Updated 06-17-10. OK let’s get back to the basics. Here’s a primer for those new to Vietnamese pho. For advanced diners, check out other posts at the end of this article.

When it comes to pho, a Vietnamese would have the distinct advantage of knowing how to enjoy the noodle dish. Regardless of whether he or she grew up in the homeland or in an immigrant household overseas, he or she would have a mother or a grandmother who made this heart-filling noodle soup for breakfast each day, cooked using snippets of a recipe and with memories of how it is done in their own mother’s kitchen. Or at the very least, he or she would have a mother who would herd the family to a restaurant every so often whenever they feel the urge. Eating pho is natural to a Vietnamese.

A non-Vietnamese will not have the same experience. Aside from having to deal with the chopsticks, pho will always look and smell foreign to anyone who did not grow up eating it. When faced with a steaming bowl of this noodle, and especially if it is your first time to sample the national dish of Vietnam, you may have a challenge on your hand. Here are some tips.

Simple Process of Enjoying Pho

If you find yourself in a pho shop for the first time, it’s likely that a Vietnamese friend or a friend who knows this dish has invited you. But in the event that you are a real brave soul and decide to go try by yourself, figuring out how to eat pho can be a dilemma.

Thankfully, eating pho is not like eating Western food or even Japanese food. There is no unspoken etiquette that must be observed. This dish is meant to be enjoyed with some noise and a lot of slurping is just fine. So here’s the process in a nutshell.

The best way to attack a steaming bowl of pho is to have chopsticks in one hand and a soupspoon in the other. Take in a little broth with your spoon, slurp in some to get a taste of it. Follow it up with the rice noodles using your chopsticks. Then select pieces of ingredients from the bowl and enjoy them individually or together with the broth and noodle. Easy. But there’s more.

Taking in the Aroma

Of course, before you start eating pho, you cannot miss noticing the aroma created by the piping-hot broth. Most of the time, just taking in the rich aroma of beef stock simmered for a really long time with spices, roasted onion and roasted ginger thrown in is enough to whet the appetite. It also helps you appreciate this poetry in a bowl even more.

The fragrance of the broth is also a good indicator of its quality. Just one sniff will tell you if the spices are balanced in making the soup, if the broth is too salty, if there is monosodium glutamate sprinkled in it, or if the beef stock itself is poorly made. Remember that the soul of pho is in the broth. So enjoying the scent is definitely an important part of the dining ritual.

What to Do With the Garnishing

When you are served southern style Vietnamese pho, you will always be provided with a plate of garnishing. This plate would typically contain bean sprouts, culantro, Thai basil, sliced chili and lime wedges. Also you will have hoisin sauce and hot chili sauce available at the table.

Is there a specific order by which you should place these herbs in your bowl of pho? The answer to this is no. With the garnishing, you can think of it as finding the best combination that will fit your taste. Each individual garnish contributes its own distinct smell and taste to an already good bowl of pho. You do not want to dump all the garnishing into the bowl at the same time. Rather, just try a few at a time to get your preferred mix. More importantly, give the ingredients several chances (on different visits) and you’ll appreciate their roles in this noodle dish.

Here are a few tips on consuming the ingredients:

• Bean sprouts are put in raw for the crunchy factor. Add a little at a time to maintain the crunchiness as you eat, or add them all while the broth is hot to cook them.
• Dipping the sliced chili in the hot broth releases the oil and makes the broth taste spicier. You can keep them in if you dare. Many do.
• Lime juice adds tartness to the broth, which is good if the broth tastes bland, too salty, or too sweet for you. The saltiness and tartness together provide a delicious combination that many people love – I’m one of them.
• The herb leaves are stripped from the stems and shredded to bits before they are placed in the bowl. For the best aroma and taste, tear the leaves in smaller pieces, and add them as you go to maintain freshest and uncooked flavor.

Eating pho is always an adventure, even for those who have had it all their lives. For first-time diners, the key is to relax and enjoy. You’ll find your own pho in no time.

How to Eat Pho and Finding Your Own Pho – A Primer For First-Time Diners is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 01-03-10. By now you probably know how passionate I am about my beloved Vietnamese phở. With everything that’s going on in the pho industry, if you can call it that, from pho franchises to “new” forms of pho (seafood, pork, etc. – I’m shuddering brrr…) to pho shops owned by non-Viet restaurateurs, I have a serious concern for where the authentic pho as we know it may be heading – at least the version I know I like. Who cares, you say? Well I hope at least some people do.

Of course “authentic pho” itself is debatable, so let’s talk about influences.

Vietnamese Pho: Chinese and French Influences

Vietnam was under Chinese rule for about 1000 years, then another 100 years under the French after that, so one can make up his/her own mind about who gave what and how much influence to the Vietnamese. Pho is no exception.

If you haven’t done so, I invite you to read the following articles:

• The History and Evolution of Pho: A Hundred Years’ Journey
• Pho in the U.S.: Sweeping North America Since 1975

Nobody will argue against the fact that Viet culture definitely have Chinese influences. But for me, there’s also no argument about French influence either. In fact French was the second language in the country even during the Vietnam war, when the French were long gone and large number of Americans were there.

Many people fail to realize how strong the Viet-French tie has been and will ever will be. Even in the 10 or so years following 1975 when the Communist government in Vietnam closed up the country, it was the Europeans and specifically the French who came back to Vietnam first to open diplomatic relations. Everyone knows the French love Viet people and vice versa. The Communist Vietnamese took credit for kicking out the French, but they won’t admit that in post-1975 Vietnam depended even more on the French and was glad they came back as they did. It actually opened up the country again to Western investments, trades, education, and other good things.

One thing for sure though, Viet people (especially the commoners) adopted foreign words and added our own accents to make it “look” and “sound” right for our conversational use. The “ph” in “phở” is pronounced exactly as an “f” in French, since there is no letter f in the modern Viet alphabet. And I want to stress that there is no “p” sound in “phở” either.

Vietnamese Pho: American Influences

Here are a couple of things that happened after 1975 and is happening now. One, pho is now popular around the world due to the millions of Viet refugees who left the country since 1975. Without this key group of people I doubt if pho would have received much attention at all aside from a few tourists and foreigners adventurous enough to try out a bowl of pho. Two, with such large Viet communities in the U.S. and more and more Americans searching out for pho everyday, pho itself is being influenced by Americans, American way of life, and the American marketplace as we speak.

So how is pho being changed? Here are a few ways:

• The viral pho reason. As second, third and subsequent Vietnamese-American generations spread outside of the Vietnamese enclaves around the country, more and more Americans who consider themselves ”meat-and-potatoes” kind of diners will be exposed to pho and will add pho to their list of preferred Asian foods. But guess what? Pho will need to change to their palates, not the other way around, if the restaurants are to survive in areas outside of the Viet communities.
• The variety pho reason. Once Americans like something, they will demand choices, and there will be restaurateurs who will oblige. Already we’ve seen pho choices that a Vietnamese would not see or order in a more authentic Vietnamese restaurant. I’m talking about pho varieties with seafoods, pork, fish and other non-traditional ingredients. Again when the clientele demands, the restaurateurs will provide.
• The healthy pho reason. Pho itself is probably already more healthy than the typical American foods though I haven’t seen any clear proof of this. With millions of Americans actively out searching for healthier diets, many already found what they need in Vietnamese foods. The trend will be even more creative and non-traditional pho to be offered by restaurateurs in the forms of vegetarian, tofu, and other non-red meat ingredients.
• The alternate ingredients reason. Let’s face it, when a Vietnamese restaurant owner ventures outside of the Viet community, fresh ingredients will become harder to acquire locally. The net result will be more expensive pho, or pho without the right ingredients. While this maybe a small issue for some, it can and will contribute to the creation of morphed versions of pho, as the local clientele wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
• The parallel tracks reason. Since 1975, there are multiple versions of pho that continue to develop around the world. It’s hard enough to track the changing pho in Vietnam. We now have pho sold around the world. It’s not that easy to put your fingers on it, and it’ll be interesting to see how all this will transpire.

So there you have it. Pho is changing. Regardless of if you’re for or against it, or maybe don’t even care, you can’t stop it. The only thing you and I can do is to help control it through our own pocketbooks. I know we have urges to try something new all the time, but I also know I need to give my continued business to good authentic pho restaurants who go out of their ways to do it right. There are real and important reasons to patronize good pho restaurants, because if they go away, you’ll never know what you’ll get in their places.

So take thisa poll on the subject.

Pho Is Changing – Chinese, French and Now American Influences is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

I don’t write much pho reviews these days, but I can’t help but write this one on Phở Lú. It’s a funny name, but the pho is near heaven. We all have our own ways of describing our best pho experiences, and here is my own example of great and authentic pho.

Many well known pho chef and Viet culinary experts have said, I agree with them: It’s all in the pho broth.

So it happened at Pho Lu. A whiff of the bowl placed in front of me almost knocked me off my chair. It wasn’t bad, no, it was strangely yet familiarly great! I instantly knew that I was going to enjoy this. In fact I sat and stared at it for 5-10 seconds (I don’t remember.) So what’s the big deal? People eat great pho everyday. Well you can read many online reviews of pho at Pho Lu, but for me, the fragrance that entered my nostrils instantly brought back life I had in Saigon. No not recently, not even at Pho Hoa Pasteur that I raved much about recently. No it was my childhood. Pho as I remember it in Saigon before 1975!

My intuition told me I needed to pick up the spoon and try the broth immediately. All I can say is: it is what pho broth should be. So then on this rare occasion, I finished this huge bowl of pho without adding the hoisin sauce for pho and the red hot sauce. No I didn’t forget. I just didn’t need them. I normally only do this for authentic Pho Bac, the northern kind.

Here’s what I had and my ratings:

November 9, 2009
Pho tai, chin, sach (beef: rare, well-done brisket, tripe,) large size, and cà-phê sữa đá (iced coffee with condensed milk.)

Pho noodle: (5/5)
Soup stock: (5/5)
Meats: (5/5)
Garnishes*: (5/5) freshness
Garnishes: (5/5) extra points for fresh ngo gai
Price: (-1) for small extra charge for rare beef on the side
Extra points: (5/5) for clean dining area, very comfortable ambience, authentically friendly service
Total points: 29/35
* No points for expected garnishes of sprouts, Thai basil, lime and chiles.
For further explanation of my rating system, see the post “The Importance of Garnishes for Pho.”

Phở Lú
10141 Westminster Ave, Ste 5
Garden Grove, CA 92843
(714) 539-7979

Phở Lú as seen from Westminster Ave. – just across from Pho Vie II!

View Larger Map

The coffee was great by the way. And as long as we’re talking great pho and great pho restaurant, why not take this poll and tell us your opinions if you haven’t already done so. Thanks!

What Is Great and Authentic Pho? Here’s One Example is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

I received a number of requests for pronunciation of “Bún Bò Huế” and “Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang.” Bún Bò Huế or Bun Bo Hue is the spicy beef noodle dish with larger round noodle, pork hocks and coagulated pork blood. It’s originated in Central Vietnam and named after the old capital Huế. Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang or Hu Tieu Nam Vang, on the other hand, is the Vietnamese hu tieu Phnom Penh-style noodle, originated in the south but (obviously) with Phnom Penh influence.

Here are audio files on how to say Bún Bò Huế and Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang in Vietnamese. As always I included both southern and northern accents.

• Pronounce: Bún Bò Huế (Hue-style spicy beef noodle)
  
• Pronounce: Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang (hu tieu Phnom Penh-style noodle)
  

I’m ready to order one of these today.

How to Pronounce Bun Bo Hue and Hu Tieu Nam Vang is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Vietnamese pho in Europe? Not exactly catching on by storm like pho in the U.S., Canada and Australia, but there are enclaves of Vietnamese living in Europe. Let’s take a look at how pho got to Europe and how it’s doing in the European marketplace. Through my communication with a few European pho fans on Twitter, I could see pho’s prominent existence in places in Europe. And we all know…

Where There Are Vietnamese, There Is Pho

Pho is a dish that is closely identified with the culture, way of life, traditions and history of the Vietnamese people. Thus, it is more than reasonable to expect that where there are Vietnamese, there is Vietnamese pho.

The story of how pho came to Europe is not similar to how pho came to the United States.

There were at least 3 major waves of Vietnamese arriving in Europe. The first was during French colonization of Vietnam (or Indochina.) This long period has seen Vietnamese people traveling to France and settling there since early 19th century. Of course there were slaves, but the majority were educated and affluent (if not noble and royal) Viet citizens. The second was after the Fall of Saigon in 1975, when thousands fled Vietnam to find freedom elsewhere. These were mostly from south Vietnam, but the refugees included many northern Viet who migrated south in 1945. This second Viet diaspora saw the displaced Vietnamese settling en masse in the United States, in Australia, in various corners of Asia, and in Europe – France in particular. The second wave, which lasted for more than 15 years, saw a more educated population in the early years and those more desperate to get out at any cost in the latter years. The third wave consisted of Vietnamese workers sent to the then Eastern Bloc European countries, including the U.S.S.R., as laborers by the post-1975 Vietnamese Communist government.

So why are all this important? They’re important for several reasons. My theory is that the first wave did not have much to do with pho in Europe. This is because pho did not come into existence until early 20th century. After that pho would go on its own development/formative years in such a way that it became the commoners’ food – hardly worth the trouble for Vietnamese to worry about heading off to Europe. It was a time for Vietnamese to learn and explore, or to slave for someone else. In either case, whatever Viet foods they prepared for themselves while in Europe would face a challenge of finding the right ingredients anyway.

The second wave after 1975 was the key force responsible for bringing pho to Europe. These were refugees looking for new homes, and they found their new livelihoods in Europe. These large settlements combine to create the perfect ingredients for Vietnamese pho to thrive, both in the form of home-cook pho and restaurant businesses with an eager clientele.

While many Vietnamese from the third wave stayed on in Europe after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc circa 1989-1991, there was no evidence that they contributed in any major way to popularize Vietnamese pho in Europe. For some who opened their own pho restaurants, they were merely riding the wave of Viet presence already established by Viet refugees in these countries.

Vietnamese Pho Marginalization in Europe

One of the sad facts of the Viet diaspora is that the Vietnamese in Europe have not really flourished in that continent as they have in the United States. In many European countries, especially those in Central and Eastern Europe, the Vietnamese are somewhat marginalized and are simply trying to make ends meet. The Internet has many stories including this one about the plight of the Vietnamese in Poland.

But it’s not impossible to find pho in Europe if you know where to look. The pho-nomenon may not be as hot in Europe as it is in the United States or Australia, but if you want a good bowl of pho in Europe, just find your way to a Asian/Chinese/Vietnamese enclave. If one does not exist in a country, then it doesn’t exist. But you can’t miss if you can find your way to a Chinatown or “Asiantown.”

Pho in Europe: The Bottom Line

In the end, it’s not fair to speak of Europe as a single place. There are of course many countries and there are pockets of Viet people living in each country. It’s almost too funny to say it, but if you want to find good Vietnamese pho in Europe, start in France. Here’s a piece on Vietnamese Pho in France. With the availability of the Internet nowadays, it’s super easy to find if there’s a pho restaurant nearby. And once you find one, remember my motto: If a Viet restaurant has no Viet clientele then continue your walk. A crowded pho shop with Vietnamese slurping away is a sure sign of great pho. In Europe or anywhere else.

Vietnamese Pho in Europe: A Far Cry from Home? is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 10-27-09. There are gazillions of pho videos on YouTube. Among the 3,000 or so Vietnamese pho videos there are many how-to-cook, how-to-eat and a variety of other parody clips. After viewing a few of those, you’ll wonder why you’ve wasted a good chunk of your life on them, time that you’ll never get back in any shape or form.

On the other hand, there are a few gems that will enhance your knowledge and appreciation of pho in many ways, and you’ll be glad you’ve seen them. Below are some of the best pho-related YouTube videos worth seeing.

They’re not your run of the mill personal funny videos. They are quite entertaining and educational, and they definitely ooze personal styles and characteristics that make them unique. Above all they show a lot of care and thoughts put in both during the production and post-production. In addition, they also get the nod for treating pho with respect (though I’m still on the fence about the gigantic bowl of Pho Challenge at Pho Garden.) The magic of pho is really all about the broth, so anything showing large vats of brewing pho broth with huge ladles and crew buzzing to serve pho to hungry customers all get special consideration.

Here are my youTube video picks in no particular order. The 2 Vietnamese-language videos are especially great documentaries. Maybe I’ll find time to translate them sometime.

Mobile Home Pho -- Pho Bình in Houston

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs5Qo0ICVoY

Phở gia truyền dòng họ Cồ (Nam Định) tại Hà Nội (P1 of 2)

Phở by the Multigenerational Cồ Family (currently 3rd, 4th and 5th generation,) from Town of Nam Định, Near Hà Nội (part 1.) In Vietnamese only.

English transcription available at “Pho Dynasty: Pho Hanoi by the Multigenerational Co Family from Town of Nam Dinh, Part 1.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=P513niljeMg

Phở gia truyền dòng họ Cồ (Nam Định) tại Hà Nội (P2 of 2)

Phở by the Multigenerational Cồ Family (currently 3rd, 4th and 5th generation,) from Town of Nam Định, Near Hà Nội (part 2.) In Vietnamese only.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNMcmw2Geps

How to cook pho: long recipe howcookingworks.com

www.youtube.com/watch?v=imdVKGm-RKU

Vietnamese Pho Bo, Pho Ga and Bun Bo Hue at St Barbara Parish Fall Festival

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYquwQJfLNo

Pho Challenge

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUpvc7O6ywg

Anthony Bourdain Pho -- Food Porn

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsSiA-JHm0U

Great Vietnamese Pho YouTube Videos Worth Seeing is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Looking for pho at a Fall Festival this year? You might find just that with current popularity of pho. In fact I found some great pho at the St. Barbara Parish Fall Festival in Santa Ana this past Saturday Sept. 26, 2009. There were carnival rides and games, international foods, and live entertainment, plus a raffle grand prize of $10,000. The festival ground was crowded with the young and old of various ethnicities. Not surprisingly, this is the heart of Little Saigon in Orange County CA, so the festival goers were predominantly Viet.

The festival itself actually spanned from Friday Sept 25 to Sunday evening of Sept. 27. Vendors volunteered their time, products and services as charity to the church, so it’s all for a good cause. The Quoc Viet Foods® folks also set up shop inside the main tent, serving three kinds of noodles (pho bo, pho ga and bun bo Hue,) together with their branded coffee Cafvina.

Behind the serving counters, they had 6 large 40-gallon vats brewing pho and bun bo Hue broths all day. To one side is a separate, smaller pot of boiling water for blanching pho noodle (banh pho.) Both the operation and the service were efficient, as Quoc Viet Foods® has been participating at events like this for many years.

So Vietnamese pho at a Fall Festival? Depending on what festival you go to, you can find both the traditional and unconventional kinds of food nowadays. It may be unheard of a few years back, but with the popularity of pho raging in many places in North America, pho just may become the next big festival food. It’s even cooler when you have all proceeds going to support a local church.

Here’s a short video showing pho action at the St. Barbara Parish Fall Festival. Enjoy.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYquwQJfLNo

Pho, Charity and Fall Festival -- A Match Made in Heaven is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Vegetarian pho, or phở chay, has never been about healthy eating in Vietnam. Of course there are people who must go the vegetarian way due to health or personal belief reasons, but for the majority of the population, pho chay, and other chay foods, are more about observing strict non-meat meals as part of the Buddhist religious observance. Now with pho being quite popular in the U.S. and the population becoming more conscious about leading a healthy lifestyle, it’s only natural that restaurants offer vegetarian pho or pho chay on their menus.

Pho is the well-known Vietnamese rice noodle dish. The authentic version has its broth made using beef or chicken bones, then served together with various kinds of beef or chicken meats. The noodle dish is essentially a meat-based dish. In the words of Asian cookbook author Corinne Trang, pho is really two separate dishes in one: the broth, and the noodle with its ingredients. It would take good skills and experience to create imitation pho, which is exactly what vegetarian pho is.

A vegetarian pho, or “pho chay,” can be vegetarian on at least 2 levels. I’m a purist so, to me, vegetarian means absolutely no meat. For many of my American friends, however, vegetarian might mean no meat, but seafood is okay. You can find both varieties at pho restaurants in the U.S. If in doubt, ask the restaurateur of what’s actually in their pho chay. Or alternatively, you can find more authentic vegan dishes at strictly vegetarian restaurants, which are popping up like mushrooms around Little Saigon, CA.

A real and completely vegetarian pho is made entirely from vegetables. Instead of using meats and bones, the broth depends entirely on vegetable ingredients such as leeks, wheat gluten (mock beef, chicken, etc.,) tofu and mushrooms for flavors and textures. Important pho ingredients are definitely retained to keep the pho flavors, and as long as they are not meat-based. These include onion, star anise, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and the likes. Vegan or not, pho would not be pho without these ingredients to give pho its unique aroma.

For devoted Buddhists, some root vegetables like onion and garlic may also be excluded. If you have a chance to try vegetarian foods served at a Buddhist temple, you’ll notice that it’s a lot simpler and may taste bland to the common person. The point is it has nothing to do with enjoying a meal at the temple (hardly the proper place to look for culinary creation,) but everything to do with knowing you have a meal without killing an animal. Temple chay foods are true vegetarian and healthy, but once vegan foods get to the restaurants, chefs spice things up to make it more attractive to paying customers. Most vegan dishes at these places are quite good to eat, and many are really excellent.

Vegetarian pho or pho chay will never be as popular as pho bo and pho ga, but when done right, it’s an excellent vegan choice.

Share your favorite pho chay restaurant experience with us in the comment below.

Vegetarian Pho or Pho Chay – a Tasty Healthy Vegan Choice is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 09-22-09. Here are some stats on Vietnamese pho restaurants in the U.S. – part of a market analysis project I’m working on. The results are still preliminary but worth sharing. I had many sources, but the data presented here came from PhoFever.com’s own Pho Restaurant Directory. Thanks to Tom Nguyen of PhoFever.com for keeping up the database. I’ll share other interesting info as they become available.

Caveat #1. The pho restaurant industry in the U.S. is quite dynamic, and with the popularity of pho on the increase, new pho restaurants are open all the time. I don’t think there is a list anywhere that can call itself a complete pho restaurant directory. Since many available pho restaurant lists are really voluntary efforts, meaning the restaurants are either submitted by the restaurateurs themselves, or by diners giving reviews, the “most complete” list would have to be one that is active and updated often. I think PhoFever.com’s directory is a good starting point.

One thing is for sure: the actual pho restaurant industry is larger than shown here. Once we can include them all, I’m sure adjustments of the rankings for some markets will need to be made. Not all, just some.

Caveat #2. Because of the dynamic nature of the pho market and the voluntary nature of these databases, absolute numbers are not available at this point. Much more important, though, are trends for relative comparison and quick glance purposes. You won’t find exact numbers here, or anywhere else.

Caveat #3. Many many Vietnamese restaurants offer pho, but some specialty restaurants do not. Though they exist, I don’t expect many non-pho restaurants present in PhoFever.com’s Directory.

On with the stats. Below are some snapshots of the data. The market analysis itself is much more extensive. Click on the graphics to get larger versions.

Top U.S. Cities With Pho Restaurants

The first graph shows the top 15 American cities with the largest number of pho restaurants. Many of us take for granted that we have a pho shop right around the corner, within driving distance, or multiple places to go for our pho fix. For many others, such luxury is not available to them. Much more detailed stats to come.

Pho Restaurants in California Cities

An overwhelming number of Vietnamese live in California, with many many more pho lovers who are not Vietnamese. Here are the number of restaurants doing business in California cities. San Francisco leads the pack with trendy places, high tech-mined population, cool young and old people (both restaurateurs and diners,) and a huge number of Chinese/Viet descents. My San Diego is not doing too bad at rank number 5. Collectively though, Orange County is still the place to go if large numbers matter to you.

Pho Restaurants by States

Of course east and west coasts of the U.S. have the most pho restaurants. Houston, Texas stands its own ground smack in the center of the country, of course with a very large Viet presence there. So what’s amazing? It’s the fact that, though still sparse in many places, there are now pho restaurants in all 50 states, including Alaska, Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota! The U.S. is a big place, so there’s still some more work to do.

Stay tuned for more stats from the analysis.

Pho Restaurants in the United States – Pho on the Move is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Something interesting came out of my chat with Corrine Trang about pho and other Asian noodles. Nothing is really earth shattering here, and for pho fans, this is like preaching to the choir. But through these 5 simple questions I believe we captured the essence of Vietnamese pho, so it’s worth a mention in a separate post.

I asked Corinne a series of questions comparing pho to other Asian noodles, calling it the “ultimate noodle face-off.” And she should know, because she herself wrote the book about noodles, Noodles Every Day. Let’s face it, Vietnamese pho is a late comer to Americans’ Asian culinary awareness. Pho certainly came to America after the Chinese, Japanese and Korean noodles. But pho is getting its fair share of fan buzz and definitely building more followers all the time.

So here’s the pho noodle face-off results, pho against other noodle dishes according to Corinne Trang. The scale is from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest level (best, most complex, etc.)

• Deliciousness of pho: 10/10 (one of the best)
• Degree of difficulty to make pho: 3/10 (not too difficult)
• Degree of difficulty to serve pho: 1/10 (very easy!)
• Number of ingredients required for pho: 7/10 (fair, but not numerous amount required)
• Pho popularity among non-Asians: 10/10

If I have to rate these myself, I would give “Difficulty to make pho” a 4/10 and “Degree of difficulty to serve pho” a 2 or 3, just because I would take into account the fact that many Americans didn’t grow up with pho, and therefore are unfamiliar with how it’s made and served from inside a kitchen. But I think my own viewpoints do not disagree with Corinne Trang’s numbers.

The take-away: Pho is great tasting, not difficult to prepare (especially with the right pho recipes,) super easy to serve, does not require an excessive amount of ingredients, and is very popular among non-Asians. If you also consider that pho can be enjoyed at any time of the day, then you have the perfect combination of goodness in pho.

For me though, there’s a missing link: I’m still working on getting reliable calories counts for pho. So please let me know if you have a good source.

Read the details on the original and complete post with Corinne Trang on Vietnamese Pho, Noodles Every Day, and Life.

Vietnamese Pho Soup Noodle in Noodle Face Off Against Other Asian Noodles is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles