Pho – a steamy love affair

Pho is a staple in Vietnamese cuisine and culture. Pho shops can be found on every street corner throughout the country, and locals eat it at all times of the day, although breakfast is the favorite time for pho. This hearty dish, consisting of rice noodles swimming in a rich flavorsome broth and topped with thinly sliced beef, herbs and spices, is a comforting and satisfying meal for all classes and generations.

To produce the rich aromatic broth, beef or chicken bones are boiled with charred onion and spices such as ginger, cloves, star anise and cinnamon. White rice noodles and thin cuts of beef steak or brisket are served in a bowl of the steaming soup and garnished with basil, coriander, chilies, bean sprouts and lime wedges.

Pho is eaten with both chopsticks and a spoon for maximum pleasure. Diners use their chopsticks to fish the noodles from the broth and slurp the soup from the spoon in alternate motions. Pho is best enjoyed while piping hot as the noodles can get soggy and spoil the consistency of the soup. The broth is served in copious quantities and leaving some in your bowl is perfectly fine, just as it is equally acceptable to scoop out every last drop.

Pho’s origins aren’t quite as clear as its broth, however it is thought to have originated over a century ago in the north of Vietnam. The use of onion to color and flavor the broth is evidence of a French influence, while the use of rice noodles and multiple spices is the basis of Chinese cuisine. Despite these foreign influences, pho remains distinctly Vietnamese.