Vegan pho

Crush and coarsely chop the garlic; coarsely chop the ginger. Thinly slice some onion and set aside; roughly chop the rest.

Roughly chop the carrot, celery, potato and mushrooms.

In a hot pan with olive oil, saute the vegetables with salt, peppercorn, cloves and star anise for five to eight minutes.

Add the mushrooms and saute three to five minutes more.

Add an optional splash of sake and two liters of water; cover leaving a gap and bring to a boil.

Lower the heat to just under medium and simmer one hour.

Taste and adjust; add a little more salt.

Spread rice noodles in a large pan, pour over hot water from a small pot and let sit three to five minutes, moving them so they do not stick.

Thinly slice the king oyster mushroom.

Pour the stock through a sieve in batches, pressing the juices through with a ladle.

Return the stock to the pot over medium heat and cook the king oyster mushroom in it three to five minutes.

Put the noodles in the serving bowl, fill generously with stock, and top with mushroom, sliced onion, red Thai chili, bean sprouts and Thai basil.