Instant Pho: How Good Are They?

Updated 04-01-15. instant-pho-bo-bowl-300x225Americans 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.

pho-ga-an-lieninstant-pho-boxes3
pho-chay-boxespho-bo-an-lien

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!

instant-pho-nutrition-facts1

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.

instant-pho-nutrition-facts2

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. Remember that scene when the Sundance Kid says "I can't swim," and Butch Cassidy says "Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you!" The sodium (MSG) itself is not as bad as many people make it out to be, according to the Mayo Clinique and the FDA "What is MSG? Is it bad for you?", but the amount packed in there is way over the top.

Vietnamese culinary 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.

Originally published 07-31-09.

19 comments

  1. Inthewater 30 July, 2009 at 07:22 Reply

    That sodium amount is just insane! Do you happen to have any idea what average lvls of sodium would be in a real bowl of pho? I am sure it still isn’t “good” for you (nothing besides water and lettuce seems to be “okay” to eat anymore, sheesh) but I am guessing the sodium and other “bad thing” levels would be much lower. Plus, it just tastes way better.

    🙂

  2. Cuong Huynh 30 July, 2009 at 09:16 Reply

    Yeah no doubt a restaurant pho bowl would have high level of sodium and fat. Here’s something from livestrong.com based on some recipe that is not shown. Everything looks good but I don’t believe the sodium number. And the total calories seems too low for a typical bowl.

    Nutrition Facts
    Serving Size: 1/8 recipe / 619g
    Amount per Serving
    Calories 367
    Calories from Fat 52
    % Daily Value *
    Total Fat 6g (9%)
    Saturated Fat 2g (10%)
    Cholesterol 35mg (12%)
    Sodium 384mg (16%)
    Total Carbohydrate 51g (17%)
    Dietary Fiber 2g (8%)
    Sugars 0g
    Protein 24g (48%)
    Vitamin A 4%
    Vitamin C 10%
    Calcium 4%
    Iron 20%

    Here’s another interesting discussion on chowhound. No quick answers.

  3. Inthewater 30 July, 2009 at 11:00 Reply

    Yeah, that is like half or less of the normal bowls I see. It is somewhat important for me, as I have blood pressure issues as well as a serious pho addiction. 🙁 I have to ration myself to only 2 or so bowls for lunch a week. Heading out for some pho ga today, actually. 🙂 Tried some hiu tieu (spelling) last week, as well and was very impressed. It had little wonton / pot sticker things in the soup and was delicious. Also, tried to order my pho tai bo vien by name rather than number this week. The server got a kick out of it, as I am about as anglo as you can get. She said I did a good job with pronunciation. 🙂

  4. Cuong Huynh 30 July, 2009 at 15:31 Reply

    “Blood pressure issues” vs. “serious pho addition.” Man I feel for ya. Not fun when you can’t have or have to limit pho intake! On the positive side, it’s healthier than many other foods so, go ahead, have a large pho ga today.

    By the way it’s hu tieu, and it has many faces (see hu tieu if you haven’t read it.) One of my fav foods too, especially the one with wonton like you mentioned. What I really like is the xui cao (like wonton but with shrimp and much tastier.) I’m so glad you’re ordering in Vietnamese. Restaurants’ gonna flip when all their American clients start ordering strictly in Vietnamese – that would be funny.

  5. Inthewater 31 July, 2009 at 06:03 Reply

    Hah, yeah I did spell it wrong. I actually tried it because of your article. I had already tried bun bo hue and bun rieu on my own, both of which are tasty and so much different than pho or hu tieu. I am not to the point of ordering in Vietnamese at every restaurant yet, just at some that I frequest the most. One of the best places in town for pho has some very grizzled older looking servers that I can’t tell if they would think I was making fun of them or not. Anyway, great page for info on these foods and the cultures behind them.

  6. Cuong Huynh 31 July, 2009 at 11:40 Reply

    Ahh don’t worry about the old servers. They’ll get a kick out of your speaking Vietnamese. Glad you like those other noodle dishes. But do you agree that pho has more appeal to Western tastes, while the others need acquired tastes? I like them myself too but when it comes to choices, pho always wins hands down ;P

  7. Inthewater 3 August, 2009 at 06:02 Reply

    I do agree about some of the other dishes being a little more difficult for a westerner to enjoy. Some of the flavors are so bold, such as the fermented shrimp paste, that it is a bit more difficult. I notice, though, that the restaurant folks are impressed by someone like me (6′ 5″ white guy) trying some bun bo hue with shrimp paste and congealed blood, than just eating pho all the time. I also just try whatever the server recommends sometimes, but only at a place where I go quite a bit and the server knows me. That has lead to some great food, but I am a fairly adventurous eater.

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