The broth is generally made by stewing beef bones, the meat used for pho is beef or chicken and spices include cinnamon, anise, ginger, cardamom, cloves, coriander seeds, etc. “Pho cake”, according to tradition Traditional, made from rice flour, coated into thin sheets and then cut into fibers. Pho must always be eaten hot to be delicious, however, to have delicious bowls of pho depends on experience and traditional secrets of pho cooking.
Some theories say that pho first appeared in Nam Dinh, but Hanoi is the place that made this rustic dish as famous as it is today; Some other theories see pho as a characteristic of Hanoi cuisine. Pho originated in Northern Vietnam, penetrating the Central and Southern regions in the mid-1950s, after the defeat of France in Indochina and Vietnam was divided into two regions. Vietnamese people from the North migrated to the South in 1954, bringing pho with them, and pho has begun to have differences. Today, pho has different processing methods and flavors. In Vietnam, there are names to distinguish them: Pho Bac (in the North), Pho Hue (in the Central region) and Pho Saigon (in the South). Normally, Northern pho is characterized by salty taste while Southern pho is sweet. Pho in the South is smaller than in the North. Previously, there was only cooked beef pho with the full “cooked-on-corn-studded-dough” variety. Later, diners accepted both rare and chicken pho. Going further, there are restaurants that experiment with duck and goose meat but are not very successful. There are also some culinary dishes made from traditional pho ingredients such as pho rolls, the type of pho that appeared in the 1970s was stir-fried pho, and in the 1980s was fried pho…
Pho eating culture
“Pho is a special gift of Hanoi, not only in Hanoi, but because it is delicious only in Hanoi.” Good pho must be “classic” pho, cooked with beef, “clear and sweet broth, soft but not crumbly noodles, crispy fatty meat but not chewy, enough lemon, chili and onions”, “fresh herbs, Northern pepper, strong drops of lime, and a little bit of eggplant, lightly like a hint of suspicion.
In the 1940s, pho was very popular in Hanoi: “It was an all-day snack for all types of people, especially civil servants and workers. People eat pho for breakfast, eat pho for lunch and eat pho for dinner…”
In Hanoi, pho is a special dish of Hanoi people who don’t know how long it has existed. Pho is eaten alone as a breakfast or lunch and dinner gift, not eaten with other dishes. The broth of pho is made from the simmering water of beef bones: lump bones, shin bones and sesamoid bones. The meat used for pho can be beef or chicken. Pho noodles must be thin and chewy, the pho spices are green onions, pepper, chili vinegar, and sliced lemon. Pho shops in Hanoi have been passed down for 3 generations such as: Phu Xuan pho on Hang Da street, originally from the villages of Phu Gia, Phu Thuong, Tay Ho, Hanoi; Bac Nam pho on Hai Ba Trung street; Nam Ngu Chicken pho, commercial pho lined up…
