Here’s the second part of the YouTube video telling an important story about a great pho family in Vietnam. First the video itself, followed by my loose transcription. Time stamps in brackets [ ] match video timecodes for easy reference. You can view part 1: “Pho Dynasty: Pho Hanoi by the Multigenerational Co Family from Town of Nam Dinh, Part 1.”

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

Phở Cồ is pronounced

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNMcmw2Geps

The Co Family Patriarch Guides Pho Hanoi to Its Future

Mr. Rao has been passionate about pho all his life, and will probably continue to be for a long time. In his hand is a book about the foods of Hanoi, written by the famous French culinary expert Didier Corlou. In it of course one can’t miss his [Chef Corlou's] praise about pho by the family Co in Hanoi.

[0:30] Mr. Rao: “The vast majority of people, when talking about pho in Hanoi, know about the phở gánh or pho carts. [Editor's note: gánh in Vietnamese means bearing on shoulder with a bamboo stick with products hung at each end. It's a way for many people to make a living selling various foods, snacks and products.] It was the Co family and their people taking their pho from Nam Dinh to Hanoi, and according to current family members, Mr. Co [audio indistinct]. He was the first to open shops here, then followed suit by other people from the same village Van Cu. Around the 1980-1985 time frame, the Van Cu people started to scatter to Ha long, down to Da Nang. Even Saigon now has Van Cu people.”

[1:19] Of the 4 brothers from the second generation of family Co, all pho experts, two have passed away. The remaining brothers include Mr. Phở Hùng, his real name is Cồ Như Hùng, and the second brother, Co Nhu Thu[?], who has just reached 80 years in age.

For many years now, Mr. Pho Hung no longer looks after the business. Rather his main work now is to pass on his experience to sons and daughters. For many years Hanioans have not seen Mr. Pho Hung. Today they have a chance to witness his demonstration on the art of making pho during the showcase of Vietnamese culinary arts organized by UNESCO in December 2003.

Standing next to him is the first grandson of Nhu Quang[?] who is fluent in making family Co pho.

[2:19] Despite getting older, Mr. Pho Hung remains strong and confident as he demonstrates his slicing techniques of a true professional with his quick, flexible hands and fingers. Today he is also the President of the professional association for pho countrymen from Van Cu, Nam Truc, Nam Dinh, which represents almost a hundred family members who are making a living serving pho in and around Hanoi.

[2:47] These two pho carts on demonstration have been rebuilt by UNESCO for the event. They are representative of those used by the Co ancestors in early 20th century. They were reconstructed based on Mr. Pho Hung’s own memory of the years when he followed his father seling pho on the old streets of Hanoi. The pepper shaker itself was made from dry bamboo tubes; the fragrant northern pepper, together with the aromatic flavors of cinnamon, star anise, fresh ginger and charred onions have probably accompanied him all his life.

[3:22] Despite the months and years of laborious and hard work, Mr. Pho Hung and his family takes great pride as the those responsible in bringing this rare gift to the land of Hanoi, then help in making pho famous across the country and now the world.

This is Pho Hanoi. And the soul of pho Hanoi is still the pho broth vat with its unique, special aroma and taste.

[3:48] Mr. Pho Hung on stage [audio indistinct]

[4:08] Mr. Pho Hung: “… first off the [bones, meat?] must be fatty and rich. Once the water begins to boil, they must be pulled, then continue to keep the broth simmer without boiling over. This is how the broth can be kept clear always. This particular broth being served today has no well-done meat cooked in it. Together with the proper seasonings, the foundation of the stock must include the best quality ingredients. After that we’d add in charred ginger and onions, then nuoc mam (fish sauce), and that’s how we served it.”

[4:59] Mr. Pho Hung [audio indistinct]

[5:11] Dr. Tran Manh Dat, of the Hanoi University of Education, is a long time citizen who grew up and studied in Hanoi. He has also traveled to foreign countries for education and business. Today, like many others, he by chance happens to attend this cultural event demonstrating the traditional Hanoi pho, and met up with Mr. Co Nhu Hung.

Dr. Dat: “In Paris or Amsterdam or [audio indistinct] or most anywhere else, I’ve always run into pho shops. The pho itself always makes me feel homesick. Today being at this festival, I’m very moved, at the same time feeling proud that our country has a rich culinary culture that is vey rich. Many of my friends from abroad tell me they can never forget Vietnam, because of this pho dish. It is the pho that attract them back to this country.”

[6:28] Now in his retirement, Mr. Pho Hung rarely go visit many places, even to pho shops run by descendants of family Co, and by his countrymen from the same village Van Cu. There are at least a few hundreds of them. Though he does make exception for family members, like this Pho Hang Dong. He always wishes them continued success, in any era or generation.

[7:01] [audio indistinct]

[7:14] Everyone, whether in the family or from the village, or even the customers, wishes Mr. Pho Hung good health and long life, hoping that he will continue as a strong guide for their pho Hanoi, as well as keeping pho famous across the five continents.

[7:35] On a beautiful day in the near future, during the celebration of 1,000 years establishment of Thang Long-Ha Noi [Editor's note: October 2010 will officially mark 1,000 years of the establishment of the city of Hanoi] we hope to be able to view Mr. Pho Hung in action again, right next to his traditional pho cart of Hanoi, with its deductive fragrance.

To read more about events and people related to this video’s production, check out these articles:

• An Interview with Chef Didier Corlou on Vietnamese Pho and Cuisine
• Chef Didier Corlou, A Passion for Pho and Vietnamese Cuisine
• Pho by Chef Didier Corlou

Pho Nam Dinh: Pho Hanoi by the Multigenerational Co Family from Town of Nam Dinh, Part 2 is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 10-31-09. Here’s a unique YouTube video telling an important story about a great pho family in Vietnam. It made my list of top phở videos (Great Vietnamese Pho YouTube Videos Worth Seeing.) It’s narrated in Vietnamese, so not surprisingly it has a very limited audience. I think non-Viet speaking pho lovers will find it fascinating just like I did. For this reason, even though the audio is quite degraded, I was able to make a loose transcription of the video to share with everyone. Some specific audio details may be lost, but I believe the overall meanings are still intact.

The whole program is more than 16 minutes but hamivovn, the YouTube uploader of this video, had to break it into two 8-minute parts, because YouTube only allows 10 minutes maximum per video upload. So here’s part one, beginning with the video itself, followed by my loose transcript. Time stamps in brackets [ ] match video timecodes for easy reference.

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

Phở Cồ is pronounced

www.youtube.com/watch?v=P513niljeMg

The Co Family and Pho Hanoi

Early morning in the old copper antique row Hàng Đồng, the small shop at the crossroad of Hang Tai and Hang Dong seems completely hidden among the constant noisy of the surrounding commerce activites.

The large block of well-done beef steak for many years has come to symbolize the inviting sign that welcomes customers to the many Hanoi pho shops.

The large vat with soup stock as clear as rain water just comes to its boiling point.

Every morning, as the air is still full of morning dew, the shop owner and his wife together with their children begin their daily chores as owners of a pho shop. This is hard work.

This is the family business that has passed down to them through 3-4 generations.

The smokes and steams from boiling vats are the signs that easily identify these family-owned shops as the famous pho shops of Hanoi. The fragrance of the familiar pho and its tasty beef always seem to bond themselves to their server’s presence, in their hair and in their clothes.

Known as the multigenerational pho of Nam Dinh, there’s only one kind of pho: beef pho or phở bò.

[1;32] The family Cồ started from the village Vân Cù, district of Nam Trực in the town of Nam Định. This man’s father, Mr. Phở Chiêu, or elder Cồ Như Chiêu, opened this pho shop, called Hàng Phở Đồng (or Pho Hang Dong,) among the copper antique row since the middle of the 20th century, and handed it down for him and his wife to take over the business to this day. Mr. Phở Chiêu himself was in fact the first-born son of grandfather Phở Cồ, who brought his pho from Nam Dinh to make a living in Hanoi back at the beginning of the 20th century.

Like any other well-known pho shops in Hanoi, Hàng Phở Đồng not only has many regular customers, but always attracts many more new customers all the time.

[2:15] Like this guest. Every morning he walks 5-7 km to come to Pho Hang Dong in order to enjoy a bowl of authentic Phở Chiêu, as the pho is still called.

Guest Mr. Nguyen Huu Tho says: “The pho here is very good, fragrant, the noodle is so soft. I like it so much [undecipherable audio].”

Sitting at the same table is a visitor [undecipherable] of Phở Chiêu. Guest Mr. Duong Dinh Thien says: “I came here to eat ever since the day when it was still called Phở Chiêu, who was the father of the current owner. Now I still come quite often. The pho here has a special characteristic that is just the perfect taste for us.”

Like many third-generation decendents of the family Co from Nam Dinh now in Hanoi, the shop owner Mr. Việt and his wife are very popular among many customers, owing to the experience and discipline passed down from his father before him.

[3:30] Mr. Cồ Như Việt says: “Since I was small, I have followed them [his parents] everywhere to work this business. Now in my 50′s, you can say that I know the business inside out, of course because of what they have taught us and left for us. My brothers, all running famous pho shops around Hanoi, have also followed the family business. Both our father’s and mother’s sides have been successful and dependent on this profession. All the other well-known pho shops from Nam Dinh in the old days have also made their ways here [to Hanoi] to work and help their family business to prosper.”

Mr. Việt: ”The way to maintain the delicious taste, first off, one must possess a real passion for the profession. You cannot use tricks, you cannot be deceitful, or use other schemes, in order to achieve a delicious bowl of pho, with delicious broth, and fragrant meats.”

[4:27] So then as it turns out, almost all the pho Nam Dinh in Hanoi have come from the same family of the village Van Cu, district Nam Trực in the town of Nam Dinh.

It has been known among Hanoians that in Hanoi there are 2 famous pho shops. They are the family Canh Diễn from the province Hà Tây, represented by the pho shop Pho Thìn by Hoan Kiem Lake, and the pho shop Tư Lùn in the Hai Ba Trung district. Today descendants of the Canh Dien family from Ha Tay, and many other pho chefs trained by both families, also operated dozens of pho shops around the streets of Hanoi. Not surprisingly, the 2 original pho shops on Dinh Tien Hoang and Hai Ba Trung streets still maintain business operation regularly.

By the 1990′s into 2000′s, the pho family from Nam Dinh has surpassed pho from Ha Tay in operation and popularity. The children of the family Co’s third-, fourth- and fifth-generation, and their families, have, are and will gain the majority of the pho market.

[5:41] This is the pho shop Cồ Cử on Van Hieu Street as it appeared in the mid 1990′s. The owner, Cồ Hữu Cử, though having the same surname, is actually of the same descent but by a different lineage from the descendants of Mr. Pho Hung [?]

Also from Nam Dinh, he had been in the profession for many years in Hanoi under the name Pho Co Cu, and his shop has also become quite famous. For Co Cu, finding a stable location to operate his pho business has not been easy, and at times the challenges seem insurmountable. But he is not one who is easily discouraged, like the old saying: “lửa thử vàng, gian nan thử sức,” a phrase that loosely means “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.”

[6:29] Recently Co Cu has taken his pho shop to a new location on Nguyen Chi Khanh Street, and has been doing well. It’s only 9 AM, yet many of his vats have already emptied. His broth is so well brewed that, although down to the last few ladles, the liquid itself is still clear and full of fragrance and flavors, its quality just like the full vats of Pho Hang Dong in early morning.

Another unique characteristic of the family Co pho lies in the wide and long strands the pho noodle, or banh pho.

[7:01] Mr. Co Cu: “The banh pho itself has been passed down from the ancestors, and truthfully, today in Hanoi one can probably count only a few banh pho makers that make the family-style noodles like ours. These banh pho have been cut by hand, they’re always large in size, and they go together very well with the pho broth.”

“To tell the truth, our shop here may be at a disadvantage when it comes to economics, but really we do have our reputation.”

[7:46] It’s not until the afternoon when customers have thinned out a bit that Mr. Co Cu then has a few relaxing minutes to greet and chat with his special guests. Visiting today are Mr. Phở Hùng, an uncle of Mr. Co Cu, and Nguyen Dinh Rao, a specialist in Vietnamese cuisine studies and President of Unesco Club of Gastronomy.

You can view part 2: ”Pho Dynasty: Pho Hanoi by the Multigenerational Co Family from Town of Nam Dinh, Part 2.”

To read more about events and people related to this video’s production, check out these articles:

• An Interview with Chef Didier Corlou on Vietnamese Pho and Cuisine
• Chef Didier Corlou, A Passion for Pho and Vietnamese Cuisine
• Pho by Chef Didier Corlou

Pho Nam Dinh: Pho Hanoi by the Multigenerational Co Family from Town of Nam Dinh, Part 1 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

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

I was happy and honored that Andrea Nguyen agreed to an interview. This gives me a great chance to pick her brain and learn what makes her tick. Between writing for well-known publications, teaching classes, giving live tours, demos and interviews, and writing best selling books, Andrea Nguyen is the go-to sources for all things Viet cuisine and Viet pho.

Many searching for advice on Viet cuisine undoubtedly have heard of Andrea Nguyen. She is a celebrated food writer and teacher with a unique ability to interpret traditional Asian cooking styles for modern cooks. Her work appears in the Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, and Saveur magazine, where she is also a contributing editor. Andrea’s first book, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, received three prestigious James Beard and IACP cookbook award nominations. Her new cookbook, Asian Dumplings, hits the shelves on August 25th, 2009.

Andrea Nguyen's Asian Dumplings book

With her very popular website VietWorldKitchen.com, a new book and its companion website Asiandumplingtips.com, Andrea is more than busy. Her new book Asian Dumplings is now available everywhere. You can also buy Asian Dumplings on Amazon.com. So let’s get to the Q&As. As usual I add my own comments in the brackets [...] to clarify or explain as needed.

LovingPho (LP): What are some of your favorite Vietnamese dishes, either to make or to just enjoy them being made by others?
Andrea Nguyen (AN): Pho noodle soup and any kho dish simmered in caramel sauce!
["Kho" dishes are normally pork or fish simmered in caramel sauce in a claypot. They're great over just white rice! See her own example of fish kho.]

LP: What are some of your favorite non-Viet dishes? And why?
AN: Good wonton noodle soup because the textures are so alluring. A juicy hamburger on a homemade bun with hot, crisp French fries because I love practically anything that’s grilled or deep fried.

LP: What do you consider as some of your proudest accomplishments (food related or otherwise,) both in recent years and of all time?
AN: Having Into the Vietnamese Kitchen published and knowing that people are using the book to make food at home. Also, having my mom say that she cooks from the book.

LP: People can read about how you started your culinary career from your own blog and many interviews you have given. What happened was you ended up abandoning your “professional career” to pursue cooking. It’s a classic case of triumph of passion. But were there times in the early years that you ever felt a food career could be a mistake, or did your passion keep you going regardless?
AN: Life is a strange thing and I kept my eyes on the prize. I couldn’t get a book deal for years, though people in the higher echelons encouraged me to get my name out there. Knowing that people you value value your work fueled my tenacity.

LP: Do you have a funny story of failure during those years that you’d like to share?
AN: Writing is a learning process. It’s quite organic. I found out that I’d been making rice wrong for decades. My mother set me right and now 98% of my pots of rice turn out perfect. Practice and constant discovery is key.

Andrea Nguyen's bánh chưng (sticky rice cake)

LP: The food industry is as wide ranging and diverse as any other big industries. Did you have some kind of plan in mind or just wing it? I see your passion in your work now and would like to know what it took for you to finally found your niche.
AN: I thought I’d cook but that was such hard work. I’m an academic geek who is into educating people about new flavors and ideas. You can be creative nowadays with your career. I started out in banking but those skills I now use to figure out business opportunities, contracts, etc. I kind of have a plan and see where life takes me. My folks taught me to always have a backup plan. It’s the immigrant/refugee thing, you know? If this writing/food career doesn’t work out, I bag groceries quite well at Trader Joe’s.

LP: Recipes are essentially detailed instructions to make something. In your views, are recipes really the pinnacle of what humans can achieve to share and teach, or do you see even better ways to share and teach about food?
AN: Recipes are like performance art pieces for me. I do them over multiple times to communicate enough details to help home cooks. I’m a professional home cook and through recipe books, I like to offer a cultural and historical understanding of food and flavor. I learned cooking by reading and practicing on my own and encourage others to do that too. However, we don’t all learn the same way so cooking classes and demonstrations, particularly of difficult techniques, are always welcomed.

LP: How often do you deviate from your own recipes and why?
AN: I love to test out my own recipes to sort of test myself. It’s often a mistake and I find myself saying, “Darn, I should have listened to me!” If I seriously deviate, it’s because I’m testing out a new idea or technique.

LP: Most everyone enjoys eating out. With your knowledge about foods and the culinary arts, how critical are you about the foods you order in restaurants?
AN: I’m a bit too critical but remind myself that eating out is entertainment, a time-saver, and opportunity for discovering new ideas.

LP: And do you feel such knowledge has increased or decreased the level of enjoyment you may get out of a restaurant meal?
AN: I like to eat out and learn something new. It can be as simple as having a bowl of filet mignon pho in a double layer metal bowl (go to El Monte in SoCal) and thinking about how that Korean vessel keeps the soup extra hot. Or, eating at Alinea in Chicago and savoring post-modern culinary dinner theater.

Andrea Nguyen's Shanghai soup dumplings

LP: Do you find yourself naturally becoming the focus for culinary discussions, and opinions, at the restaurant table?
AN: I have opinionated family and friends so it’s normally a broad discussion of food, cooking, history, politics, etc. Food is a great lens for exploring human existence.

LP: When you enter an unfamiliar Viet restaurant, what food do you think about first? Do you think to yourself “I wonder how good pho is here?” or is it a different dish you’re wondering about? Why?
AN: I look around and see what everyone is eating. If I’m in a pho joint, I take a big inhale to get a whiff of the broth. Sometimes you really get to smell the pho fragrance and that’s a nice sign.

LP: I think you’ve been back to Vietnam a few times, and no doubt you had to visit the food markets there. Can you share with us what you can find in a Viet market there that you wish are available here in the states?
AN: Seafood like you wouldn’t believe. Live rice paddy crabs that you’d use for bun rieu cua. Produce like fragrant hoa thien ly. Prepped ingredients like minced shallot, lemongrass, and chiles. Freshly grated coconut for coconut milk. You would be hard pressed to find that abroad.

LP: What are your views about the state of Viet cuisine in Vietnam? Whom do you feel are doing good things to advance Viet cuisine there?
AN: There are a number of locals like Mrs. Nguyen Dzoan Cam Van who are pushing things a bit in terms of modern Viet cuisine that retain its traditional foundations. Viet kieu (Viet expatriates) open places like Ngon to present Viet fare in pleasant surroundings. Foreigners such as Didier Corlou and Bobby Chinn meld eastern and western traditions.

LP: It’s really a blessing (and interesting too) that pho is now one of the most recognizable Viet dish outside of Vietnam. What are your thoughts on this?
AN: I’m just hoping to get better bowls of pho in more places in the future! I’m selfish that way. Seriously, the popularity of pho in urban centers around the world reflects the maturation of the Viet-immigrant communities. People tell me about eating pho in the Czech Republics! How cool is that? Our peeps are everywhere. I’ve had Vietnamese food in the “new” section of Avignon, France, which dates back to medieval times. The Vietnamese restaurants are on side streets and one place used a dumb waiter system to bring the food to the dining room.

LP: Many people feel pho recipes are too complex and involved to try making themselves. What are some ingredients that you think pho can do without but still give acceptable results? Or is it all about authenticity and completeness?
AN: Vietnamese people often think it’s too time consuming to make but I’ve had plenty of non-Viet people cook my pho recipe and prepare delectable bowls. One man took his homemade pho to some local Vietnamese nail salon gals and they loved it. The ladies responded by asking, “Is Into the Vietnamese Kitchen available in Vietnamese?” If you make pho once, you’ll understand what goes into preparing a good bowl and appreciate both home and restaurant cooking. Plus, you can freeze pho broth.

LP: What are some ingredients that pho must absolutely have?
AN: Charred onion and ginger, good fish sauce, yellow rock sugar, and good beef marrow bones for beef pho.

Andrea Nguyen's Moon Cake

LP: How do you feel about franchised foods in general and franchised pho in particular?
AN: Would love to see a good franchise abroad but what we have now is not consistently good. Pho is not close to becoming like McDonald’s.

LP: Speaking of franchise, what are some of the Viet foods that you think will lend themselves well to being franchised foods? Is it the fried variety?
AN: Banh mi sandwiches can be like Subway but lots better.

LP: Back to pho franchises. Pho is popular in the U.S. for sure, but can the franchises co-exist with independent shops in Viet communities, or do they have to expand into more mainstream American markets while risking their own survival there?
AN: There’s too much competition in the Viet communities for good pho shops. I’d go out into the mainstream.

LP: In your opinion, is there such thing as pho etiquette? If so what are some important pho etiquette?
AN: Taste the broth first before dousing it with hoisin sauce, lime juice and Sriracha. The cook has worked hours to brew that broth so don’t kill it before you taste it!
[Great advice!]

LP: Your new book is exciting. What are some exciting things you have coming up for the rest of 2009 and into 2010 that readers can look forward to?
AN: I love my new book Asian Dumplings. It’s comprised of a collection of over 75 amazing recipes, gorgeous photography and design, step-by-step instructions, and helpful illustrations. I’ve been making dumplings since I was a child and have longed for a book that demystified the techniques and flavors that go into making them. Thanks to the many people who pitched in and my publisher Ten Speed Press (Random House), we now have Asian Dumplings out for people to get doughy.

Looking forward, I’ll be teaching Vietnamese and dumpling classes around the U.S., traveling to Sydney, Australia, for their first international food festival, and doing radio and TV interviews. It’s all really exciting and fun. And, I’ll be thinking about my next book.

LP: And finally, what are your desert island ingredients and cooking implements? Sorry but you can only have 3 of each.
AN: Fish sauce, pepper, and good peanut oil. A wok, steamer, and saucepan.
[I don't doubt Andrea's ability to make great cuisine on a desert island, having just these in her possession.]

Visit Andrea Nguyen on VietWorldKitchen.com and Asiandumplingtips.com. You can also follow her on twitter.com/aqnguyen.

A Conversation With Viet Culinary Author and Teacher Andrea Nguyen is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 10-06-09. Vietnamese pho is an easy dish to pick up and enjoy. To the casual diner, consuming pho only requires your ability to place your order, and hold chopsticks and spoon in your hands. For those ready for the next level, pho etiquette is your next goal. There are specific customs to follow, while other protocols are left to individual interpretation and choice. Here’s a collection of pho etiquette to help you come closer to pho and Viet culture.

As pho is street food to the Vietnamese people, you wouldn’t expect too many complex rules. After all, you’re in the noisy street, it’s hot and humid, you’re hungry and all you want is a bowl of pho. Regardless of whether you’re in the streets of Saigon or Main Street U.S.A., this article gives you some guidelines on pho etiquette. In fact, what you have here is a combination of Vietnamese table etiquette, Vietnamese traditions, and common habits.

Vietnamese table etiquette and traditions were born out of the fact that individuals hold specific status within both the family and society, and he/she must know his/her place within this disciplined system. Like most other Asian cultures, the single most important thing to understand is give respect to the elders. If you remember this then rules of etiquette and tradition are not as bad as they may sound. On the other hand, common habits are something that will change with the times, depending on where you grew up and how you lead your life. There are numerous individual habits that can be considered acceptable, but I’ll just touch on the more common ones here, and invite others to share their own experiences in the comment section.

I’m assuming you’re already proficient with a pair of chopsticks, so here we go.

“Sitting” Etiquette

And you thought it’s just about eating pho right? Not so fast. Before everyone sits down, look at your table and the arrangement of the chairs. Decide where the head of the table is (or the most important sitting position) and yield to the eldest or most respected person in the group. But it gets more complicated. If there’s a very respected male (regardless of age,) then he may be the one to get “the chair.”

It’s pretty easy if you know the tradition, but for those not sure, just do the safe thing: if you know for sure you’re not the eldest or most respected one in the group (I hope so,) then don’t rush to grab a seat. Hang back and let things fall into place. Someone will ask you to sit somewhere, and that’s what you want. Easy.

“Ordering Pho” Etiquette

Etiquette for ordering pho is fairly straightforward. For first-time pho diners finding yourselves alone in a pho restaurant, a little help from the order taker is obviously required. Needless to say, if you’re in a group then assistance from an experienced friend is obvious. For the experienced pho diners, you probably already know what you’re doing. In any case, however, it’s proper to let the more senior member of the group order first. This is consistent with the “respect for the elders” consideration discussed earlier. Everyone else can select their orders in turn, and the youngsters’ foods can be ordered by one of the adults.

You can find a number of other articles discussing ordering pho, so I’ll just highlight a few important things here.

1. Ordering pho by the numbers. Just don’t. Many already know my stand on this issue. Suffice it to say, if you order by the numbers then you’ll be stuck to one restaurant, and once you find yourself first time in a different restaurant, you’ll be fumbling with the menu like someone who never had pho before. Not cool.
2. Order your pho in Vietnamese. Modern and experienced diners are a sophisticated bunch. If you can tell good pho from bad pho, then you might as well order it using its own name.
3. If you’re going to have rare beef (bò tái) with your pho, go for the sliced raw beef on the side. You’ll really show your knowledge on how to enjoy pho, because cooking that raw beef in your hot broth at the table gives you the best tasting pho tai, period.
4. If you’re going to have chicken pho (phở gà), inquire about the free-range chicken, and opt for either white or dark meat side dish with dipping fish sauce with ginger. Extra points if they also serve unlaid eggs.

For more reading on ordering pho and pho menu, see

• “Understanding the Pho Menu: No More Ordering Pho by the Numbers,”
• “Tips on Ordering Pho Your Way: Just Tell Them What You Want,”
• “How to Order Pho in Vietnamese,”
• “Pronouncing Pho and Ordering Pho For the Confused and the Timid.”

“Wiping Down Your Chopsticks and Spoon” Etiquette

It’s a habit for most Viet pho diners to wipe their chopsticks and spoon before eating their pho in restaurants. Some will start doing this as soon as they sit down at the table, even before ordering. This is an old habit of pho being a street food for the working class in Vietnam, and old habits die hard. But don’t worry, your typical neighborhood restaurants are used to Viet clientele doing this. They do not mind as it does not necessarily reflect on the restaurant’s sanitary condition. In fact it can be a sign of the client “making himself/herself at home,” and it is good for the restaurant, especially if it’s a repeat customer.

Progressive restaurants are very conscious of the image that wiping chopsticks gives to their shops. They’d rather not have wiping going on as they’re trying to attract more non-Viet clientele. Some restaurants have begun to insert pairs of chopsticks in paper sleeves, an admirable attempt to show their care for the clients’ well being. No matter, people still wipe, even though they know those plastic chopsticks have been through the commercial washer just like at any other Grade A establishment. Alternatively, a few restaurants also make available individually wrapped disposable wood chopsticks which seems to successfully prevent wiping.

Now if you’re in a high-class, five-star restaurant, then wiping down your chopsticks may reflect badly on you. Be aware of your surrounding, the environment and the other diners. If the restaurant expects you to be a snob, then be a snob and do not make it look like you don’t belong.

To wipe or not to wipe? You now know where and when.

“Personalize Your Pho” Etiquette

Once your pho is at the table, everything you do from here on out is your own business. There normally are 2 things you may want to do before digging in: adding the garnishes (sprouts, culantro, basil, lime and sliced peppers,) and adding the sauces (hoisin sauce for pho and hot chili sauce, mainly the Sriracha brand in the U.S.) that are already at the table. Whatever your preferences, don’t let anyone tell you “you must have this or you must add that.” These are entirely optional per your own taste. Pho does not require you to have anything added, but adding some of these can enhance your pho.

In Saigon you can find a humongous plate of basil, culantro and sprouts served at your table. You’ll also get more lime and Thai peppers than you can handle, so quantity is not a problem regardless of your party size. But in the U.S., and I imagine elsewhere outside of Vietnam, you normally get a plate of garnish just enough for two people. I mean just enough: a couple of stems of basil, some culantro (if you’re lucky,) some sprouts, 2 pieces of lime and a few slices of peppers. Understandably many of these items are not cheap, and the restaurant has to make money to stay afloat. If there are more than 2 in your party then they will serve additional garnish plates as required.

Really anything goes, but do consider the following:

• Garnishes: Let the elders go first, again out of respect. You’ll also see younger persons selecting the fresher herbs and offering them to the respected individuals (her mother, father, etc.) On the other hand, it’s fair game between brothers and sisters, so that’s cool.
• Garnishes: Unless you know your dining companion well that he/she doesn’t eat certain herb, you’re expected to split the garnish plate half and half, including the 2 pieces of lime. One for you, one for her. Easy.
• Raw sliced beef side dish: Some like to cook these immediately by putting them into the hot broth before the garnishes and sauces. Others pace themselves to get the just-cooked or rare texture and taste every time. It’s your choice, but make sure the broth is still hot enough when you dip in your last piece or it will be quite rare!
• Dipping hoisin sauce and hot sauce: Some like to squeeze a mix of these sauces into a small saucer so they can dip their beef in during the meal. This gives you extra kick in flavor, depending on what you prefer, sweet (hoisin) or hot (chili.) This is also great for dipping meatballs if you ordered some.
• Side dish of free-range chicken (pho ga): the chicken side dish sometime comes with chicken heart, liver, etc. If there are unlaid eggs then they would already be in the bowl with the broth and pho noodle. The fish sauce with ginger is for dipping the meats and is never poured straight into your pho bowl. So regardless of how much you love fish sauce or ginger, don’t dump it in! It’s for dipping only.

Stricter traditional codes also call for the elders and respected ones to be invited to have the first taste of the food. But in less formal situations, you can just wait for them to take a first sip, then go for it yourself.

By the way, because many Viets are Catholics, saying grace can be a common practice. If you have a Catholic friend at the table, be aware of this and give the person time to finish his or her prayer, then everyone can dig in at the same time. It’s the right thing to do.

“Slurping Your Pho” Etiquette

You’ve done everything correctly up to this point. Your original intent to simply grab a quick bowl of pho seems ages ago. But finally, this is the moment! Chopsticks in one hand (left or right,) spoon in the other, you go for it, with gusto. Of course it’s really not “anything goes,” because civility still counts in any culture. In Asia eating noodle requires slurping, and pho is no exception. So go ahead. Slurp. Just don’t overdo it.

“Finishing Your Pho” Etiquette

The proper way to finish a meal in Vietnam is to put your chopsticks across your bowl, like making a bridge. This may conflict with Japanese convention to never bridge chopsticks over a bowl, but Viet traditions follow many Chinese traditions, and this is one of them. While second and subsequent Viet generations outside of Vietnam begin to lose this tradition, it still is the accepted way to end a meal.

If you’re still eating your meal then do not bridge your chopsticks at any time, because it’s not the proper way. If you need to rest your chopsticks, then rest them on the table with the eating ends on a chopstick rest (if available) or over a napkin or plate edge to keep clean. You can observe this practice by Viet people in many restaurants. Simple, respectable, and elegant.

Must you use toothpicks after the meal? Then cover your mouth while using it.

Oh one last thing. While it’s okay to order pho to go or take out, taking leftovers with you is a no-no. You only have one chance at a bowl of pho. Plus it’s disgusting, however you look at it.

“Paying and Tipping” Etiquette

Tipping

Except for more expensive restaurants where service charges or tipping may be added or expected, servers at most “typical” pho shops in Vietnam do not expect tips as part of their service. Tipping, to the common Vietnamese (the working class,) is not what a Westerner may think. Tips are normally looked at as “spare change” or handouts that a worker would rather not accept. Except for beggars, workers, including those providing a service, do not want to be seen as accepting handouts. Tourism to Vietnam will change this over time, but for many places not impacted greatly by foreign visitors, tipping will probably continue to be nonexistent and not expected.

Early Viet refugees carried this exact mindset to the western world. You can still see the same attitude among many Viet even today – this despite living in the U.S. for more than 30 years. With Vietnamese food going mainstream in the U.S., tipping is becoming more commonplace and acceptable by the Viet service providers.

So what do you do? For U.S. restaurants, definitely leave tips. But if you’re in Vietnam, leave tips if you’re in a big city. If you find yourself in a place out in the boondocks, then tipping is not expected. But if you still must do it, then give it to the server directly and separately, with sincerity and friendliness. Or if the owner and server are one and the same (or family members) then just add more to your payment and ask them to not return the change. Not “keep the change,” but “no need to return the change.”

Paying for your meal

Americans and other non-Viet diners may have noticed that most Viet restaurants do not present checks at their tables. This is not bad service. It’s just because the restaurateurs do not want to look like they’re trying to shove you out the door by asking you to hurry up and pay. This is the common Viet restaurant way and it exists here in the U.S. too.

There have been major misunderstandings on both sides. The restaurateurs could have learned that western diners expect checks at their tables. But most restaurant operators never had a chance to be in American social environment and did not understand this. Likewise, Western diners never understood that most Vietnamese restaurants do not ask customers to pay this way for a reason. What we have is a perfect example of clash of culture. Fortunately, Viet restaurateurs and the younger generations are making headway, while non-Viet diners are making progress as well.

So what do you do knowing all this? Just do what the “regulars” do. Sometime knowledgeable servers will recognize a non-Viet customer and will present a check after your meal (while not necessarily doing the same for Viet customers.) But if this is not the case, then you (and everybody else) just go to the register and pay there. No more confusion.

Summary: Pho Etiquette

There you have it. Pho Etiquette. I know, many of us just want a bowl of pho, but I believe knowing these, and maybe practicing at least some of them, will get you much closer to your pho than you would have otherwise. Pho etiquette gives you pho nirvana, so to speak. Enjoy.

Pho Etiquette is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 07-31-09. Americans may look at instant ramen noodles a little funny, but in truth these cheap dry noodles in a cup or a bag play a very important part in sustaining the Asian families especially during hard times. The Japanese love noodles as much, or maybe more than anyone else, so it’s no surprise a Japanese named Momofuku Ando invented instant ramen back in 1958. Today Vietnamese pho gets the same instant treatment in the form of instant pho, or phở ăn liền (ready-to-eat pho.)

But first a few words about the instant ramen itself. Asians know that instant ramen is imitation noodles so there’s no point criticizing it. For Asians living in Asia, instant ramen can be cheap and quick meals when you can’t have the real thing – due to a variety of reasons, economic included. For Asians living outside of Asia, particularly in Western countries, instant ramen stands for something quick and dependable until the real meal. Instant ramen is the self-serve Asian fast food, and to most Asians, it is the comfort home food, pretty much in the same way peanut butter and jelly sandwich is to Americans. Except that many adult Asians enjoy eating it too. Nowadays my guess is it’s also a popular college dorm food.

Instant Pho

There is a reason why instant ramen, and instant pho, took the world by storm. In today’s fast-paced life, instant ramen caters to a need to feed and satisfy hunger in less than five minutes. After all, all you need to do with instant ramen is to boil the noodles in water, add the contents of the packet of seasoning, and voila!  In recent years instant ramen even comes in foam cups or bowls where the only thing you need to do is to add hot water and let it sit for a few minutes. Witness the Cup-Noodles popularity.

So instant pho is riding the instant ramen momentum. In fact many Vietnamese dishes do get the instant treatment, including the rice porridge! In many Asian supermarkets and grocery stores, you’ll find sections full of instant ramen offerings. Pho bo, pho ga, pho chay (vegetarian version) are all available. For the large Viet consumer segment in the U.S. (and I would guess the same for Australia and Europe) instant pho and other Viet-dish based instant varieties are now the top choices.

Preparing Instant Pho

Preparation, what preparation? It’s instant pho! With modern convenience, all you need is hot water and 3-5 minutes of your time. Actually, your instant pho experience can be greatly enhanced by adding freshly chopped green onions and cilantro before “cooking” it. Also there’s no question about instant pho’s authenticity or taste – it’s not authentic but you can still taste traces of pho from it. Many people add other ingredients to increase their eating enjoyment. My personal favorites include broccoli or a variety of different Chinese cabbages like bok choy, and leftover Chinese BBQ Char siu, if you have it.

Instant Pho – the Good and the Bad

Now, the question is: Is instant pho bad? The answer is: Not necessary.

Here’s how I look at it. If you treat instant pho like a snack, then it does its job pretty well – all snacks are bad anyway. If you see instant pho as your last resort, then it is great and you’re thankful they made such cheap foods! And if you consider instant pho “junk food,” then having a little guilty pleasure occasionally is okay too. The smart instant pho eater (or of any instant ramen for that matter,) however, do look out for the amount of servings, fat and sodium in each package. Here’s what I mean.

If you look at the Nutritional Facts very very closely, you’ll see what you’re really consuming. In the first sample below, each bowl contains 2 servings, with 380 calories, and 110 calories from fat! Furthermore, you’re also getting 12g (18%) Total Fat, 6g (30%) Saturated Fat, and a whopping 2472 mg (104%) Sodium in every bowl! Pretty sneaky that they use 1/2 bowl serving size. I’ve seen 1/3 bowl serving size labels!

In the next sample, each bowl contains 1 serving, 280 calories, and 110 calories from fat. You’re also getting 12g (18%) Total Fat, 6g (30%) Saturated Fat, and 1950 mg (81%) Sodium in every bowl. A little better, but still pretty bad.

So the question is not if instant pho is good or bad, but if it is good for your health. Eating too many of these bowls (and other instant ramen) will probably kill you faster than the time it takes to debate whether they taste good. You remember that scene, when the Sundnace Kid says “I can’t swim,” Butch Cassidy says ”Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you!” The sodium (MSG) itself is not that bad, according to the Mayo Clinique and the FDA “Monosodium glutamate (MSG): Is it harmful?” but the amount packed in there is way over the top.

Vietnamese culinary expert and author Andrea Nguyen did a taste-off of instant pho available in Asian markets in her community. What was her conclusion? It is that instant pho tastes somewhat more authentic than instant ramen, and that she would not mind keeping a stash of instant pho in her cupboard if she wants a quick fix.

I, and I’m sure many others, do the same thing too.

Instant Pho: How Good Are They? is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 06-14-10. There’s an interesting thread going on over at ChowHound.com titled “Best place for pho in NYC?” so I joined in. People were sharing their experience of pho quality, etc. of different NYC restaurants. One of the comments I made was “…it’s pretty hard to screw up pho if the restaurateur knows anything about Vietnamese food…” and someone asked:

Your post makes me curious about Vietnamese people’s expectations, standards, and ideals for Pho vs. non-Vietnamese. If it is pretty hard to screw up pho, why do so many people say there is zero good pho in NYC?

Can you describe the characteristics of great pho from your perspective?

So that got me writing a 613 word response, he he. Once I got going on pho, there’s no stopping…

Anyway there are many things I said about pho quality and expectation of pho quality in that post that I thought would be interesting to readers of LovingPho.com. I’d write a similar post about the subject anyway but since I already wrote it there, here’s the full text to share with you.

I think it’s pretty extreme that someone can say “there is zero good pho in NYC.” There are large Viet communities in NYC so of course there are good Viet foods, pho included. It’s like saying “there is zero good Chinese fried rice in NYC,” or “there is zero good pizza in NYC.”

Admittedly “good” is always a personal judgement. For Viet people growing up with pho, we know what pho is supposed to be and taste like. Except for a bit of discussion about how much MSG may be in the broth, Viet people just don’t analyze pho, the way this post [thread] does for example So by the natural law of pho authenticity, bad pho restaurants will not survive and will disappear.

Now we bring in non-Viet clientele. By definition this group didn’t grow up with pho, and because there are more chatters among those in this group, any misinformation/misunderstanding can easily propagate far and wide. For example, there is no such thing as seafood pho or pork pho or vegetable pho. But enterprising restaurateurs created them to attract non-Viet clients. Another example is there is no substitution for banh pho noodle in pho. But non-Viet clients may ask for egg noodles instead and the restaurant will oblige. They just sold another bowl and that’s all they care about. In this environment, bad pho restaurants can survive or even flourish, further propagating the confusion about pho authenticity.

So what would I consider great pho? I’ll just put it this way: it’s both hard and easy to tell a non-Viet friend. It’s hard because I can’t tell you using words what pho is supposed to taste like even if I write a book on it; I can tell you about ingredients and freshness, etc but it won’t help. And it’s easy because you can find this out yourself. There are 3 ways so let me explain.

1. My assumption here is most non-Viet people who talk about pho must have had pho at least several times to have any opinion about it. It would take at least several bowls of pho for you to feel, smell, taste the goodness of the dish, either at the same restaurant or different ones. Maybe you like it the first time and decide to eat pho again. But there is no way for a non-Viet to say it’s good pho or bad pho after one sitting. You may personally like or dislike it, but you can’t comment on its authenticity and quality. So only through several sittings will you be able to judge.
2. Obviously you can get help from a Viet friend, and make a judgement from there. Still your personal experience must come in sooner or later, but you now have some baseline to compare to.
3. Or, for both first-timers and the experienced, you can take the short cut as I wrote before. If a Viet restaurant has no Viet clientele then I’d continue my walk. A crowded pho shop with Vietnamese slurping away is a sure sign of decent pho!

Sorry for the long post but I hope to have somewhat answered your question [...].

Oh one more thing. If you run into a Chinese-run restaurant that offers Vietnamese foods, don’t be too quick to question its authenticity or quality. The Chinese have a large population living in Vietnam, so in all practicality their foods can be good Viet foods. If a Chinese also speaks Vietnamese, then you can be sure he/she came from Vietnam, and to a large extent, he/she knows Viet foods (but oftentimes with strong Chinese influence.) Not like in Europe where people from adjacent countries can speak several languages, if a Chinese restaurateur didn’t live in Vietnam, there’s no reason for him/her to speak Vietnamese, unless he/she is a linguistic professor or a diplomat.

On Viet People’s Expectations, Standards, and Ideals for Pho vs. Non-Viet is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 10-19-09. Hu tieu (Hủ Tiếu) is a very popular Vietnamese noodle dish. No doubt you have heard of this Southern Viet creation, and there are many others already discovering it. No it’s not pho, and what are we doing talking about hu tieu in a pho blog anyway?

The reason is there are some confusions about what hu tieu is and what it is not, due to the common noodles sometimes used between the two. Plus I’ve always wanted to give my own take on hu tieu so here’s my chance to put hu tieu in its rightful place.

Hủ Tiếu Defined

Hu tieu? Not so simple to explain. There are already excellent sources that you can find on hu tieu, including “Hu Tieu Nam Vang (Phnom Penh Noodle Soup)” by Andrea Nguyen, and hu tieu page on Noodlepie.com, plus a host of others. Both of these are informative and entertaining. Still the uninitiated needs something a little more fundamental, something more complete, something more introductory.

To me, at the most basic level,

1. There are hu tieu the noodles (bánh hủ tiếu,) and then there are hu tieu the dishes,
2. Hu tieu dishes may be cooked in dry (fried) or wet (soup) style.

You go to the supermarket to buy a package of hu tieu noodles and other ingredients to prepare the meal yourself, but in a restaurant you will be served hu tieu as the completely prepared dish. Confusing I know. Vietnamese tend to use the same word for different things and this is one of those instances. As you may notice on a typical menu, you can order fried hu tieu or hu tieu in soup; ‘dry‘ or ‘soup‘ hu tieu, so to speak. So in your conversation about hu tieu, knowing which you’re talking about (the noodle or the dish, and dry or soup) can be helpful. For a Vietnamese, it’s always understood what is what and which is which.

Hu Tieu The Noodles (Bánh Hủ Tiếu)

There is really only one kind of noodle that is called hu tieu noodle. Once cooked, it is the chewy, clear and somewhat sticky kind that is made of tapioca, not rice. On a shelf in a food market, at first glance it may look like banh pho noodle, just not as white in color, or maybe a thicker bún (vermicelli.) But unless it is specifically labeled “Hủ Tiếu,” it isn’t. Like banh pho noodles and bun, bánh hủ tiếu noodles can be purchase dry or fresh.

The Many Faces of Hu Tieu

Hu tieu the dish is really not a single dish at all. As demonstrated in the sources mentioned above, there are many varieties. The three most recognized types are Hu Tieu Nam Vang (hu tieu Phnom Penh style,) Hu Tieu My Tho (after the capital city of Tiền Giang Province, located in the Mekong Delta region of southern Vietnam,) and Hu Tieu Chinese style. [Update] The Chinese had a lot to do with hu tieu being in Vietnam in the first place, and as pointed out by Andrea Nguyen and Sue in the comment #1 below, Chinese-Cambodian brought the dish from Cambodia (hence the Phnom Penh style,) and Vietnamese borrowed it and made their own Viet versions.

In between the three there are countless other versions of hu tieu that are created in many areas of southern Vietnam, each making use of the available local ingredients. Hence you have pork hu tieu, seafood hu tieu, shrimp hu tieu, or anything else the cooks desire to create. The amazing thing is with such diversity and creativity, diners from outside the area would recognize a bowl of hu tieu as a legitimate bowl of hu tieu when encountered!

The common thread that seems to connect these hu tieu variations are the key elements, such as pork-based soup broth, ground pork (the finer the better,) Chinese celery, sauteed garlic and shallots and a few others, to maintain hu tieu’s distinctive bite and taste. Hu tieu is one of those rare yet beautiful noodle dishes that change from place to place, utilize a variety of different ingredients depending on the preparer, and are accepted with the same naming convention no matter where they end up. Interestingly, hu tieu versions that are based on chicken or beef ingredients are rarely found. Beef is already the king in pho, and chicken can be found in pho and many bun dishes, so I think everything works out just fine and everyone is happy.

Hu Tieu The Dishes – Dry or Soup?

As if that weren’t enough variations, you can also have ‘dry’ and ‘soup’ hu tieu. I won’t go much more into the dry hu tieu dishes (just as I won’t go much into the ‘dry pho’ dishes on this site – ha, bet you didn’t know such things exist!), except to say that these delicious dishes come mainly as either pan-fried or regular fried hu tieu (hủ tiếu áp chảo or hủ tiếu xào, respectively.) Meat ingredients run the gamut from beef, chicken, pork, and their innards, to shrimp, scallop, squid, and crab.

So there you have the ultimate challenger to my beloved bowl of pho. They come from everywhere, they take on many shapes and forms, and they all taste yummy. To put hu tieu (the soup kind) in perspective, here are some hu tieu 101s for you:

• Hu tieu dishes can use different noodles. You can have banh hu tieu noodles, banh pho noodles, or thin Chinese egg noodles (called mì in Vietnamese,) and the dish you order is still called hu tieu.
• When you order hu tieu, it’s acceptable to mix banh pho noodles and thin egg noodles in the same hu tieu bowl. In this case it is called hủ tiếu mì and many restaurants actually have this on their menus.
• Probably from the Chinese influence, hu tieu can also have Vietnamese wonton (hoành thánh, which is better than Chinese wonton in my opinion) right in the bowl with the noodles. Hoành thánh is very universal; as long as you have a pork-based soup noodle dish like hu tieu, it will go with hoành thánh.
• Good hu tieu restaurants will serve you the option of hu tieu with the hot soup on the side in another bowl. Some people will eat the two separately, though most will just put the hot soup in over the noodles just before digging in. This gives the best (or chewiest, or least cooked) noodle experience. This is rarely done with the Chinese egg noodles as they need to be thoroughly cooked.

I’m sure there are still lingering questions about Vietnamese hu tieu, but I think this will help begin to clear up some confusions about what hu tieu is and how it may be enjoyed, but more importantly, how it differs from pho. For a Vietnamese it’s pretty much common knowledge. But for others it’s probably been one contradiction after another where seemingly different dishes are all called Hủ Tiếu! Hopefully you can now order your hu tieu with confidence and then enjoy it with peace of mind. Please drop me a comment below.

Hu Tieu or Hủ Tiếu – Paying Respect to Pho’s Cousin is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles