This vegetarian bo kho smells of lemongrass and stew spice, with a sauce thick enough to dip banh mi into. Shiitake mushroom and tofu skin give a chew close to meat.
The hardest part is keeping the mushroom stems and konjac intact, as adding them early leaves them falling apart. Flour toasted with oil and tomato thickens the sauce naturally. Coconut water cooked together with plain water gives a sweet base without turning cloying.
This batch weighs about 1.9kg, at roughly 71 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse and mince the tomato to get 2 tablespoons, and mince the leek to get 2 tablespoons. Peel 300g potato and 200g carrot and cut into bite sized pieces. Peel 4 stalks lemongrass, bruise them and cut into lengths. Soak 6 shiitake mushrooms in lightly salted water, trim the dark bases and drain.
Set a pot with 3 tablespoons cooking oil and fry 2 tablespoons leek with 2 tablespoons minced tomato until fragrant.
Add 1 tablespoon bo kho stew spice powder, 1 tablespoon all purpose flour and 1 teaspoon minced chili, stirring gently until aromatic.
Add the potato, carrot and lemongrass and stir fry for about 2 minutes.
Pour in 500ml coconut water, 500ml water and the shiitake mushrooms, cook for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender, then season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 teaspoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 2.5 tablespoons vegetarian seasoning powder.
Add 50g shiitake mushroom stems, 50g tofu skin and 50g konjac, cook another 10 minutes and turn off the heat.
Tips
Shiitake stems and konjac go in last so they keep their chew and hold their shape.
Toasting the flour with oil and tomato until it smells nutty is what makes the sauce thick and fragrant.
The kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so give the pot a good stir after seasoning, wait 5 minutes and taste again.
Potato cut larger than the carrot allows for how quickly it softens and falls apart.
This dish suits banh mi or hu tieu rice noodle equally well, and it tastes even deeper the next day.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.