“Food is culture, and culture is not static. Culture changes all the time.” -Diep Tran[1]
What is Pho? Well, it is perhaps one of the most interesting cultural perspectives of what food is and how it changes over time. I personally have not eaten pho (yet), though my partner requested I make a post about pho. He is part Vietnamese, with a parent directly heralding from Vietnam. With some insight from the two, I was enamoured by how unique pho is! Let’s dive into it.
Pho is one of the most widely known dishes in Vietnam cuisine and is considered its national dish. It’s the “ramen” of Vietnam, but that doesn’t mean the two dishes are similar! Pho is an immensely flexible dish—the ingredients can vary heavily. Typically, pho has broth, rice noodles (thin, rectangular noodles), and meat (beef, sometimes chicken). There are generally two “main” styles of pho, being the Northern Vietnam “Hanoi” and Southern Vietnam “Saigon” styles.[2, 3]
The origins of pho are troublesome. If you’re familiar with perogies and similar foods, pho also suffers from heavily debated origins. It’s accepted that pho most likely appeared in the early-20th century, somewhere between 1900 – 1907, around Hanoi, in the Nam Định Province. But some say it appeared even earlier. Unfortunately, that’s where the acceptance ends. We now enter debate territory.[4]
Was pho created as a result of the Chinese or the French occupation? Some argue it was derived from China, from a food called “ngưu nhục phấn” (literally, “cow meat noodles”). It was sold within Hanoi by Chinese immigrants before pho’s emergence. Hence Hanoi-style pho, which is pictured in the header. And from an etymology standpoint, pho seems to be a corruption of the food’s name, being “lục phở”. However, it’s possible pho came to be during the French occupation. The French would eat beef, while the Vietnamese opted for other meats as they used cows as working animals. It’s argued that it must be based on the French dish “pot-au-feu” (literally, “pot on the fire”). The name “pho” would be derived from “feu”; both share similar pronunciations. Pot-au-feu itself isn’t too similar to pho, as it includes a variety of vegetables and the broth isn’t necessarily served with it. Of course, the most likely origin of pho is a mix of many factors—it need not be derived from a single culture and dish.[3, 4, 5]
But it doesn’t stop there. When the Chinese pushed into Vietnam, some northern Vietnamese would migrate to Southern Vietnam. This would result in pho being popularised there, and thus the Saigon style was born (pictured right). Saigon-style pho usually has more seasonings and herbs, with even thinner noodles than pho’s Hanoi style. That leaves us with two distinct styles (technically more!) of pho, so which would be the “authentic” style? Mull it over for a moment.[6]
After the Vietnam War, the United States saw an influx of Vietnamese immigrants. In this foreign land, some would make pho in garages, and other Vietnamese immigrants would propagate there. They created a community, bringing a bit of Vietnam to their new homes in America. It’s only natural Americans would get a taste for pho too, and the rest is history. Today, pho is a popular Vietnamese dish and even a restaurant chain dedicated to it, Phở Hòa. Phở Hòa has 70 locations across seven countries, with a solid foothold in the United States, with its first location opened in San Jose, California, in 1984. And I ask once more, what counts as “authentic” cuisine?
Pho is front and centre when it comes to foodways and culture. Some will say American pho isn’t authentic despite being made by Vietnamese people because it’s influenced by American culture. Others debate that only Hanoi-style pho straight from Vietnam is authentic, and Saigon style isn’t because seasonings and herbs “ruin” the broth. But consider this: no pho is authentic. Somehow or another, it was based on some other dish preceding it before pho itself changed over time. No one knows who or how pho was created. The same goes for most foods. Foods changes. Culture is influenced constantly, it’s inevitable. Cultures that isolate themselves are no longer prominent and die off. Food is culture, and culture is not static. Culture changes all the time.
1) The Real History Behind Pho and Banh Mi. YouTube, 2018. https://youtu.be/ad-nKDVwQxY. 2) Nguyen, Andrea. “The History of Pho.” Viet World kitchen - dive in to explore Asian cooking and traditions, March 29, 2018. https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2018/03/the-history-of-pho.html. [Accessed Mar. 16, 2023] 3) Martin, Roland. “Pho.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., n.d. https://www.britannica.com/topic/pho. [Accessed Mar. 16, 2023] 4) The Origin of Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup) – Food History 101. YouTube, 2020. https://youtu.be/u3lzh6YQ0tA. [Accessed Mar. 16, 2023] 5) Tu, Lili. “Pho: The Humble Soup That Caused an Outrage.” BBC Travel. BBC, February 25, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20210421-pho-the-humble-soup-that-caused-an-outrage#:~:text=Whilemosthistoriansagreethat,phoneticsimilaritytoph. [Accessed Mar. 16, 2023] 6) Nguyen, Jennifer. “Hanoi versus Saigon Phở: A Debate without Verdict.” Vietcetera. https://vietcetera.com/en/hanoi-versus-saigon-pho-a-debate-without-verdict. [Accessed Mar. 16, 2023] Images: Pho in Saigon. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pho_in_Saigon.jpg [Accessed Mar.16, 2023] Some rights reserved. At Pho Hoa. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tonigirl/2773616188/ [Accessed Mar. 16, 2023]
