Pho

Guide Note

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup of widespread popularity but uncertain origin. An apparently recent invention, dating to the early 20th Century, it is probably (like the Portuguese-inspired Vindaloo) a fusion of traditional cuisine and Western-colonial methods -- in this case, a classic French beef or chicken stock enlivened by a Vietnamese spice mixture of cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and other ingredients. Pho is also served with side ingredients including some combination of onions, basil, cilantro, lime, chile sauce, fish sauce, and hoisin sauce.

Fast Facts

1. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup
2. Usually made with beef or chicken
3. Usually made with rice noodles
4. Gained rapid acclaim in the U.S.
5. Popularity similar to the Thai food boom of the 1990s

Beef makes up the 'classic' pho most familiar to Western diners. It is usually offered with a choice of various cuts of meat, as well as options usually unexplored by Americans, such as beef tendon and tripe. Chicken pho is not unknown in Vietnam, but is more widely popular in America. vegetarian pho is another Western innovation, but has fallen helplessly into the inevitable nickname, "faux."