Some say it started as a variation on pot-au-feu, a French beef stew dish. Others believe it’s the heir to a Chinese beef noodle soup or to a traditional Vietnamese dish of noodles with buffalo meat. What
is certain is that phở, a simple yet
deceptively complex dish of noodles served with beef or chicken in a hot bowl
of broth, has become Việt Nam’s pride on the world map of cuisine.
Classic: Phở bò (beef noodle), the original dish served with two poached eggs. — Photos: VNS
Though
its origins are disputed, historians believe phở was first made popular in Hà Nội and Nam Định, two major
northern cities, during the French colonial period. And we know that phở wasn’t invented in a restaurant. It
began life on the side of the road, on the shoulders of street vendors who
wandered the city with a big pot of both, always kept hot and ready with their
mobile stoves. It was reinvented many times by vendors and home cooks with
ingredients that were available to even the poorest, and it was shaped by the
country’s turbulent history.
Until
the 19th century, Việt Nam was still largely an agricultural country. Cows were
raised not as a source of food but to help out with land cultivation and rice
farming. In order to protect the animals’ utility as farming aides,
slaughtering them for meat was strictly forbidden and perpetrators were heavily
punished if caught. At the beginning of the country’s French colonial period,
consuming beef was a foreign practice. Locals either couldn’t afford it or had
no desire to try it.
By
the 20th century, attitudes towards beef had changed, as people flocked to
cities where they worked in offices and factories instead of fields. Phở became popular as successful street
vendors opened their stores in big cities across the country. As if dictated by
some rule, most stores are named after their founders in a single word, such as
Phở Hiền, Phở Thìn or Phở Cồ.
Aromatic: Cinnamon, star anise and onion are among the various herbs and spices used in the making of phở broth.
Though
beef was once the most distinctive aspect of the dish, the most critical aspect
is the broth. It’s always the first thing people taste when they tuck into a
bowl. A good broth must be clear. It should carry the scent of herbs and spices
such as cinnamon, cardamon, coriander seeds, cloves, star anise, onion and
pepper as well as the taste of cow bones. Everything should be boiled for about
six hours for all of the flavours to blend.
When
it comes to the broth, it’s almost love or hate at first taste. A good broth
means the cook knows what he’s doing and takes the time and effort to get the
dish right. During difficult times, phở
has been served without meat. But the broth must always remain carefully
prepared and richly flavourful. If you’re ever looking for an excellent bowl of
phở, look for a place where people
finish the broth when they’re done with the noodles and beef.
Vietnamese
people eat phở all the time: for
breakfast, lunch, dinner and as a late-night snack. It’s variable and always
satisfying even though there are only two choices when it comes to the meat:
chicken or beef.
Since
the original phở was made with beef (bò), some die-hard fans insist there is
no other way to eat it. But phở gà
(chicken) has an interesting story of its own. In phở’s early days, beef was a rarity and there wasn’t enough to go
around every day of the week. In the old days, phở stores closed on Mondays and Fridays because there was no
supply of beef. People got creative,
however, and invented phở with
chicken.
New soup on the block: Phở gà (chicken noodle), a variation of the dish created due to the lack of beef supply.
Phở bò has a strong flavour from the cow
bones. Phở gà has a gentler aroma and
may come with fatty or lean chicken. Each has their own merits. Ultimately,
only personal preference can settle the question of which is superior. But why
choose when you can have both?
Not
unlike a super hero, phở comes with
sidekicks. Two of the foods people love to eat with phở are eggs and Chinese crullers (oil sticks).
Eggs
are poached in boiling hot water and you can choose between rare, medium and
well-done; just make sure you don’t break them. Crullers should be crunchy and
crispy—return them if they are not. They can be eaten separately from your phở but many, including yours truly,
like to dip them in the broth for a mix between crunchiness and a soft, brothy
taste. Take care you don’t dip too many because these sticks are oily and may
ruin the broth.
Today,
there are more expensive variations and adaptations of the dish, with
ingredients like foie gras, Kobe and Wagyu beef, which may cost up to US$50-100
a bowl. But even after 200 years, one of the best places to have it is still on
the side of the street. Nothing beats the chilling wind of winter better than a
hot, street-side bowl of phở bought
for $2.
Phở can be found everywhere and can be
had anywhere: in a train cruising across the country, in a boat among a
bustling floating market of the Mekong Delta and on the pavement of a busy
city. It remains a simple and widely affordable dish that carries both the
history and identity of the people that create it.
By VNS