Pho, Vietnamese or no?

Pho is a Vietnamese rice-noodle soup slow cooked with pieces of meat (usually pork or beef). The noodles, meat, and vegetables are usually eaten with chopsticks and then the broth is eaten with a traditional Vietnamese soup spoon. Although the pho of today is credited to the Vietnamese, it actually has French roots. The French occupied Vietnam from 1858 to 1954. During their occupation they often made pot-au-feu, a slow-cooked soup of vegetables and beef. It was not uncommon for the Vietnamese citizens to salvage any leftovers thrown out by the French kitchens, so inevitably they discovered pot-au-feu. Before this discovery, slow-cooking was not very popular in Vietnam, but pot-au-feu helped the Vietnamese realize that slow-cooking was the best method for extracting the most flavor and nutrients from food. The Vietnamese city of Hanoi was the first to reinvent pot-au-feu. Instead of beef, pork was used because that was more native to Vietnam. They also added flat rice noodles and greens to the broth and then topped it off with pieces of fried bread. They adapted the word “feu” for their creation, which is quite fitting because the French word “feu” translates to mean “fire” in English and usually the broth is so hot, chefs do not even bother to cook the meat before placing it in the soup. The broth cooks it for them.

According to Chef Corlou, the broth is “the most important part of the pho”. It must be made with strong bones and meat such as oxtail or marrow-filled shinbones. To ensure the broth is clear, Corlou advises that one blanch and rinse the bones and meat before cooking them. He also says to never cut all the fat off because the fat is what helps intensify the flavor.

The truly dedicated pho cooks will sit with the broth as it simmers for at least 12 hours, occasionally adding water and stirring as needed. The meat, vegetables, and bread are not added until moments before being served. Remember, the broth is so hot that it cooks the meat and noodles.

Here in America, our version of pho is much like Saigon, Vietnam’s version. The broth is sweetened with rock sugar and filled with bean sprouts and herbs. In American pho restaurants pho is often served with a plate of bean sprouts, basil, lime wedges, and jalepeños on the side for the consumer to choose. There is also the option to add a fermented fish sauce into the broth and (now more common) sriracha sauce.

In her book “Into the Vietnamese Kitchen” Andrea Nguyen talks about memories she has of making her favorite foods with her two Vietnamese parents as a child. She talks about how she remembers her mom starting the broth before they left for church Sunday mornings and when they all got home her and her sisters would make a line with their bowls to get their serving of pho. According to Nguyen pho is considered a “secondary dish”. It can be eaten for breakfast or lunch, but never dinner. Nguyen shares a memory she has of her family eating dinner and then her father going to get pho after dinner. Just like Chef Corlou, Nguyen says the broth is the most important part of the pho and emphasizes that it must be served piping hot in order for the pho to be any good.

A couple days ago I went to a local pho restaurant here in Woodbridge called “Vietnam 75”. It was a nice little place. I ordered my pho with flank steak. As you can see from the picture, this pho is more common to the Saigon adaption of pho rather than the Hanoi version. I put lots of bean sprouts in mine with basil and a squirt of lime. That brown stuff on top is the fermented-fish sauce I mentioned earlier. As gross as it sounds, it is actually my favorite thing to add to the pho. I did not add sriracha to my bowl this time. I usually do, but I was not in the mood for spicy. The taste was great. It was a nice, clean, flavorful broth with completely cooked noodles and tender shavings of meat. It was not too salty or too chewy. I really enjoyed it. I was unable to find out how long they cooked their broth for, but I know it was hot enough to cook the meat. As you can see from my first picture, the meat that is not submerged is still a little raw. I would definitely go back to Vietnam 75.

Contributed by: Alexandra