Pho, a Vietnamese noodle dish

You may have ignored this exotic dish when you were at home but you must try it while you are in Viet Nam. It is universally available, tasty and nutritious, and very inexpensive.

Pho can be eaten at any time of day, but it is a favourite breakfast dish and one or two bowls will carry you through until lunch. It can easily be bought at your hotel or at any of the myriad one-pot street stalls. Just look for the sign “PHO”, and if the shop is crowded you can be sure the food is good. You will be welcome to take any empty seat and make youself at home.

The basic ingredients are rice-flour noodles and stock, usually beef. The noodles, calls banh pho, are flat and about half a centimeter wide. The rice-flour is mixed to a very thin paste, steamed, and cut into strips. Every town and city has many small, family operated factories making the noodles and they are delivered fresh every day. Bánh Pho can also be purchased at any market by housewives who prefer to make the dish at home.

The stock is prepared by boiling chopped beef bones, with a little meat still adhering to them, for several hours. Salt, baked ginger, onions, cinnamon and herbs available from oriental medicine shops are added for flavour, and many pho sellers have their own closely guarded secret ingredients and combinations. The mixture is kept simmering all the time the restaurant is serving.

The required amount of noodles is dipped into boiling water and then placed in a half-litre bowl. Thin slices of beef, chopped spring onion and usually a pinch of M.S.G are added and the bowl is topped up with stock. When ordering you should ask for pho bi chin if you like your beef well done or pho bi tai if you like it rate. You can also order pho ga or chicken and noodles.

Strictly speaking, pho ga should be served with pork stock but for convenience the shopkeeper will add the pieces of boiled chicken to the beef stock.

On the table you will find pieces of fresh lemon, coriander leaves, bean sprouts, hot mint, Pepper, soy sauce, chilli sauce and fish sauce, which you can add to suit your own taste.

“Chuc an ngon mieng” !