Vegetable Broth / Stock – (Vegan)

Vegetable broth or stock are often integral part of many recipes. Using broth or stock surely adds amazing flavors and nutrients to our food. They add rich flavors to our soups, curries, rice, biriyanis, risotto, beans, lentils, casseroles, and many different recipes. There are various different ready made options of vegetable broth and stock available in store shelves. But they do come with certain kind of preservatives and salt, most of the times these preservatives and extra sodium are not good for our health. So I definitely find it better to make my vegetable broth or stock at home. It is easy to make and does not take much time. Many people try and add just water instead of broth or stock and that works too. But adding vegetable broth and stock makes a whole lot of difference taste and nutrients wise in your food.

Basic Difference between Broth and Stock

In general broth and stock are not the same thing. Basic difference being, broth is made from meat and vegetables whereas stock is made with bones. They both are flavorful, but broth is thinner and can be cooked in less time compared to stock.

Understanding Vegan / Vegetarian Broth and Stock

In case of vegetarian or vegan option, vegetable broth and stock are the same thing. Since vegetables don’t have gelatin, it is impossible to make stock from it. So for vegan and vegetarian you can use this recipe of vegetable broth / stock to make your favorite cuisines. 

Ready Made Vegetable Broth / Stock

There are various different ready made options of vegetable broth and stock available in store shelves. But they do come with certain kind of preservatives and salt most of the times that are not good for our health. I would not say that all the options on store shelves are bad, but you have to really understand all the ingredients written on the list to know if that broth or stock is good for you. Besides in case of vegetable broth/ stock if you are a vegan or vegetarian, it is very important for you to check the list of ingredients to see if there are any non vegetarian ingredients present or not and if there is a green mark on the container of broth / stock or not. After going through the whole ordeal, I just started making my own vegetable broth/ stock at home.

How to make Vegetable Broth/Stock?

It is very easy to make vegetable broth/stock at home. All you need is a deep pot, drinkable water, and bunch of vegetables available at home. There are many parts of vegetable that are eatable but we just throw them away thinking that they are useless. It can be skin or peel of the vegetables that you are throwing away, top of the carrot or egg plant or radishes etc.., it can be thicker part of lettuces or broccoli or cauliflower or a cabbage etc.., or it can be stem of cilantro or coriander or mint or parsley etc.. Wash these parts of the vegetables thoroughly and add them to the pot of water and boil it for about 20 – 30 minutes, once the water has taken the color of the vegetables you have added, your broth/stock is ready. Cool it down and store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Preparation Time : 5 minutes

Cooking Time : 20-30 minutes

List of Ingredients

• Drinking / Cooking Water
• Any edible part of the thoroughly washed vegetables that you want to add
• I have used –
  • Top part of carrots
  • Thick part of celery
  • Leaves of celery
  • Thick part of cauliflower
  • Top part and skin of tomatoes
  • Stem of cilantro / coriander leaves
  • Green part and top part of green onion 
  • little bit of skin of ginger
  • Small pieces of drumsticks

Recipe

• Take a deep pot (2 quart or about 2 liter) and fill up 3/4th of the pot with drinking water.

• Add the edible parts of the thoroughly washed vegetables of your choice.

• Boil this at medium flame for 20 – 30 minutes.
• Once the water has taken the color of the vegetables you have added and is properly boiled, switch of the stove.
• Let this cool  for an hour or so with the vegetables in it.

• Once it is cool enough to handle, filter the vegetable out with a strainer and collect the vegetable broth/stock in an airtight container.

• Vegetable broth / stock is ready to use. Store it in the refrigerator and use it within a week.

Tips

• Use more different kind of vegetables as much as possible.
• If the amount of water is more, cooking time should increase.
• If possible store it in the glass container or a good quality air tight container.

Click below for the recipe of Thai Clear Soup with Tofu and Vegetables

Thai Clear Soup Recipe

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