"PHỞ" - A SPECIALTY OF HANOI

WHERE DOES "PHỞ" COME FROM?

Although some researchers have explored the origins of this popular Vietnamese dish, their findings remain inconclusive.
One theory is that the name "pho" was borrowed from the French word " feu" (fire) as used in "pot-au-feu", a dish introduced during the French occupation of Vietnam. However, if this is true, it is not clear how much the Vietnamese recipe borrowed from its French counterpart since the two dishes differ significantly. French pot-au-feu is a soup made from boiled meat and vegetables, but the meat is usually eaten separately from the vegetables and stock,  whereas Vietnamese "pho" is a noodle soup with the ingredients eaten together. In addition, most ingredients in pho are different from those in pot-au-feu.

Another theory attributes the invention of pho to a talented cook in Nam Dinh City, Vietnam's largest colonial textile center, which had many French employers and many more Vietnamese laborers. The cook thought soup would please both groups. To ensure its appeal, he used rice noodles (Vietnamese) and slivers of beef (French) as his two main ingredients and then added some extras. If this story is true, then it's certainly also true that his recipe worked!

The third theory points to Van Cu Village in Nam Dinh Province as the birthplace of "pho". According to this theory, improverished villagers invented pho and peddled their dish about a hundred kilometers away in Hanoi. They found immediate success among both rich and poor city dwellers. This may explain why several of the best "pho" chefs in Hanoi come from Van Cu Village.

To be continued

What are the most popular kinds of "pho"?

www.newoceantravel.com.vn

Skype: duong.newoceantravel