The origin of Pho
Pho actually originates from Nam Dinh province, Vietnam, located in the Red River Delta about 90km from Hanoi capital. Nam Dinh is known for its agricultural land and beautiful, ancient churches. But Nam Dinh’s most significant contribution to Vietnam is the invention of beef noodle soup – Vietnam’s famous Pho.
From the very beginning, noodle shops were lined up along the sidewalk. The boiling broth is poured over a layer of soft rice noodles and thinly sliced meat, topped with a few herbs and finely chopped chives. Each foodies will customize his or her bowl to his or her liking, with lemon, red pepper slices, basil and dipped in hoisin sauce.
While Nam Dinh is said to be the geographical cradle of pho, few would argue that its spiritual homeland is Hanoi. It is the intersection of historical and cultural elements of Hanoi that has made Pho popular throughout Vietnam and the world.
Pho and Vietnam history
The history of pho dates back to the late 19th century, during the French colonial period. French demand leads to more beef supply in Vietnam. This in turn creates excess beef bones, which are used by the Chinese and Vietnamese to make a rich broth and perfect the flavor of the pho broth.
Migrant workers from China’s Yunnan and Guangdong provinces are very fond of this new dish, due to its resemblance to dishes back home. The Vietnamese who developed this special dish have become equally enthralled. By the 1930s, pho vendors – carrying street vendors on portable stoves on bamboo poles – had become a common sight on the streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter.
Since then, pho has been associated with the soul of the nation, a dish loved by both the rich and the poor.
Like Vietnam nation, Pho has also undergone significant changes over the course of the history. The most divisive vibration occurred when Pho migrated to the South along with millions of Northerners after the country was divided in 1954.
While living in the South of Vietnam, to match regional tastes, the chefs began to sweeten their broth and add a variety of herbs and supplements such as hoisin and chili sauce. Pho purists prefer the simpler Hanoi Pho, however both versions have their own deliciousness.
In the North, garnishes are limited to slices of fresh chili, lemon and some herbs; but in the south, pho is significantly sweeter and there are many varieties to choose from. In the Central region, you can find pho with boiled eggs.
Pho is extremely diverse, rich and changes according to the needs and tastes of the region. Some young chefs in Vietnam are experimenting with dishes such as brown rice vermicelli, fresh noodle soup. In 2018, the famous Anan Saigon restaurant introduced a $100 noodle soup with truffle oil, wagyu and foie gras. And overseas, chefs are getting even more inventive with additions such as crawfish and sous vide beef.
Today, beef bones, rib eye steak, red onion, burnt ginger, and spices including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and coriander are used to make the slow-cooking broth. Chicken Pho is a popular alternative that is equally delicious to the original Pho.
Nutrition of Pho
Pho is a combination of flavors. In a bowl of pho, there are 18-20 foods of natural plant and animal origin. The most special thing about pho is that the ingredients are used almost in their original state and work together in harmony to create a unique, delicious, and easy-to-digest flavor.
Broth is an important part of pho. Calcium from bones and marrow; The slime from the dissolving cartilage tendons are very good active ingredients for treating joint diseases in old age and helping to develop the body at a young age. In the broth, there are also flavors dissolved from dry ingredients such as cardamom, coriander seeds, cinnamon sticks, pepper, ginger, onions, fish sauce, salt… are a source of minerals (iron, zinc) and vitamins (Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, vitamin B5) help improve blood quality and contribute to the protection of blood vessel walls.
Beef is high in ammonium acids, Creatinine, carnitine and the mineral potassium that support muscle growth. It contains about 50% of unsaturated fats, cytocilin and vitamin B12, and fresh vegetables, fruits and vegetables that regulate cholesterol in the blood and cells of the human body.
Fresh noodle soup provides a lot of nutrition for each diner (3mg protein, 0.5 mg B1, 1.2 mg B5/bowl).
Overseas Pho
The Vietnamese who crossed the border after the Vietnam War and settled in Western countries made pho known in many parts of the world. There have been many pho restaurants in the United States, France, Australia and Canada. Vietnamese people who study abroad, export labor in the countries of the Socialist Bloc, and then settle down also bring pho to Eastern Europe such as Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Pho has gradually spread to the American community. Most Vietnamese pho restaurants in the US use dry noodle soup instead of fresh noodle soup like in Vietnam for easy storage reasons. Pho is very popular in California, especially in the Little Saigon area.
Not only Vietnamese people cook pho, but Americans also open pho restaurants. In 1990, an American chef named Didi Emmons opened his first pho restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and then quickly spread to many US states. In the United States alone, unofficial statistics in 2005 show that the revenue of Vietnamese pho shops in the United States amounts to about 500 million USD a year.
In May 2009, Mr. Nguyen Trong Thin – owner of a noodle shop in Lo Duc (Hanoi), received an invitation letter from a Korean director saying that he wanted to open Vietnamese pho in Seoul. After receiving Mr. Thin’s pho cooking technique, the Korean side asked him to cooperate in opening a pho restaurant in Seoul, but because of the business at home, he refused and gave the recipe back so they could operate on their own. and they opened two Pho Tang shops (Pho Tang – with the implication that pho cooked from a recipe given by Vietnamese people). In 2019, Pho Thin Lo Duc appeared overseas in Tokyo, Japan and Melbourne, Australia.
Pho 24 is the first Vietnamese brand to franchise a pho restaurant and has built a system of more than 20 pho shops outside of Vietnam, mainly in the Asia-Pacific region. from 2003 to 2011). Since the first franchise store in Jakarta in 2005, Pho 24 has been present in many big cities around the world such as Seoul, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne…
Pho’s day
In 2016, the Japanese chose April 4 every year as Vietnamese Pho Day in Japan. April 4 was chosen because the English number 4 (four) and the word “pho” are both transliterated into Japanese as フ ォ ー (fō) to make it easier for people to remember.
In Vietnam, on December 12, 2017, Tuoi Tre newspaper collaborated with Acecook Vietnam Company to organize the first Pho Day. This will be an annual tradition. From 2018, “Pho Day” will be organized as a tourism and community cultural activity in Vietnam.
In September 2007, pho – a famous Vietnamese dish was officially recorded in the Oxford Shorter English Dictionary, published on September 20 in the UK and US. This event has officially made Pho a proper noun in the prestigious English dictionary in the world.
As one of the dishes representing the Vietnamese cuisine and becoming a classic dish of the world, Pho deserves to be honored.