering all day like the traditional bowl of pho, it’s perfect if you’re short on time and need to get that pho noodle slurping fix.

Daikon Pho is a healthy twist on Vietnamese pho using sprialzed daikon noodles with a sweet & spicy vegetable broth.
 

Print
Easy Pho with Daikon Noodles
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 
An easy Vietnamese pho soup that’s been healthified with daikon noodles and packed-full of veggies. Perfect for slurping on a cold day and easy to customize with your favorite protein.
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: asian soup recipe, easy pho recipe, vietnamese recipe
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 145 kcal
Ingredients
  • 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 Tablespoons fish sauce
  • juice from 2 limes about 3-1/2 tablespoons
  • zest from 1 lime
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 lemongrass stalk tender inner part only, cut into 2-inch slices
  • 2 red chiles sliced
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
  • 2 cloves garlic sliced
  • 12 small shrimp peeled and deveined (omit and use tofu for a meatless version)
  • 1 large daikon radish peeled
  • 1/4 cup packed whole cilantro leaves chopped
  • 2 to 3 green onions sliced
  • 1 white onion sliced thinly
Optional Ingredients:
  • 1/2 block tofu cut into cubes
  • 1 head of baby bok choy chopped
  • 1/2 cup kale chopped
  • 1 cup fresh mung bean sprouts
  • 2-3 Thai basil leaves
  • Sriracha
  • hoisin sauce
Instructions
  1. Use a spiralizer, julienne peeler or mandolin to turn the daikon radish into noodles.
  2. Bring the water, vegetable broth, fish sauce, lime juice, zest, and coriander to a boil over high heat. Lower to medium and season with salt and pepper. Add the lemongrass, ginger, and chiles. Cover, and simmer for 10 minutes to let the spices infuse the broth.
  3. Toss in the shrimp and cook for about 8 minutes until they turn pink.
  4. Taste for salt and spices; you should have an equal balance of spicy, salty, and sour.
  5. Stir in the daikon noodles and cilantro, and cook for about 2 minutes more, until the daikon noodles are softened. Remove and discard lemongrass and gi5ger slices.
  6. Add bok choy, kale or other veggies to your liking.
  7. Serve the pho hot, garnishing with green onions, cilantro, Thai basil, onion slices, mung beans and Sriracha or hoisin sauce if desired.
Recipe Notes

Adapted from Inspiralized

Nutrition Facts
Easy Pho with Daikon Noodles
Amount Per Serving (1 serving (1/2 recipe))
Calories 145
% Daily Value*
Cholesterol 90mg 30%
Sodium 3622mg 151%
Potassium 707mg 20%
Total Carbohydrates 24g 8%
Dietary Fiber 4g 16%
Sugars 13g
Protein 11g 22%
Vitamin A 31.3%
Vitamin C 132%
Calcium 13%
Iron 13.1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Cookbook Review and Giveaway

Inspiralized_large
I received a copy of Inspiralized back in March and have been a big fan of zucchini noodles (aka zoodles) and other veggie noodles for about 2 years now.  I love substituting vegetables for starchy foods which also seems to be the new trend of 2015.

They’re great when you want a lower carb replacement for pasta or noodles in your dishes or when following a gluten free diet.  My favorite reason is to add more veggies into my family’s life (something we all need to do).

Ali Maffuci, a well-known food blogger, released the cookbook, Inspiralized back in February and it goes beyond zucchini to transform over 20 different types of vegetables into delicious meals.

This book is so informative and full of helpful tips on where to start and shared her inspiring story on why she started spiralizing.  Ali even breaks down the various noodles in different sizes and even instructs on how to convert the noodles to “rice” and specifics on what vegetables work and don’t work when spiralizing and what to embrace and not try with different vegetables as well.

I love the diversity of the recipes like Mexican and Thai flavors as well as Italian and southern dishes, etc. This is not a vegan or vegetarian book so meat is also included in many dishes.

I’ve tried a few recipes on here already including this Daikon Pho and next on my list to try are Spicy Butternut Squash Nachos, Noodle Chicken Soup and Collard Hummus Wraps with Golden Beets and Sprouts.

And it’s not just a cookbook of pasta dishes. There are recipes for Breakfast, Soups Stews and Salads and even Rice Dishes and Casseroles and yes, there is even a dessert section.

This book is quickly becoming well-loved and well-used at our house.

I couldn’t possibly keep all this spiralized love to myself, so I’m also giving a copy of the Inspiralized cookbook to one lucky reader!

CLICK HERE TO ENTER:

 Good luck!

You might also like:

Asian Zucchini Cucumber Noodle Salad

Asian Zucchini Cucumber Noodle Salad makes a healhty, gluten free noodle dish perfect as a side or a main meal

Vietnamese Pho – Beef Rice Noodle Soup

Vietnamese Pho Beef Rice noodle Soup is an authentic and comforting soup with the option to make it in the slow cooker.

 

Disclosure: I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book from Crown Publishing for this review. All opinions are 100% my own. 

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Comments

  3. Oh man…I would love to slurp on this on a cold autumn’s day…Pho-gettaboutit! 🙂 Gorgeous pictures, by the way. I feel like I could reach right in there with my extra large soup spoon and go to town! PS) I still haven’t mastered the use of chop sticks, it’s a problem. ugg.

    Reply

  4. You and I must be long-lost sisters. I craved pho every day when I was pregnant, and my husband was kind enough to take us out for pho every Friday (we went for at least 6-8 straight weeks). I think he got tired of pho, but I was happy as a clam! Love this easy daikon pho and that it doesn’t use real noodles! If you and I ever get to meet in real life, we should go out for pho. 🙂

    Reply

  6. I definitely need that cookbook because I love my spiralizer! There are so many great veggies to make noodles out of, and this Pho really shows that. It was such a great idea using daikon instead of noodles, and that broth sounds so delicious and flavorful! I ldefinitely won’t “pho-gettaboutit”. haha

    Reply

    • It definitely reminds me of a comforting bowl of classic noodle soup 🙂 Spiralizing noodles is so fun. Thanks so much for pinning, Ashley! 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend!

      Reply

  21. I hear you girlfriend, I LOVE Pho! But I don’t want to pho-get-about-it… I’d rather de-vo-ur-it. lol. I’m a dork. I know. Anyways (lame comments aside), this Pho looks sensational! I am totally head over heals LOVING the spiralized daikon noodles!! So So So genius!!!! Both versions you posted look great… I will have to make both, at the same time, and take a slurp from one, then a slurp from the other! #Winning. Pinned! Cheers to a beautiful day!

    Reply

  22. I made an easy pho at home once and it was fun to replicate. Not quite the same but so good in its own way. I’m sure yours are out of this world. How great to be able to make pho at home, right! I love how you used daikon noodles! I love diakon for shabu shabu and need to use it more often. Very nice idea and so warming for the cold weather coming soon…all too soon!

    Reply

  28. This looks SO good, Kelly! I’ve definitely heard of pho but have been late to the bandwagon. I SO need to try it asap now that you’ve made it sound so incredibly yummy! I’m also under the weather right now so I can’t think of anything more enjoyable than this delicious bowl of piping hot broth. YUM!

    Reply

    • Thanks so much Beeta! Aaw I’m sorry to hear that you’re under the weather, hope you feel better soon, a bowl of hot soup will hopefully help 🙂 Happy Friday!

      Reply

  30. This looks so delicious Kelly and perfect for the cooler weather too! We made your skinny one skillet lasagna for dinner the other night and it was a hit. We loved it, I’m sure we would love this dish too!

    Reply

  31. whoaa–I hadn’t ever thought of daikon as a noodle sub! Totally up my alley, especially since I’m not a huge fan of rice noodles to begin with. Totally trying this very soon! Thanks for sharing this, Kelly!

    Reply

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