Vegan Mofo: What Would [Insert Famous Name Here] Eat If They Were Vegan?

For tonight's Vegan Mofo post, we're supposed to blog about what the famous person of our choice would eat if he or she were vegan. At the time I was planning my posts for the second half of the month, I was obsessed with Macklemore's new single "Downtown." Okay, actually, I'm still obsessed. It's basically the greatest video ever. And I'm a huge Macklemore & Ryan Lewis fan. Here's a pic I shot of him from the photo pit at Bonnaroo a couple years ago!

So I googled "Macklemore's favorite food." And I found this article from The Seattle Times, which says the rapper loves pho. What a coincidence! Me too! Because noodles!

Here's a choice quote: “For someone whose job description entails giving high-fives to sweaty drunk people around the world, and sleeping on couches in venues that haven’t been cleaned since the ’80s, it’s almost guaranteed I will spend four months of the year with a cold. That hoisin sauce, broth, lime, basil, noodles, beef combination–it’s the best comfort food.”

I pulled out my copy of Robin Robertson's Vegan Without Borders and found a yummy-looking recipe for Pho Chay, the naturally vegan version of pho popular among Buddhist vegetarians.

This super-simple recipe is rich with complex flavor. The broth is seasoned with lots of hoisin, so it's both savory and sweet. And the soup is chock full of shiitake mushrooms, onions, and brown rice noodles. And, of course, fried tofu.

It's served with cilantro, bean sprouts, and lime wedges. Mmmm. This was so good. I know Macklemore is a meat eater, and he occasionally uses dead animal furs and taxidermy in his videos. And it makes me sad because, other than that, he's awesome and all about human rights. I'd like to think that, maybe, if he had a taste of this vegan pho chay, he'd start to swing in a more animal-friendly direction.

Okay, you know I have to include this amazing video.