Making pho at home is easy!

Making Vietnamese pho at home. It’s not as daunting as you might think. Making pho is very easy, actually.

LovingPho.com visitor J-DuB left a message the other day saying, among other interesting points he (I assume it’s a he) was making, that

Personally, I hope that people DO give a shot to making Pho at home, at least ONCE. The making of which helps to build good fundamental cooking skills and maybe people will be more “picky?” of what they eat.

Lovely statement! I couldn’t have said it better myself. And obviously I wholeheartedly agree.

I should preface the rest of this post with the following. I know there are many Vietnamese making great pho at home for friends and family, and I’m not talking about them here. But if you are a non-Viet person who wants to make pho at home, then this post is for you. So here we go.

I’ve written plenty about Vietnamese pho broth and about pho recipes. People should know that making pho at home is very easy especially if you live in the U.S. or metro areas where decent Asian supermarkets exist. When you can’t find Asian/Viet food ingredients, is when you will have to resort to substitute ingredients and end up with “fusion” pho; which is totally understandable and ok with me if you just want to get your pho fix temporarily. In fact this was exactly what my family and many Viet families had to do circa 1975 -1980 in the U.S. when first arriving in the U.S. and our only choices were Chinese markets in cities a hundred miles from where we lived. My point here is, when you make pho at home, for various reasons, you run the risk of not getting the authenticity that you may want, as compared to eating out at a pho shop, AND, you also run the risk of actually liking your fusion pho!

In Vietnam, hardly anyone makes pho at home. Only restaurants and pho shops make pho. Pho is best made in very large quantities to serve large number of people, and is not normally made to personal portions at a time. The scaling down of a pho recipe for a few people to eat really does not work very well, or at least is not very practical.

Homemade beef pho broth:
Easy and delicious!

In the U.S. nowadays, convenience, available technology, abundance of ingredients, and higher income levels are all enabling factors allowing people to make pho at home and even experiment with it. Regardless, the way to judge how well made a pho is, is the mass population who enjoy them at pho shops that produce pho in large quantities. Good pho shops will survive and the mediocre ones will vanish, while the so-so will just linger. Generally, this is how good foods become good foods, and it is the measuring stick for your homemade pho. I know, I know, you are not out to make pho for the rest of your neighborhood block or open a pho shop, but realizing the above will give a much better perspective when you make your own pho.

By the way, my friend and founder Brian Nguyen at Quoc Viet Foods has the goal of helping people make pho at home, and he has turned it into a successful business. His approach is somewhat different, where he provides good quality, pre-made pho broth bases to help those too impatient, lacking experience and ingredients, or less knowledgeable to make pho from scratch. Unlike other soup bases on the market, Brian’s stuff is high quality and gives authentic flavors. Another beautiful part of his concept is he literally takes the ingredient availability factor out of the equation and provides pretty much everything in one package. This ensures all important flavors are there even if one cannot find the right ingredients and spices in his/her locality. Anyway, it’s a another way to make pho yourself at home.

Finally, a quick tip for the newbies who want to make pho at home: Make sure you parboil or blanch your bones and meats before the actual making of the broth. Blanching the bones and meats, together with subsequent simmering at low temperature over many hours, will ensure that you have a clear and good quality pho broth. Blanching is needed to remove impurities, soft tissues and blood on the outside of the bones and meats, all of which don’t contribute any flavor and do make the broth very dirty in both look and taste.

So if you decided to make pho yourself, just know that your first attempt will be ok, and your subsequent pho pots after that will be pretty good. Then, the good stuff will start to happen as you know how to adjust to your personal tastes while keeping your pho close to being acceptable to the mass and not just to your friends and family. Happy pho making!

Homemade Pho: Making Vietnamese Pho Yourself at Home is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve been working on a project. A secret project.

I think it’s time to get Vietnamese pho on university campuses! Yes that’s the little secret project I’ve been working on. Staying true to what I want LovingPho.com to be, which is a reliable informational resource for Vietnamese pho noodle, I and a partner successfully opened a Loving Pho inspired Ui-Cha! Phở and Cà-Phê since Fall of 2011. You see, Ui-Cha! Phở is the my pilot pho restaurant on a university campus. For those who know the University of Montana in Missoula, Ui-Cha! Pho and Ca-Phe is located in the University Center (UC) on the second floor.

Last year, I started a couple of polls related this subject; they are both still live and you can still vote. I’ve actually had a couple of desires. One was the urge to have a pho restaurant that stays true to the spirit of Lovingpho.com; the other was the need, yes a need, to serve Vietnamese pho to students on campuses across North America. Not just because many believe pho is the best hangover cure , but because pho is the third on the list of College Food Trends in 2010 as published by Sodexo, one of the largest food services and facilities management companies in the world.

What the Pho Polls Show

Back in April 2011 I started this poll out of curiosity. You can see the results by clicking the View Results link.

I was optimistic that I would probably get a lot support. The right thing to do, in my mind, is to stay true to what I “preach” about what’s right and what’s wrong with pho restaurants in general, but concurrently if I were to run a pho restaurant myself, how would I do it. How would I bring a lot or all of the flavors of LovingPho.com to a real pho restaurant. I have written and talked a lot about what pho is and how it should be served and enjoyed. The challenge was on, and the poll results gave me a huge boost in both the confidence and excitement departments.

Then a little idea began to sprout (pun intended) and I started another poll, shown below here.

So the stage is set for Ui-Cha! Pho and Ca-Phe.

Vietnamese Pho on Campus

With our humble beginning in 2009, we started parent company Pho Destiny from the Bay Area. I wanted to introduce a Vietnamese pho restaurant in a new, fresh light to all corners of North America to compete with many already established pho restaurants. Vietnamese pho has definitely gained popularity in metropolitan areas where large Vietnamese communities have developed into Little Saigons. While this trend will continue to take this hearty soup noodle dish called Vietnamese pho into many more medium and smaller cities, I wanted to take pho in several totally different paths.

Among the many concepts coming out of Pho Destiny is Ui-Cha! Phở and Cà-Phê, born to serve the campus population of universities and colleges. Amazingly, as destiny would have it, the University of Montana, Missoula has embraced our concept, and suddenly became the birthplace of Ui-Cha! Phở.

We wanted Ui-Cha! Pho restaurant to be more than a typical Vietnamese restaurant serving just typical Vietnamese foods. Ui-Cha! is about presenting Vietnamese food in a way that will promote the goodness, authenticity, preparation, enjoyment and healthiness of Vietnamese pho and other dishes. As we bring our pho concept to the campuses of North American universities, Ui-Cha! employs modern technologies and methods to maintain Vietnamese pho authenticity. At the same time, we take full advantage of local resources available to us, from local and student talents in our production, service and marketing, to local farmers and locally grown ingredients used in many of our menu items.

In a way, we are really turning Vietnamese pho restaurant inside out. All Ui-Cha! Pho ingredient selections are displayed at the food service counter, allowing guests to choose their own ingredients, and witness hot bowls of pho created before their eyes. This is a unique experience not available at commercial restaurants, where pho has been traditionally served from kitchen to table by the restaurant wait staff.

Ui-Cha! Pho features a modern, clean and efficient kitchen and work environment. The ability of guests to customize their own pho orders is a unique, fun, and educational experience. We hope these key features, together with our goal of providing fresh, healthy, consistent food quality at affordable prices, will contributes to making Ui-Cha! Pho a popular and healthy dining choice for the campus community to experience Vietnam’s beloved and famous noodle dish.

We hope to bring Ui-Cha! to your campus soon. If you can’t wait that long or otherwise would like to help bring Ui-Cha! to your campus, then you can use the Campus Pho Campaign Contact Form page to get things going. Or share your comment below. Oh and don’t forget to take the polls above.

Vietnamese Pho on University and College Campuses – Start a Pho Revolution is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 05-04-13. This is Part 2 of a multi-part article on the pronunciation of Vietnamese phrases and words. The very popular Part 1 is closed to requests but has more than 50 audios you can listen too. If you have a request please check there first as someone else may have requested it already. Follow this link to find Part 1 of Pronunciation of Pho and Other Vietnamese Words and Phrases.

I know there are folks out there who are looking for help with pronunciation of Vietnamese words and phrases, and are looking for accurate and easy to understand guidance and reference on how to properly pronounce certain words in Vietnamese. This post, which is Part 2 of this series, aims to help you with exactly what a word or phrase should sound like, in both Northern and Southern Vietnamese accents when appropriate.

Have a Vietnamese word or phrase you’d like to hear? Here’s what you do: Leave a comment to this post with the word(s) you would like to hear pronounced, and I’ll post a response with audio files demonstrating exactly how they should sound. Please include as much information about the words as you can, with maybe the context you found them in, their meanings (if you know), or where you encountered them. This is because with proper accent marks the same looking words may have different pronunciation and meanings altogether. This will help me say them correctly for you. This site is about pho first and foremost, but I’ll post answers to whatever inquiry received.

If you’re looking for more specific pronunciation, check out these posts:

• For the definitive guide to pronounce “pho” in complete conversational sentences with both English and Vietnamese audio: How to Pronounce Pho: You Can Say It, Pronounce Pho, Say: Phở…
• How to Order Pho in Vietnamese

A single sound can sometime confuse you even more than no sound at all. Therefore, I’m also providing full sentences to demonstrate how the words/phrases should really sound in everyday conversation. You should be able to recognize these sounds in both English and Vietnamese conversational sentences. I’ll start with something requested by Louie from the last comment from Part 1.

1. Pronounce: “Người Rừng” which literally means “jungle people.”
   • Southern accent (twice, slower then faster) then Northern (twice.)
2. Pronounce the lady’s name: “Nguyệt.”
   • Southern accent then Northern.
3. Pronounce: “Tôi nấu ăn cho gia đình tôi” which means “I cook for my family.”
   • Southern accent then Northern.
4. Pronounce: “Bún chả giò chay” which means “Vermicelli noodles with Vegetarian Spring rolls.”
   • Southern accent then Northern.
5. Pronounce: “Heo xào xả ớt” which means “Pork sautéed in Hot and Spicy Lemongrass.”
   • Southern accent then Northern.
6. Pronounce: “Bò xào xả ớt” which means “Beef sautéed in Hot and Spicy Lemongrass.”
   • Southern accent then Northern.
7. Pronounce: “nước mắm” which means “fish sauce.”
   • Southern similar to Northern, slow then faster.
8. Pronounce: “con chó, con mèo, con khỉ” which means “the dog, the cat, the monkey.”
   • Southern accent then Northern.
9. Pronounce: “Thiên Chúa của tôi” which means “my God”; Thiên Chúa is God, and của tôi is my or of mine.
   • Southern then Northern accent.
10. Pronounce: “nước mía” which means “sugar juice.”
    • Southern and Northern accents similar, repeated twice, slower then faster.
11. Pronounce: “soda xí muội” which means “salty plum with soda drink,” also with sugar for sweetness.
    • Southern and Northern accents similar, repeated twice, slower then faster.
12. Pronounce: “bún bò nướng sả” which means “grilled lemongrass beef with vermicelli noodle.”
    • Southern then Northern accent, each twice, slower then faster.
13. Pronounce: “tô nhỏ, tô lớn” which means “small bowl, large bowl.”
    • Southern then Northern accent, each twice.
14. Pronounce: “chúc bình an” which means to wish someone to be safe and sound, to be at peace and secured.
    • Southern then Northern accent.

Pronunciation of Pho and Other Vietnamese Words and Phrases, Part 2 is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 10-02-12. Pho Cali, Pho HoaCali, Pho Cali & Grill, Pho T Cali, Pho Cow Cali, Pho Cali Restaurant. When it comes to naming a pho restaurant, it seems we Vietnamese have a problem with good, creative English names. [Rant warning] Now before one says “what about Pho King, Pho Real, What The Pho!, etc.” I will just say this: Sure, funny and creative stuff they are. But those get old, plus I don’t like it when someone is taking my beloved pho a little too low on the respect scale. There, I said my piece.

Back to Pho Cali. Don’t get me wrong, if you understand Vietnamese, then there are some very cool names around. But since this is about Pho Cali, let’s just stay on topic.

Dave Cook from Eating In Translation left me a message today. Dave writes:

I came across your very engaging pho website today, and in the near future I’m sure I’ll be brushing up on my Vietnamese pronunciation. But in the meantime, I hope you can help answer a question that I couldn’t answer for myself by looking at LovingPho.com.

I’m wondering whether the “Cali” in pho Cali, which I encountered in the Bronx, New York, on a restaurant’s business card, is meant as an assertion of regional style and quality. New York pizza, to take one example, has long been considered a style of its own, and a mark of quality, even if pizza lovers in Naples, Italy, might disapprove of the preparation. Is pho Cali now considered emblematic, in some way, of California, enough so that in other U.S. states you can now seek out both New York pizza and pho Cali?

Interesting question Dave. Let’s break it down this way. If you’ve read my article on Bolsa called Vietnamese, Little Saigon, Bolsa, and Pho by the Numbers, then you’ve had a little peek into how we Vietnamese think. We’d say “let’s go to Bolsa,” to mean ‘let’s go to Little Saigon in Orange County, CA and do a little shopping, and a lot of good eating.’ Vietnamese like to take Western words (first French years ago and now English) and make them our own. Anyway, Vietnamese like 2-syllable words, and the word California has way too many syllables (5 if you have to ask,) plus the -nia part is kind of weird for many older Asian folks to deal with. Therefore we just say Cali. Short, easy to spell and say, easy to remember. American-born persons would say SoCal or just Cal for short, but Vietnamese like “Cali”.

Next, because we love Cali, we’ll put Cali on everything we can. Vietnamese in other states desire to be here (despite what they may say otherwise ) According to Wikipedia on U.S. cities with large Vietnamese American populations, the 3 with the highest population of Vietnamese descent by percentage are in the good old Cali (San Jose, 8.8%; Santa Ana, 5.7%; and Anaheim, 3.1%) and of the top 10 U.S. cities with the highest Viet population by percentage, Cali has five (San Jose, Santa Ana, Anaheim, San Diego and Oakland.) So yeah we love our Cali. And guess what, Vietnamese in other states love our Cali too. Little Saigon in Orange County, CA is still a destination for many Viet visitors from the other states. They come here to visit friends and families, and/or just to check things out, to get a little taste for the old country.

Many Viet families when immigrated here to the states, mine certainly included, were sponsored by American families to all corners of the U.S. Yes, freezing cold, scorching dry heat regions and all. Naturally large groups of Viet refugees coming out of Camp Pendleton in CA (refugee staging and processing area) found that we didn’t have to go far. Southern Cali was as good as home for us now. And the community flourished with a lot of personal determination and a little bit of help from the nice year-round warm weather. As a result, the rest of us, no matter where we ended up in other states, always look back to Cali as our new home away from home.

So far there is no pho in the picture… Well that’s because it has nothing to do with pho actually. Just as you’ll likely see Pho Bolsa in San Diego or in Sacramento or in York, Ontario, you will see Pho Cali in many places including the Bronx, New York. Vietnamese (except for a few that are more savvy with doing business the Western ways) just don’t like taking claim to a name with copyrights and trademarks. If there’s a great name to be had, then you’ll find it popping up everywhere. There’s not been much attempt to control such dynamic.

So my dear friend Dave, I’m sorry to tell you the unfortunate news: Pho Cali is not like New York pizza. There is no such thing as Cali branded pho or Cali pho brand that is comparable in the same way New York pizza is. It’s not a style of pho, it’s not a regionally well-known pho in any sense, and it’s not representative of any expected quality. You can’t go to a restaurant and ask for “pho Cali” because it does not exist; what you’d get would be similar to pho that you can get elsewhere in the states, taking into account variations in quality, quantity and price. Pho Cali is just a popular and easy to remember name. Just don’t believe it when someone tries to explain it any other way.

Thanks for a great question. Visit Dave’s blog Eating In Translation.

Read about LA Weekly Blogs’s “Just Pho Fun: Top Ten Phở Restaurant Names.”

Pho Cali, Pho HoaCali, Pho Cali & Grill, Pho T Cali, Pho Cow Cali – What’s in a Name? is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

We call it monosodium glutamate or just sodium glutamate. The Japanese invented (found it in nature actually) and call it umami, for “good flavor” or “good taste.”

Many people have problems with consuming monosodium glutamate, or MSG, in their foods. Chinese cuisine and many other restaurant foods are notorious for having lots of MSG in them. Restaurant pho is no different. In fact MSG use in many pho restaurants is so prominent and unmistakable that you can literally taste it instead of the flavorful pho broth that it should be. While MSG exists naturally around us and its use is considered “safe” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA,) the benefits or ill effects that it brings to human diners (and pho zealots!) remain quite controversial. We each have our own judgement, tolerance, and reaction to MSG but to get a broader understanding of its impact on our culinary experience, I’ve asked a few culinary industry masters to share their views on MSG and how they feel it should be used in our daily lives.

Here are some views on monosodium glutamate from 7 food industry experts. Five of them have extensive culinary experience in Asian foods, the other 2  brings to the “table” (no pun intended) a clear Western viewpoints of MSG use. At least one is a food scientist, and many are respected authors, educators and publishers in their own right. I point this out because, in my opinion, the discussion on MSG cannot omit the differentiation between western and eastern cooking philosophies. In fact, such differences may just explain why MSG receives such notoriety sometimes.

In alphabetical order, they are:

• Donna Bauck, Associate Director of Retail for the University of Montana, Missoula
• Chef & culinary adventurer Robert Danhi, ChefDanhi.com.
• Author & Teacher Andrea Nguyen, VietWorldKitchen.com.
• Pho & coffee master Brian Nguyen, Quoc Viet Foods.
• Sinful recipes with Florentina, Peace, Love & Food! ciaoflorentina.com.
• Sushi, restaurant & marketing consultant Jay Terauchi of TheLASushiGuys.com.
• Author & Asian cuisine expert Corrine Trang, CorinneTrang.com.

I hope you will find their comments and viewpoints interesting and educational as I did. We are all humans and have our own biases and personal preferences, but insights from professionals in their own fields like these on a semi-controversial subject like MSG is a worthwhile read and definitely a learning experience. You will find both extreme and more moderate points of view on this thing we call MSG or umami. My own notes or clarification, if any, are added in brackets [...] to the end of the experts’ individual statements.

1. What are your views on MSG and its use in food preparation in general? Was its creation a blessing or curse to the culinary world?

Donna Bauck. Both a blessing AND a curse. As we all know many people are sensitive to it. In the “corporate” food world it is often banned. Corporations spend a great deal of time and money finding other ways to boost flavor, and I know some products are no longer used because they contain it. On the other hand, we all want to honor traditions AND cultures. In the case of  “America” we have often taken too many liberties in Americanizing foods. In the food industry, many of us realize we have lost the heart, soul, and flavor of many cultures’ foods by doing this. What is the answer? I don’t think anyone has come up with a good one. [I think Ms. Bauck's latter point is that, in americanizing ethnic foods, we make changes to them (including taking out MSG) to the detrimental effect of the foods' authenticity and taste, which I totally agree with.]

Robert Danhi. Chef Danhi wrote passionately and extensively about the subject of MSG in his book Southeast Asian Flavors. With his permission, I’m quoting relevant paragraphs here.

… For years I’ve had an internal battle over whether to use monosodium glutamate (MSG) in my cooking. The struggle began more than a decade ago when I really began to understand Southeast Asian food. I avoided using it, since as a classically trained Western chef, I was taught it was cheating and unnecessary to achieve really good food (actually true). But the challenge is that the food I’ve loved so much when I’ve traveled tasted so different from what I would make in my kitchen stateside. I realized there was no question that the prevalent use of MSG in restaurants and by street vendors of Southeast Asia was a significant factor affecting the flavor. I have ventured into hundreds of kitchens in Southeast Asia over the past twenty years. Most use MSG in one form or another. I have decided to address what most cookbook authors avoid—the topic of monosodium glutamate…

… I do not recommend nor disapprove of its use. The reality is that a majority of the kitchens in Southeast Asia use it. In the U.S.A. “No MSG added” is a common restaurant claim. But while the cooks may not have added MSG in its pure form, they probably still use sauces that have it added at the factory. Many cooks exclaim they do not use MSG, but frankly many do not even realize that they do…

… I believe much of the modern-day use of MSG in the foods around Southeast Asia is a cost-cutting measure… … That stated, MSG is a relative newcomer to Asian cookery, having been in use for just over one hundred years. Although I was not around two hundred years ago, I’m sure there were amazing, vibrant, flavorful foods long before MSG’s invention…

Andrea Nguyen. MSG is not a terrible thing but it’s [oftentimes] [overused] to make blah, poorly made food tasty. Umami is important in lots of Asian cooking but there are natural ways to achieve it. MSG is a chemical product. Who wants to add extra chemicals to their food? It’s not natural.

Brian Nguyen. MSG is a flavor enhancer. Until today, FDA and most, if not all, health officials from other countries have not banned of using MSG in foods. The chemical components of MSG are Sodium and Glutamic Acid. Glutamic Acid is an Amino Acid. Our body requires Amino Acid. However, our body can produce it, luckily. Without it, our foods would be very bland.

Florentina. MSG is simply not good for you. It might have been a blessing for the culinary world, but definitely a curse for me and you, the consumer.

Jay Terauchi. I don’t use MSG in my cooking, unless it’s an Asian packaged or canned product. I understand having to use it in processed foods, but I won’t use it as a flavor enhancer.

Corinne Trang. In my Asian side of the family, we used it all the time. Some still do, but I don’t. It is unnecessary. Salt can open up your taste buds. Spices and herbs can enhance any foods, curing, heat cooking, etc… can do the same. There [are] so many ways to create beautiful flavors with fresh ingredients, why would anyone want to use MSG? It’s definitely a curse, and quite frankly it should be taken off the market.

2. How much, if any, do you use or recommend the use of MSG in any recipe?

Donna Bauck. I stay away from it as much as possible. There is no way of knowing if my customer base has sensitivity. Though I attempt to label any foods that I am aware of (just as you would for nuts,) I believe there is a growing population that does know if they are sensitive, [therefore] may steer away from foods labeled as such.

Robert Danhi. Don’t use in recipes.

Andrea Nguyen. I don’t suggest using MSG in any of my recipes. I’m more intrigued by what natural glutamates do in food, how they make food taste good.

Brian Nguyen. Most food products contain naturally occured Glutamic Acid. However, during the cooking process, most of Glutamic Acid is destroyed by heat from over cooking. The amount of putting the MSG back into food varies. However, it should be much less than 1% in finished products.

Florentina. I do not use MSG in my cooking and I would never recommend it in a recipe.

Jay Terauchi. None.

Corinne Trang. Zero.

3. Are there certain dishes that you feel will always need at least some MSG?

Donna Bauck. I do not believe I am in the position to answer this. I do not use it, though I am sure I have eaten it. I have never studied the effects of a recipe with or without MSG.

Robert Danhi. [No.]

Andrea Nguyen. Nope. Some Viet people say that pho is not pho without MSG but that’s just because there is rampant use of it in pho. They are used to the ‘sweet’ flavor that MSG lends. Using yellow rock sugar makes that happen in pho broth.

Brian Nguyen. As I mentioned above, MSG is a flavor enhancer not a flavor. Most cooked dishes require MSG since it has been destroy[ed] by heat.

Florentina. Absolutely not. With all the spices we have available to us today, there is no need for MSG at all.

Jay Terauchi. I don’t feel that but understand that most Asian dishes use it and that’s what people know it to taste like that.

Corinne Trang. No.

4. With respect to pho, is MSG (at any quantity) an important ingredient? What about any other broths/soup dishes?

Donna Bauck. Same answer as above. Additionally, though I have eaten pho, I could not answer from a cultural, or personal experience as to its importance.

Robert Danhi. Use lots of meat, enough fish sauce and long simmering to harness umami and no MSG is needed. [If you] can’t afford the meat and time, add some MSG and broth will taste better.

Andrea Nguyen. See response to #3 above.

Brian Nguyen. The most important ingredient in Pho or any dishes is not MSG. MSG is not a primary ingredient. It is a secondary ingredient. It is there to enhance not to act as a flavor.

Florentina. I don’t believe so. More people should try using sea salt and lots of aromatics to enhance the flavor of their meals.

Jay Terauchi. I think to give it the authentic flavor YES, otherwise I think it would lack the familiar flavor that people know.

Corinne Trang. MSG is not necessary in any food, including pho or other broths or soup dishes. Again my family has used [it] for sure, but I don’t see a good enough reason to add it to any of my meals.

5. The bottom line: would you enjoy a bowl of pho (homemade or restaurant) knowing that MSG was used?

Donna Bauck. Since I have eaten pho, in traditional settings I believe I can safely assume I have eaten it with MSG. Though, again, I believe the public needs additional education on MSG. It is one of those products that we hear (as example) may cause headaches if you are sensitive to it. No one I know wants to “risk” a headache… so though they may have eaten MSG prior, they may not know they have. Theoretically, I believe some people would shy away from a food product with this ingredient because of this.

Robert Danhi. Yes, I do here in USA and in Vietnam where most cooks use it… Sad, but they [can't] afford the pure meat/bone broth.

Andrea Nguyen. When I have pho in a restaurant, most likely there’s MSG in the broth. That’s fine and expected. What’s not fine is when there’s a ton of MSG in the broth. That’s just bad cooking.

Brian Nguyen. Whether homemade or restaurant made, MSG should be used sparingly.

Florentina. Yes I would, occasionally, but if I were given the choice between a bowl of pho made with MSG and one made without the use of MSG I would pick the latter.

Jay Terauchi. I understand that it’s traditional and enjoy the flavor from the stock of bones, etc.  If the broth only had flavor from seasonings such as MSG, then No. It’s a big selling point to Americans if you don’t use MSG.

Corinne Trang. I would. I did when I was in Vietnam. I have when enjoying pho in a NY City’s Chinatown, because when in the company of friends, you talk about other things besides MSG! At home when I make pho, or any Asian soups, I never use it.

My take on MSG.

So there you have it. Certainly learned a lot myself. My own personal view on MSG is more moderate than many people’s, and certainly more moderate than some of our culinary masters here. I myself do not get adverse effects after consuming moderate amounts of MSG, except for the normal thirstiness which comes with any sodium consumption anyway. I do agree that many food vendors overuse MSG and my level of enjoyment would drop like a brick; I don’t like salt water and it’s just a waste of my money actually. In any case I think the MSG controversy will continue on. What’s the bottom line? I think it is this:

• MSG is not banned simply because it is not necessarily bad for many of us, but we do have our own choice of what we consider a quality and healthy diet. Education and understanding are key.

I want to send many warm thanks to Donna Bauck, Robert Danhi, Andrea Nguyen, Brian Nguyen, Florentina, Jay Terauchi and Corrine Trang for participating in this roundtable discussion on MSG. You gave us valuable insights into this tough culinary subject.

Now let’s go eat some pho.

Oh and please take the MSG survey below.

Vietnamese Pho With No Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)? Sure You Want It That Way? is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 11-08-10. The first thing I do when served with a bowl of Vietnamese pho is to enjoy its fragrance steaming up out of the hot broth. The second thing I do is to take a sip of that broth to taste its goodness in its most unspoiled state. There are pho broths out there good enough for me not to have to enhance them with any sauces. Regardless of how good the broth is, though, I must have my squeeze of lime in my pho. To me the fresh tangy lemony flavor is an absolute must-have flavor in a bowl of pho bo, no exception. But this is where I have a problem with how lime and pho come together.

Take a look of the following pho photos gathered from around the Internet. You will find similar photos in many cookbooks and printed publications as well. What is common among these photos? Can you see a common no-no in all of them?

• Pho photo #1
• Pho photo #2
• Pho photo #3
• Pho photo #4
• Pho photo #5
• Pho photo #6
• Pho photo #7
• Pho photo #8
• Pho photo #9
• Pho photo #10
• Pho photo #11
• Pho photo #12
• Pho photo #13
• Pho photo #14
• Pho photo #15

Yes, it’s the piece of lime in the bowl, peel, sometime seeds and all!

OK it’s very simple:

1. You don’t want to cook the lime peel and seeds in the hot broth. Yuck!
2. Do I use my fingers to snatch out the piece of lime and squeeze it to get the lime juice? Double yuck!

This post is not about judging the validity of recipes, ideas, ingredients or viewpoints of pho writers and bloggers on the sites above. And I’m not poking fun at photographers taking liberty and creative license with their culinary works. I respect all of that. But this is all about accuracy of the presentation, and conveying the subject matter in the proper manner. If we want to share, educate and inform one another about Vietnamese Pho, then let’s do it right. Providing good, accurate presentation of what pho is, is a very big part of this sharing, educating and informing. Pho veterans will like it, and pho newbies will appreciate it. We as publishers have at least some responsibilities here, right?

The bottom line: creative photography or not, let’s serve the lime where it belongs: right on the side of the pho bowl.

Oh one more thing. Some of these photos show way too little amount of pho broth in the bowl. To properly serve a bowl of pho, you need to use plenty of broth to cook all ingredients within the bowl, and that means most everything must be submerged except for the garnishing for the finishing touch.

By the way, many pho zealots agree with me when it comes to the taste of lime in pho. Check this out, as of this writing, this LovingPho.com running poll indicates that lime is the top item to enhance your pho experience. If you haven’t done so, take the poll and share with us your preference.

Want the Lime Taste in Your Pho? Don’t Serve It Like This is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 05-16-11. Vietnamese bánh mì is not pho, of course, but I get inquiries about it so here are the pronunciations for various bánh mì types. By the way, it is spelled bánh mì (banh mi) and never bahn mi as you may see around the Internet. “Bahn mi” is an incorrect spelling.

Vietnamese banh mi, Google search results

Vietnamese bánh mì or banh mi has two main meanings. One, banh mi in general means a loaf/slice/piece of bread, most often related to the French baguette, but banh mi can also be used to describe sliced bread and other breads. It basically means bread of any kind. Two, banh mi refers to the bread stuffed with a variety of meats and Viet pickles. It is what most North Americans know as the submarine sandwich. In a Viet sandwich shop, you can buy not only the whole baguette banh mi, but also order the bread stuffed with meat sub sandwich kind of banh mi.

“Bánh” itself really has several meanings, but in this context it means any flour-, rice- or wheat-based food that is baked, cooked, or steamed (bánh ngọt means sweet cake, bánh bao means ball-shaped steamed dumpling, bánh chưng means rice cake, etc.) “Mì” also has several meanings (one of which is egg noodle) but in this context it means bột mì or wheat flour.

For a more detailed story on Vietnamese Banh Mi, head on over to read Andrea Nguyen’s post on banh mi, “Master Banh Mi Sandwich Recipe.”

Pronounce: Various types of Vietnamese bánh mì.

1. Bánh mì gà (banh mi with grilled chicken.) Southern accent then Northern accent.
2. Bánh mì trứng (banh mi with egg-omelette style.) Southern accent then Northern accent.
3. Bánh mì bì (banh mi with shredded pork.) Southern accent then Northern accent.
4. Bánh mì thịt nướng (banh mi with grilled pork.) Southern accent then Northern accent.
5. Bánh mì xiú mại (banh mi with pork meatballs.) Southern accent then Northern accent.
6. Bánh mì thịt nguội (banh mi with cold cuts-cured pork & pork roll.) Southern accent then Northern accent.
7. Tôi muốn ổ bánh mì chay (I would like a vegan sandwich, please.) Southern accent then Northern accent.

Thanks to Christian Belanger and Jim Fung for the request for the audio files.

If you have another type of banh mi you’d like to hear, please drop a request in the comment below. Okay this is a pho blog, so please take a poll below.

How to Say Bánh Mì (Banh Mi) Vietnamese Submarine Sandwich is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Bánh phở is the noodle used in the Vietnamese pho dish. Reader Eric left a request over at the other post “Pronunciation of Pho and Other Vietnamese Words and Phrases” inquiring about what to say when you want to order extra Bánh Phở noodles, or a side order of pho noodles. Eric says:

hi there- i’m wondering how to pronounce the following question about ordering extra rice noodles:
có thể tôi xin có bún thêm cho một đồng đô la phụ? Tôi rất đói.
the direct translation (from google translate) is:
can i please have extra rice noodles for an extra dollar? i’m very hungry.
thanks!

Hmm Google translation helps sometimes, but not in this case.

But first let’s get something straight. In my opinion, the best thing to do is to have bánh phở added to your bowl in the kitchen before they pour in the hot pho broth. Some may prefer a side bowl of just bánh phở at your table, but if you think about it, you’ll want everything in the bowl before the broth is poured in. This is because bánh phở needs to cook with the rest of the other pho ingredients in the bowl. Even if the pho noodles are blanched and then served in a separate side bowl at your table, you’ll have to immediately put it in your bowl. Otherwise if you leave it in the side bowl while enjoying the main portion first, the side noodles will continue to cook on the inside and get all lumped up and mushed together, and will become cold and dry on the outside, all while your broth is cooling in your bowl as well. Anyway if you must then you must, but I recommend extra bánh phở inside the bowl, not outside.

Note that Eric’s message implies that he wants certain quantity (a dollar’s worth) of pho noodles. As far as I know, most pho restaurants either charge one price for sides or none at all. So specifying a dollar amount’s worth of banh pho may not work well in most situations. Also there is absolutely nothing wrong with the “very hungry” part, but I’ll leave that part out of the audio files as well. If someone really must have the “I’m very hungry” then please leave a request in the comment, I’ll do it then.

As requested by Eric, below are 3 variations of ordering extra pho noodles when you’re in a restaurant. The variation between each phrase is very minimal, but the impact can be major. They range from more formal to casual ordering tones.

Pronounce: Ordering extra bánh phở noodles with your phở.

• More formal. Xin cho thêm bánh phở (Please add/give more banh pho noodles.) Southern accent once, then Northern accent twice.
• Neutral. Cho tôi thêm bánh phở (Add/give me more banh pho noodles.) Southern then Northern accent.
• Casual. Cho thêm bánh phở (Add/give more banh pho noodles.) Southern then Northern accent. 

Thanks for the question Eric!

So have you ordered anything extra with your pho? Take the poll below.

How to Order Extra Bánh Phở Noodles With Your Pho is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 10-27-10. Rant alert! Here’s the latest offender: Rachael Ray and the Phunky BBQ Pho with Pork and its pho recipe.

One of my reasons for creating this Vietnamese pho blog LovingPho.com is to help tell the real and authentic story of Vietnamese Pho to the blogosphere. I saw so much inaccurate renditions of pho online that I felt the need to present the noodle dish in a more correct fashion. I try to stay true to what pho is, and where I falter, I depend on the wiser others to help point me back to the facts. Pho itself is good enough to stand on its own so there’s no need to further embellish it.

The dish/program name itself, Phunky BBQ Pho with Pork, is enough to send chills up my spine. What’s really annoying to me is the casualness that these inaccuracies are presented by Rachael Ray and her program. Andrea Nguyen herself was distrurbed enough to write a commentary about it. You can follow the link to read her “How funky is Rachael Ray’s Phunky Pho?” Here are a few of her key points which I totally agree with:

• Pho is not Thai. It’s Vietnamese. Maybe they were thinking about Pad Thai? But that’s stir-fry. Anyway I don’t get it.
• Pork. Enough said for me. Pork really has no place in pho. It’s great in hủ tiếu though.
• Lack of fish sauce. It’s one of the key ingredients, can’t do without it.
• Angel hair pasta. Ugh, this is ugly! It should be bánh phở rice noodles. Maybe Ms. Ray tried to reach the widest audience possible, where there is no banh pho available?

The whole program leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Beside Andrea’s points above, here my other peeves:

• The show, and Rachael Ray herself, not showed total disrespect to Vietnamese (and Thai) foods, but also to their own audience’s intelligence, though I could be wrong here since there are 578 Facebook Likes for the recipe as of the date of this post. Amazing!
• In this 21st century global economy and awareness, there is still lack of knowledge and education in mass media production. What did it take to produce a Rachael Ray episode, how many people were involved in such production? I don’t care if the program was entertainment or educational, and we aren’t really talking about perfection here. However, a little accuracy on the basics would be nice.
• Makes me wonder how much other craps are out there… I know, I know. Dumb question.

According to Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, synonyms for funky include: bizarre, bizarro, cranky, crazy, curious, eccentric, erratic, far-out, funky, funny, kinky, kooky (also kookie), offbeat, off-kilter, off-the-wall, outlandish, out-of-the-way, outré, peculiar, quaint, queer, queerish, quirky, remarkable, rum [chiefly British], screwy, spaced-out, strange, wacky (also whacky), way-out, weird, weirdo, wild. True.

So what do you think about this episode? Do you agree or not agree with points discussed above? Please take the poll or leave a comment.

An Injustice to Pho: Rachael Ray’s “Phunky BBQ Pho with Pork” Recipe is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles

Updated 10-15-10. We all have our own reasons why we like Vietnamese pho, and we have our own reasons to keep coming back to our favorite pho restaurant(s.) The reasons we like our pho restaurants can be as varied as pho recipes themselves, but when one boils it all down (no pun intended) to the pho essentials, there are really a finite number of reasons why a pho restaurant deserve your business and my business. Here’s my take on what makes a great pho restaurant. You are welcome and definitely encouraged to add your own take in the comments section.

Please be aware that, though I’d like to think of myself as a fair person, I realize that each of us do have our own certain personal preferences and biases. Our preferences may be directly or indirectly influenced by other factors such as where we live, where we come from, what we believe in, and sometime our own economic situation of course. Who says pho is not a religion? Maybe not yet, but the critical mass is already swelling. We can all feel it.

So with the prelude out of the way, let’s look at a couple of recent polls running on LovingPho.com. You are welcome to take them if you haven’t done so. Click “Vote” under the results to take a poll and add your voice among other pho zealots (thanks Andrea Nguyen for the term) and tell us what a great pho restaurant means to you. Why these two questions? Well the first poll, “How important is authentic/good pho to you?,” is repeated here just to set the stage for the fact that, despite my own expectation (and maybe yours too,) there are almost 1/4 of the people who took the poll (20% + 4% saying good pho is subjective or not important) feel that it’s ok to have less than authentic/good pho.

The second poll, “Your perfect pho restaurant?,” is really where the meat is (again no pun intended.) Here it is.

Go ahead, take the polls if you haven’t done so.

OK so let’s pick them apart. The results discussed below are based on poll results as of September 28, 2010. It is expected that the general trend of the results will continue. I’ll continue to track and make updates as needed.

More than 50% say great quality and fresh garnish are the most important pho restaurant attributes.

• Great Pho Quality. Eighty eight percent (88%) say great quality is important. While it is obvious that quality is of course important, it is not 100%! This attribute is a tough one to judge for many non-Viet, but actually it’s pretty easy. Quality is like beauty, it’s in the eye, or the mouth in this case, of the beholder. Alright I’ll just rephrase it; Pho quality is in the mouth of the slurper. We all have our own measuring stick when it comes to pho quality, but even for non-Viet diners it’s pretty safe to say that as a group we all know what pho quality means. It’s what makes us keep coming back for more.
• Fresh Pho Garnish. Sixty two percent (62%) say fresh garnish is important. Well of course! It’s what pho is all about. But the flip side again is interesting too. Thirty eight percent (38%) say they don’t care much about fresh garnish. Wow this really opens my eyes. My theory? Well assuming if one likes to have the garnish, then it has to be fresh; who wants stale garnish right? So one plausible explanation is, pho is so good in itself, many non-Viet diners don’t need/don’t want/can’t stand the garnish or care about the freshness of it. I would expect a very small number of Viet diners do not like fresh garnish so these folks do not contribute to the results.

Cleanliness is an important pho restaurant attribute, but it’s not necessarily what it seems.

• Pho Restaurant Cleanliness. Forty seven percent (47%) say pho restaurant cleanliness is important. I’m sure this applies to any other restaurants as well, but again what’s happening with 53% who say it is not important? Is our expectation that low, or do we actually get used to a “typical” pho or Vietnamese restaurant look and feel? It is what it is? I do know one thing: if the quality is great, cleanliness will always be secondary. For those who never had pho at a street stall on the streets of Saigon or Hanoi, you are missing the total pho experience. And you know what? I totally appreciate people taking time out to participate in this poll, but I now have a lot more respect for the pho zealots who voted quality above cleanliness. Keep on slurping.

Large portions, good service, and low price: restaurant attributes that can be important, or not.

• Large Pho Portion and Low Pho Price. Thirty two percent (32%) and 36% say large portion and low (or affordable) price, respectively, are important. These two certainly go hand in hand because having one normally means having the other as well. What does this really mean? To me it means that, as Vietnamese food is already very affordable in the U.S., when you have the goodness of the all-in-one-meal Vietnamese pho, it is a great deal all around and very hard to beat.
• Good Service. Likewise, 32% say good service is important. This is a non-pho attribute so I think it’s the reason why only a third says it’s important in this context. Let’s face it, a typical pho restaurant is not necessarily a fancy date destination, so you don’t expect much in the service department. The other 68% just say: “Let me have number 2 please, and a glass of water. That’s all I want.” See this poll below about pairing beverages with pho.

Other Viet foods, Viet music and large Viet clientele are not key pho restaurant attributes.

• Other Viet Foods, Viet Music and Large Viet clientele. At the low end of the important attributes spectrum are variety of Viet dishes (12%,) Viet music (4%,) large Viet clientele (21%) all of which to me have to do with the environment or ambiance. This is a pho poll so of course we don’t care much for other Viet dishes. We just want our pho! On the other hand, for those who took this poll, my interpretation here is that Vietnamese pho is reaching a point where the customers, I surmise to say, are knowledgeable and understand the dish enough to care a lot more about the pho they eat and not much else. That’s the way it should be in my opinion. Out of my own curiosity I included these non-pho attributes in the poll, and you are essentially saying: “Just give me good pho any day!” I’m with you on that.

So how am I doing “profiling” a pho zealot? And how do you see yourself among the pho faithful? If you’re thinking about opening your own pho restaurant, I hope you take note. The LovingPho Restaurant will definitely have all the important attributes, but I assure you it will be clean too.

What Makes a Great Pho Restaurant? is a post from: Vietnamese Pho Noodles