The national noodle dish of Vietnam is comprised of a yummy broth, tender pieces of beef or chicken, and rice vermicelli has gained a lot of popularity in the West. This soup is street food in Vietnam. There are three main varieties: Pho bo uses beef. Pho ga contains chicken while Pho chay is vegetarian. Otherwise, it’s not Pho. (By the way, it's pronounced "fuh" and not "foh.") We can loosely define Pho as “Vietnamese noodle soup.” Historians have theorized that Pho is a corruption of the words pot au feu, French for beef stew, soup, and translates into “pot on fire.” The French ruled and unified Vietnam in 1887.
The Pho of North Vietnam and South Vietnam have differences that you can really see and taste. Food experts believe that real Pho originated in the North—especially in Hanoi and the surrounding regions. North Vietnamese have learned to use all the animal scraps and bones in their recipes. Vietnamese cooks took the pieces that were usually discarded by the French chefs. Thus, a style of noodle soup, called Pho bac gained a foot hold in the Northern regions of Vietnam. Pho bac has a strong, yet delicate flavor. There are no herb garnishes that are in the noodle soups from the South aka Pho Nam.
Southern Pho or Pho nam reflects the abundance of more food items and ingredients. Cooks add more herbs, spices, and ingredients to their Pho. They freely added bean sprouts, hoisin sauce, and fish sauce to flavor their Pho. The Southern Vietnamese also developed Pho ga with chicken.
The Fall of Saigon in 1975 meant thousands of Vietnamese refugees left for other countries. Many old and cherished Pho recipes accompanied them.
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I love Pho so it was so interesting to read this history, really insightful!
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