Ingredients

The following ingredients have 6 Servings
  • 80 gm dried shiitake mushrooms (see note)
  • 50 gm dried wood ear mushrooms (see note)
  • 50 gm dried lily buds (see note)
  • 130 ml soy sauce, plus extra for seasoning
  • 30 gm rock sugar, crushed, plus extra for seasoning (see note)
  • 1 unpeeled onion, halved
  • 100 gm ginger, thickly sliced
  • 400 gm banh pho noodles (see note)
  • 50 gm enoki mushrooms
  • 350 gm silken tofu, sliced, to serve
  • 250 gm bean sprouts, to serve
  • ½ white onion, thinly sliced, to serve
  • To serve: coriander, Vietnamese mint, mint, lemon wedges and small red chillies

Instruction

  • Soak dried mushrooms in a large bowl of warm water until rehydrated, topping up with extra water if necessary so mushrooms remain completely covered (2 hours).
  • Meanwhile, soak dried lily buds in a bowl of warm water until rehydrated (1 hour), drain and cut into 5cm lengths.
  • Strain mushroom liquid (reserve mushrooms) into a saucepan (you need 2 litres; top up with water if necessary), add soy sauce and rock sugar and set aside.
  • Heat a char-grill pan over high heat, add onion, cut-side down, and ginger and char-grill, turning occasionally, until charred (10-15 minutes). Add onion and ginger to mushroom liquid, bring to the boil, reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced to 1.2 litres (1-1½ hours). Strain into a clean saucepan (discard onion and ginger), season with extra soy and rock sugar to taste and keep hot.
  • Meanwhile, trim stalks from shiitake mushrooms (discard stalks), then thinly slice and set aside. Coarsely chop wood ear mushrooms and set aside.
  • Cook noodles in a saucepan of boiling water over high heat until tender (30 seconds-1 minute), then add shiitake, wood ear and enoki mushrooms and heat through (1-2 minutes). Strain, divide noodles and mushrooms among serving bowls, top with tofu and half the bean sprouts, then pour hot mushroom stock over and scatter with white onion and lily bud. Serve hot with coriander, Vietnamese mint, mint, lemon wedges, red chillies and remaining bean sprouts to the side.