Vietnamese beef noodle Pho is a dish to fall in love with!
Phở or Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth; rice noodles call Ban Pho, few herbs, and meat. In Vietnam, the Pho is not just a simple dish; he contributes to human joyfulness and holds together the spirit of the Vietnamese People.
What is the origin of Pho? Many people believe that before being famous and be an iconic dishes of the Vietnamese cuisine, Pho was created in Nam Dinh a rural province of Vietnam located about fifty-five miles southeast of Hanoi. With the development of Hanoi, Pho masters moved there bringing with them this delicious soup.
It is said that the word “Pho” comes from the dish “Pot-au-feu,” a French beef stew, pronounced “Fuh.” The French cuisine arrived in Vietnam during the French occupation in the 1880s. At this time, in Vietnam cows and buffalos were not used in dishes, and there was hardly any red meat on the Vietnamese market. The French slowly changed the local taste and the red meat begin to appear in the Vietnamese kitchens. As biftecks were carved off the bones to satisfy the upper classes, cooks started simmering the leftover oxtail and shinbones to create a clear consommé. Influenced by the French cooking style, they added charred onions to this nourishing broth and served it with slices of raw and cooked beef.
Gradually, people started to use the beef consommé to make a simple but very popular noodle soup, which is known as Xao trau. It consisted of water-buffalo meat cooked in broth and rice vermicelli. After that, beef replaced water buffalo while rice noodles became the main ingredient instead of rice vermicelli. It is noteworthy that the word Pho is also the short name of the flat rice noodles, called “Banh pho.” In other words, Pho is not only about the soup, but also about the rice noodle.
Today, when you visit Hanoi, you can see that Pho has taken over every street of the city, and you can enjoy it at any time of the day. Can you not eat beef? Don’t worry; you can still enjoy a “Pho Ga,” identic to the original Pho, but with chicken instead. Unlike their freewheeling counterparts in Saigon, who embellish their Pho with everything from Bean sprouts to Cilantro, Basil, Lime and Hoisin sauce, the Northern Pho purists of Hanoi privilege an unadulterated and well-balanced soup. With a countless amount of options that you can add to Pho, it is up to you to decide which the best Pho is for you!
