The cuisine of every country is a mirror of its culture. As everyone has knows, Italian has Pizza; Japanese has Sushi; Mexican has Tacos, or Chinese has dumplings. How’ about in Vietnam? Vietnamese is proud of having Pho which is a kind of noodle soup.
Pho was originally created to serve the sections of common people in Vietnam such as students or farmers who had low income, and buffalo meat was used to cook it. However, Pho hadn’t been known as the most popular food until the end of the 19th when French started to colonize Vietnam. The needs of inexpensive good food, which still could make people feel full, increased significantly; therefore, the number of vendors at the corner of the streets or by the riverside dramatically went up. At that time, people also realized that beef was softer than buffalo meat, and the bone of beef would bring more flavor for the broth.
The name “Pho” generally means a dish made from rice which is the most important ingredients in almost of Asian culture. How old is Pho? Many people say it was created around 1900 through 1907 in the north of Vietnam, so its age basically is over 100 years. Even though Pho is traditional food, like a twin has different characters, there are still differences between the northern Pho and the southern Pho. I have never tried Pho Ha Noi, which is the “birthplace” of Pho, but I heard from some of my friends saying that it has saltier broth without condiments such as bean sauce or hot sauce, and there are not various vegetables on the side. On the other hand, Pho in the south was created in 1950s, and its flavor affected by Cantonese is sweeter than the northern Pho. It was also eaten with green onions, bean sprouts and some kinds of herbal leaves such as basil, spearmint and culantro (not cilantro).
A good bowl of Pho, in my opinion, is the one which has the balanced flavors of the broth which means that it should not be tasteless, too salty and too sweet. The average time of cooking the broth for Pho is around eight hours with low fire. The beef bones should be boiled until they are broken down because when those start to disintegrate, healthy nutrients and proteins will be released, which makes the taste of Pho richer and better. Sometimes chefs will put some radishes or lemon-grasses when making the broth because those natural ingredients can make the smell better and the flavor sweeter. What is more, the meat should be soft it should not be raw or overcooked. To keep the flavors of beef, when cooking Pho, chefs usually put thin slices of raw beef on the top of cooked rice noodles, and then the hot broth will be poured on the beef.
Vietnamese usually has Pho in their breakfasts, lunches or dinners. In addition, the original Pho is made with beef, but following the growth of demands, chicken Pho, seafood Pho and vegetarian Pho were then created. Pho nowadays is not only in Vietnam, but it is also enjoyed in many different countries in the world. Wherever there are Vietnamese people, there may be some places selling Pho. Even though Pho outside of Vietnam does not have total a hundred percent the same taste as its original point because of different ingredients or cooking styles, it is still good, and most people love it.
Studying abroad in U.S. usually makes me feel homesick. Thus, a good hot bowl of Pho in the freezing winter of Ithaca or after a long day in school will make me feel better and warm inside. I feel lucky that there are Vietnamese restaurants in a small town like Ithaca, and my favorite place is always Vietnamese Restaurant in college town of Cornell University where I think the flavor of the beef is the best with good price. Additionally, there are also other two good places where you can also have a delicious bowl of Pho: Sai Gon Kitchen in downtown and Pho & Friends near Ithaca Mall.
Vietnam also has many other great dishes, but if you ask any Vietnamese which food they think is the soul of Vietnam and the most popular, it seems like they will always say it is PHO.
