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About Our Office
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Good Pho Phở
Phở (Vietnamese pronunciation in IPA: [fɤ̌] listen (help·info), written pho
and pronounced "fuh" /fə/ or /fʌ/ in English) is a traditional Vietnamese noodle
soup dish.
Ingredients and preparation
Phở is served as a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef broth, with thin
cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket). Variations featuring
tendon, tripe, meatballs, chicken leg, chicken breast, or other chicken organs
(heart, liver, etc.) are also available.
Broth
The broth is generally made by simmering beef (and sometimes chicken) bones,
oxtails, flank steak, charred onion, and spices, taking several hours to
prepare. Seasonings include Saigon cinnamon, star anise, charred ginger, cloves,
and sometimes black cardamom pods.
Noodles
The noodles, called bánh phở in Vietnamese, are traditionally cut from wide
sheets of fresh rice noodles similar to Chinese Shahe fen, although dried
noodles (also called "rice sticks") may also be used.
Garnishes
The dish is garnished with ingredients such as green onions, white onions,
coriander leaves, ngò gai ("saw leaf herb"), mint, Thai basil, lemon or lime,
bean sprouts, and chile peppers. The last four items are usually provided on a
separate plate, which allows customers to adjust the soup's flavor as they like.
Some sauces such as hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and the Thai hot sauce, Sriracha,
are popular additions as well. The herb ngò ôm (Limnophila aromatica) is
sometimes also added.
Pronunciation
The Vietnamese word "phở" is properly pronounced with a falling-rising tone, as
if asking a question. Its final vowel is not a long "o," but instead rhymes, at
least to Anglophone ears, with the "u" in the English word "but". A more
accurate way to produce this sound is to make an English /o/ sound but not round
the lips. The "ph" is pronounced as an "f." The resulting pronunciation sounds
like 'fuh?'.
Origins and regional differences
Phở originated in northern Vietnam and spread to southern and central Vietnam in
the mid-1950s, after the defeat of the French and the eventual partitioning of
the country. The communist government of North Vietnam forcibly closed many
private phở businesses in the 1950s, opening government-run eateries in their
place, which tended to offer phở of rather inferior quality. Northern Vietnamese
fleeing communist rule for South Vietnam introduced phở to their southern
counterparts. Unlike in Hanoi in North Vietnam, the phở business flourished in
South Vietnam, especially Saigon.
There are conflicting beliefs as to how phở came to be. Some believe it
originated from French methods used in bouillon or consommé cooking. Oxen were
valued work animals and were rarely eaten, but the arrival of the French had
probably prompted servants to prepare a dish that suited the French palate. It
is even said that phở came from the French beef stew dish pot-au-feu, with phở
being a Vietnamization of the word feu. The broth for pot-au-feu, as it is for
phở, is prepared with a bouquet garni containing spices such as cloves and black
pepper.
Others believe that phở possible origins more likely lie in China. China had
ruled over Vietnam for over a millennium and greatly influenced Vietnamese
culture, including cuisine. Cooking methods used in phở, such as the use of
spices also seen in Chinese cooking (see five-spice powder and red cooking), as
well as the use of rice noodles, are all Chinese influences.
With the arrival of anti-communist Vietnamese exiles and refugees (that is,
hailing from South Vietnam) in the post-Vietnam War period, phở was also
gradually introduced to Western countries, especially to France and the United
States, both of whom were major actors in Vietnam's colonial and post-colonial
history. There are also many phở restaurants in Australia and Canada, as these
countries also received many Vietnamese refugees and immigrants. Non-refugee
Vietnamese immigrants also brought phở noodles to the former Soviet bloc
countries, including Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
There are several regional variants of phở in Vietnam, particularly divided
between northern (Hanoi, called phở bắc or "northern phở"; or phở Hà Nội),
central (Huế), and southern (Ho Chi Minh City/Ho Chi Minh City). One regional
phở may be sweeter, and another variation may emphasize a bolder and spicier
flavor. "Northern phở" tends to use somewhat wider noodles and green onions. On
the other hand, southern Vietnamese generally use thinner noodles (approximately
the width of pad Thai or linguine noodles), and add bean sprouts and a greater
variety of fresh herbs to their phở instead.
Naming conventions for restaurants
A popular naming convention for phở restaurants in some localaties seems to be
placing a number in the name (e.g. Phở 54 -- although, in the case of the chain
Phở 54, the number 54 may allude to a year having significance for the spread of
phở to South Vietnam). There are four differing stories as to how this practice
came about:
The restaurant was opened in the year indicated in the name
The owner of the restaurant was a restaurateur in Vietnam before immigrating,
and their restaurant was located on that street number
Much in the same way that one would see multiple burger restaurants with a
number after them (e.g., John's #2), the number is simply present to prevent
duplication in naming.
According to the owner of a Phở restaurant in Maryland, the number is one that
is considered to be "lucky" by the owner.
Additionally, some restaurant names are a form of word play on the homophony
between phở and fuck, as in "Phở Kim Long", "What the Phở?" and "Phở King".
Cultural practices
Phở can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Vietnamese phở restaurants
usually retain the cultural practice of not delivering the bill to a customer's
tables, since it is considered rude—in Vietnamese culture, it is seen as a way
of trying to rush the customer out the door.
Most tables usually have a numbering system and have chopsticks, spoons and
condiment dispensers. It is customary to take a napkin and wipe off the
chopsticks and spoon that are about to be used. There are also hot sauce and
hoisin sauce available for those that like to dip their meat in them.
Styles of phở
The most common variety of phở is a beef phở, called phở bò. Some Vietnamese
restaurants have begun catering to non-Vietnamese customers by opening in other
areas. Adapting to local tastes and diets, some Vietnamese restaurants in the
United States have also started making chicken-based phở, called phở gà, or phở
without visible pieces of meat (called phở rau), or even vegetarian phở (called
phở chay) (recipe available at http://www.elliemay.com/soups/VegetarianPho.html),
in addition to the traditional beef noodle soup. Seafood-based phở has also been
known to exist, although it is not considered true phở. Another variation of phở
involves using egg noodles instead of rice noodles. There are also Korean, Thai,
and Lao variants of phở available.
Phở tái lăn (phở with medium-cooked beef)
Another style of phở which is rare even among Vietnamese is phở tái lăn, served
with beef only; the herbs added may vary. Thin slices of beef are char-fried in
a wok; the chef puts some oil into the wok and tilts it so that the oil will
catch fire and the beef will be fried inside-out (normally when stir-fried, the
meat does not have direct contact with fire but with the wok instead). In some
aspects, this style of phở is better even for Vietnamese and more suitable for
the taste of foreigners who are not accustomed to eating medium-rare beef (raw
beef slices are lightly cooked in the hot broth in each individual's bowl).
Contact Information
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