[Dedicated to David Zheng, who never had pho until this summer]
I have decided to share my “secret” pho eating technique, honed by years of eating my mother’s pho at home. Over time, it has evolved to the ritual that it has become, but I think my technique has allowed me to appreciate the essential qualities of good pho taught to me by my parents. These are my opinions, but I feel like there are some universal qualities to good pho, though there are some regional differences.
So what makes good pho? Most importantly, it’s the BROTH!!!!! Certain people think it’s about the noodles and perhaps only eat the noodles and do not enjoy the broth (I’m calling you out here Jeremy Lai). And though it’s perfectly acceptable to order more noodles to finish up the broth, it’s a travesty to leave good broth in the bowl. It’s the broth that makes the pho. A good broth will have been made from big beef bones simmered all day with whole onions, ginger, garlic and spices like cloves, cinnamon, and star anise. You can tell good pho just by smelling it. In fact, Vietnamese people say that a good bowl of pho has mùi phở or literally the “smell of pho.” These days, many Vietnamese restaurants (including probably the ones in STL and even CA) make stock from pho bouillon cubes and add MSG. =( A good broth is a complex mixtures of spices and umami that you can only make from scratch, simmered slowly. But man, it tastes as delicious as it smells. (Note: Chicken Pho or Pho Ga is just as good, but its made with chicken stock and not beef stock. My mom says chicken makes the broth taste sweeter, so her homemade broth has both chicken and beef bones.)
Now, there are a lot of things you can put into pho and there are different ways of eating pho depending on where you are from in Vietnam. My dad’s family is from the north, which has historically been poorer than the south, so he eats his pho northern-style, with very little garnishing, maybe some bean sprouts, hot pepper and/or black pepper. This was the style of pho served in Hanoi when I went there, very basic garnishes with a much clearer broth with less spices. It is pho at its most purest.
But my mom is from the south and taught my sister and me to eat pho like her. This is the style of pho that you find mostly in the US. The broth is much more concentrated in flavor and you usually get a heaping plate of garnishes that you might not know what to do with. You can add them to your own taste, as each adds something different to southern-style pho. Bean sprouts add a bit of crunch to the pho, limes/lemons add tartness, while sliced peppers add some spice to the broth. You can add leafy herbs like thai basil, cilantro and dandelion leaves depending on what they give you. Experiment to find what is good for you.
Also, southern-style pho has more meat types that its northern cousin. Most people I know that aren’t Vietnamese enjoy eating plain old Pho Tai. But I’ve taken a liking to getting Pho Dac Biet, or Special Pho, which has all of the different types of beef in it: rare beef slices (Tái), well-done beef (ChÃn), flank steak (Nạm), fatty brisket (Gầu), tendon (Gân), and tripe (Sách). It adds a different level of complexity to the pho. Try it if you’re adventurous.
So how do I eat pho? Now, I usually order Pho Dac Biet, sometimes without tendon though because I hate chewy food, but sometimes just Pho Tai. I put in a big handful of bean sprouts, 5-6 leaves of thai basil, 3-4 sprigs of cilantro, a couple of slices of pepper, and squeeze in 1 wedge of lime (dropping it in is optional). I fill my spoon halfway with hoisin sauce and add a little bit of Sriracha as well. (Note:Â I was taught to eat pho with hoisin sauce and Sriracha, but by all means you do not have to put any in at all. But please, for the love of pho, do not squeeze a ton of Sriracha into your pho. It kills all other flavors in the broth IMO. What a travesty. So sad when I see it happen. =( )Â I mix everything together with my spoon and chopsticks.
With chopsticks in one hand and spoon in the other hand, I prepare to eat. Now, I’ve heard of two ways to eat pho, but both combine broth and noodles together. You may slurp noodles from your chopsticks in one hand and then slurp broth from your spoon. This is the traditional way (Apparently the air that you slurp in adds to the flavor???). Or the more civilized way is to take the noodles with your chopsticks and put them into spoon and get some broth and eat both at the same time. Less noisy and less of a mess. But broth and noodles must be combined in the spoon or in your mouth, otherwise the pho is not being fully appreciated. But, man is it good.
That’s pretty much it. I’m not the final word but hopefully, you learned something and can put it to good use next time you get pho. I’ll definitely miss my mom’s pho when I leave.
P.S. If you want my mom’s pho, come to my house and get it like Joy Wang and Diana Zhu did. They can vouch for how good it is.
Pham I Am 