Phở or pho (UK: /fɜː/, US: /fʌ, foʊ/, Canada: /fɔː/; Vietnamese: [fəː]) is a Vietnamese soup consisting of broth, rice noodles (bánh phở), herbs, and meat – usually beef (phở bò), sometimes chicken (phở gà). Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam and served in restaurants around the world.
Pho likely evolved from similar dishes;
for example, villagers in Vân Cù say they ate pho long before the French colonial period. The modern form emerged between 1900 and 1907 in northern Vietnam,southeast of Hanoi in Nam Định Province, then a substantial textile market. The traditional home of pho is reputed to be the villages of Vân Cù and Dao Cù (or Giao Cù) in Đông Xuân commune, Nam Trực District, Nam Định Province.
Cultural historian and researcher Trịnh Quang Dũng believes that the popularization and origins of the modern pho stemmed from the intersection of several historical and cultural factors in the early 20th century.These include the higher availability of beef due to French demand, which in turn produced beef bones that were purchased by Chinese workers to make into a dish similar to pho called ngưu nhục phấn.The demand for this dish was initially the greatest with workers sourced from the provinces of Yunnan and Guangdong, who found affinity to the dish due to its similarities to that of their homeland, which eventuallypopularized and familiarized this dish with the general population.
Pho was originally sold at dawn and dusk by roaming street vendors, who shouldered mobile kitchens on carrying poles (gánh phở). From the pole hung two wooden cabinets, one housing a cauldron over a wood fire, the other storing noodles, spices, cookware, and space to prepare a bowl of pho. The heavy gánh was always shouldered by men.They kept their heads warm with distinctive, disheveled felt hats called mũ phở.
Hanoi’s first two fixed pho stands were
a Vietnamese-owned Cát Tường on Cầu Gỗ Street and a Chinese-owned stand in front of Bờ Hồ tram stop. They were joined in 1918 by two more on Quạt Row and Đồng Row. Around 1925, a Vân Cù villager named Vạn opened the first “Nam Định style” pho stand in Hanoi.Gánh phở declined in number around 1936–1946 in favor of stationary eateries.
Pho is served in a bowl with a specific cut of flat rice noodles in clear beef broth, with thin cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket). Variations feature slow- cooked tendon, tripe, or meatballs in southern Vietnam. Chicken pho is made using the same spices as beef, but the broth is made using chicken bones and meat, as well as some internal organs of the chicken, such as the heart, the undeveloped eggs, and the gizzard.
(Source: Wikipedia)
NOODLES
The medium-width dried rice noodle that is usually used is called bánh phở, but some versions may be made with fresh rice noodles called bánh phở tươi in Vietnamese or kuay tiao.These noodles are labeled on packaging as bánh phở tươi (fresh pho noodles) in Vietnamese, 新鲜潮洲粿條 (fresh Chaozhou kuy teav) in Chinese, 월남쌀국수 (Vietnamese rice noodle) in Korean, and ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเส้นเล็ก (thin kuy teav) in Thai.The pho noodle are usually medium-width, however, people from different region of Vietnam will prefer a smaller-width noodle or a wider-width noodle.
BROTH
The broth for beef pho is generally made by simmering beef bones, oxtails, flank steak, charred onion, charred ginger and spices. For a more intense flavor, the bones may still have beef on them. Chicken bones also work and produce a similar broth. Seasonings can include Saigon cinnamon or other kinds of cinnamon as alternatives (may use usually in stick form, sometimes in powder form in pho restaurant franchises overseas), star anise, roasted ginger, roasted onion, black cardamom, coriander seed, fennel seed, and clove.The broth takes several hours to make.For chicken pho, only the meat and bones of the chicken are used in place of beef and beef bone. The remaining spices remain the same, but the charred ginger can be omitted, since its function in beef pho is to subdue the quite strong smell of beef.
The spices, often wrapped in cheesecloth or a soaking bag to prevent them from floating all over the pot, usually contain cloves, star anise, coriander seed, fennel, cinnamon, black cardamom, ginger, and onion. Careful cooks often roast ginger and onion over an open fire for about a minute before adding them to the stock, to bring out their full flavour. They also skim off all the impurities that float to the top while cooking; this is the key to a clear broth. Nước mắm (fish sauce) is added toward the end.
GARNISHES
Vietnamese dishes are typically served with lots of greens, herbs, vegetables, and various other accompaniments, such as dipping sauces, hot and spicy pastes such as Sriracha, and a squeeze of lime or lemon juice; it may also be served with hoisin sauce. The dish is garnished with ingredients such as green onions, white onions, Thai basil (not to be confused with sweet basil), fresh Thai chili peppers, lemon or lime wedges, bean sprouts, and cilantro (coriander leaves) or culantro. Fish sauce, hoisin sauce, chili oil and hot chili sauce (such as Sriracha sauce) may be added to taste as accompaniments.
Several ingredients not generally served with pho may be ordered by request. Extra-fatty broth (nước béo) can be ordered and comes with scallions to sweeten it. A popular side dish ordered upon request is hành dấm, or vinegared white onions.
(Source: Wikipedia)