A type of Vietnamese
noodle soup know as Pho, in English it would be pronounced like fuh, if there
was such a word. Originally a street
food ate by workers as a quick, inexpensive morning meal. Though, over time it
has risen to one of the world’s most popular eats. As an example in 2011 CNN GO ranked pho as the
28 th most popular dishes in the world.
The soup pho
gets its name from the pho noodle which is the base of the noodle soup. In creating this dish the pho noodles are added
to an individual serving dish filled with the beef broth. The broth is created by simmering beef bones
and adding seasoning over a lengthy period, like 12 hours or something like
that, anyway a long time.
After the broth
is ladled into a serving bowl, an individual portion of pho noodles is dipped
into boiling water for a minute or two in order to soften them. Once the
noodles are soft they are added to the individual bowl of broth, along with a
small amount of finely sliced beef, onions and a dash of ground pepper.
At your
table will be a plate with sprigs of fresh ngo gai, hung que and…. Along with these vegetables their will be sliced jalapeno pepper and lime. It’s up to you to decide
how many leaves you want to pull from the sprigs and pop them into your bowl of
pho. Then season the pho to your liking with hoisin sauce and chili paste and oh
ya, they should have brought you a plate of bean sprouts, use your chopsticks
and scrape them into the soup. You do
know how to use chopsticks, don't you? Anyway not to worry, there will be spoons
on the table as Vietnamese use both hands to eat soup, chop stick in the right
and a spoon in the left. However this is out
of the realm of most Westerners, myself included, so just dig in and remember to smile a lot.
A bit of pho history: So now you may be wondering how and
where pho came from; If not you're not or just could just care less, than go ahead and skip
this part. For those still with me, here
we go. In the North of Vietnam around the late
1800’s pho was introduced and quickly became a very popular, inexpensive street
food served in the morning to workers.
About the same time the French started colonizing Vietnam this is where some think the pho name derived
from. As their is a French Phrase “pot of feu” – meaning pot of fire, which referred to the lengthy
time taken to cook the broth used as the soup base. Which tosses out my original pho noodle theory but a lot of pho has passed over the pallet since
and history can be a fickle mistress.
Spreading pho’s
influence in gastronomic affairs was hastened by the influx of a million or so Northerners
who resettled to the south in 1954 and the pho flowed along with them.
Then came
along the Vietnam War and the eventual takeover of the South by North Vietnam
and if anything positive was to come of this it was the spread of pho’s deliciousness. As the refugees fled the tyranny of the
north as it took control of the South they carried with them the richness of
pho.
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| helper and owner waiting for you Pho 32 |
My favorites for pho: Pho 32- 32 Le Thi Rieng, in district 1 is just a skip and a jump from the
backpacker’s area and not far from Starbucks at the roundabout. Old school here, charcoal fired hot
pot for the noodles, open air seating with a kicked back atmosphere. As in the song “ just walk right in and sit on
down”, no menu or
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| friendly staff at Pho 32 |
much English so just point at a bowl of pho, it’s the only
thing going so they will get it..
You
can order iced tea (tra da) and beverages along with coffee (ca phe sua da - iced coffee with condensed milk) and drinks, all except the tra da come from the motor bike seat, upholstery shop a few doors down. Cost for pho ba and a ca phe sua da about 55,000 dong.
My
other pick is Pho Quyen – 323
Pham Ngu Lgo again in district 1 and on
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| busy corner Do Q, Dau / Pham Nhu Lao across from 9-23 park |
the edge of the back packing area,
across from 9-23 Park.
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cute and friendly staff
Pho Quyen
|
Has an English menu offering both beef (bo) and chicken (ga)
pho and a couple other soup entries along with coffee, tea and sodas. Pho bo and a ca phe sua da is about 75,000 dong.
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| Bon appétit - thanks for stopping by.......Doug |
