How I Eat: Pho

Pho is a Vietnamese rice noodle dish in piping-hot, clear beef broth with thin slices of beef. Other potential ingredients are tripe, meatballs, beed tendon, and chicken meat. A side plate of: bean sprouts, cilantro, Thai Basil, chili pepper, and slices of lime is presented to you to flavor the soup to your taste palette. Hoisin sauce and the Thai hot sauce, Sriracha, are also usually available to flavor the soup.

My first encounter with this hearty yet light Vietnamese dish was at one of my mother's friend's house. It was during the weekend and my mother's friends were having a social gathering. The children played games and watched television together while the adults played games of Mahjong. Usually, the adults would order delivery from the local Chinese restaurant and they did, for most of the guests. However, the children of the host wanted Pho. The Chinese food came first and readily accepted this food. After most of the guests have settled into after dinner relaxation, the Pho came. I still remember the aroma of the beef broth and the plethora of exotic ingredients being put into a large bowl to be harmoniously joined together to create a heavenly dish.

Shortly after that party, I started to eat Pho on a more regular basis. My family's house is actually only a 5 minute drive from a local Pho restaurant. Pho is a dish I consider comfort food. The soup is soothingly hot, the beef is rich and hearty, the herbs give the entire dish explosive flavor highlights, and the rice noodles are still light, easy to chew. I have had my fare share Pho, mostly from this restaurant near my house. For me, the perfect Pho starts with the broth. Good, well-made beef broth can take sub-par meat or less than ideal herbs to deliver a great dining experience. I say this because of my Pho experience in China. They only give you one, count them, one sprig of Thai basil (this is actually my second most important ingredient for my Pho). The Pho was not perfect but acceptable, and I think it has to do with the broth.

To describe a good Pho experience for me, let us start from the beginning. Once I am presented with the soup, I separate the beef slices so they are not clumped together. This is to try to ensure that all pieces of the meat have been cooked thoroughly. While the meat is cooking, I quickly throw in the cilantro and mix it into the broth. Now comes the part where time is critical. The soup comes out pretty hot so that it can cook the raw slices of beef. While the soup is still hot, pluck out Thai basil leaves from the sprigs and cook them in the broth. This allows the basil to cook and release its flavors. The color of the basil leaves will change to a dark green. Take the lime wedge and squeeze the juice out. I usually use about two lime wedges. It brings out a brighter citrus flavor, which I think goes really well with the basil. Toss in some bean sprouts for good measure. Not a lot as the previous preparation already took a long time and the bean sprouts won't cook quickly because the soup would have cooled down a little by now.

Enough with the preparation foreplay and dig in. I take the hoisin sauce and put it into a side dish to dip my beef slices, briskets, tendons, tripe, and meatballs into. As a filling Pho experience, I almost always polish off the soup. Soup is still the main ingredient and there is nothing more satisfying slurping up that last drop.