My New-Found Love

Vietnamese Cuisine
Southeast AsiaVietnam: Pho
By: Kristen Dunphey GWU Geog2133: People, Land and Food, Spring 2011
If you ask anyone that knows my
family, even by the slightest bit,
they would describe us as All-
American. Apparently, everything
we do is somehow apart of the
American Dream. We live in
Suburbia Pennsylvania, my mom
drove a mini-van, my dad drove a
pick-up truck (untl gas prices went
up, he then switched to a Honda),
there are two kids in my family
(my brother and I), and every night
our family eats dinner together at
the dining room table. Food, how-
ever, is the one thing that is not
All-American about my family. I
mean occasionally we have meat
loaf or charcoal grilled burgers, but
the majority of our meals are in-
spired by Asian cuisine. Once my
parents realized that we all love
Asian food we began to eat it
more ofen. In every city we visit
ofen we have our favorite Asian
restaurants. In Bar Harbor, ME we
frequent Siam Orchid; a fantastc
Thai Restaurant. In DC we always
go to Bangkok Joes, a contempo-
rary Thai restaurant, and in Phila-
delphia the restaurant Vietnam is
our place of choice. The restau-
rant Vietnam single handedly
switched my favorite food from
bufalo chicken straight to pho. It
was love at frst bite. There is
something about the combinaton
of sweet and spicy in Vietnamese
food that makes my taste buds go
wild. Ever since, I have been on
the hunt for the best pho restau-
rant, and I think I found it. In a
shady litle shopping center on
the corner of Adams Avenue in
Northeast Philadelphia there is a
place that only serves beef pho
and for $11 you can get a bowl of
soup big enough to bathe in. And
now I am trying my own hand at
preparing my favorite dish.
Vietnamese cuisine is
known for and has a hug emphasis
on fresh ingredients. Most dishes
use combinatons of fresh herbs,
spices, fruits, vegetables and, meat.
The most common types of meat
used are beef, pork, chicken and
various types of seafood. There is
also a big emphasis on using and
supplying fresh vegetables and dipping
sauces as sides in Vietnamese cuisine.
Because of the fertle soils in Vietnam,
there is no shortage of these fresh ingre-
dients.

Photo Credit:
htp://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-
noodle-soup-pho.html
"IN FOOD, AS IN DEATH, WE FEEL THE ESSENTIAL BROTHERHOOD OF MAN."

Fun Fact:
A typical meal for the average Vietnamese family
would include:

Individual bowls of rice

A roasted meat or fish dish

A stir-fried vegetable dish

Canh (a clear broth with vegetables and often
meat) or other Vietnamese-style soup

Prepared fish sauce and/or soy sauce for
dipping. All dishes are communal and to be
shared apart from the individual bowls of rice.
Photo Credit: htp://claynferno.isfeastng.com/posts/
beef-pho-in-allston

THE BROTH:
2 onions, halved
4" nub of ginger, halved lengthwise
5-6 lbs of good beef bones, preferably leg and knuckle
1 lb of beef meat - chuck, brisket, rump, cut into large
slices *optonal+
6 quarts of water
1 package of Pho Spices *1 cinnamon stck, 1 tbl corian-
der seeds, 1 tbl fennel seeds, 5 whole star anise, 1 car-
damom pod, 6 whole cloves - in mesh bag+
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt (halve if using regular ta-
ble salt)
1/4 cup fsh sauce
1 inch chunk of yellow rock sugar (about 1 oz) - or 1oz of
regular sugar

THE BOWLS:
2 lbs rice noodles (dried or fresh)
cooked beef from the broth
1/2 lb fank, london broil, sirloin or eye of round, sliced
as thin as possible.
big handful of each: mint, cilantro, basil
2 limes, cut into wedges
2-3 chili peppers, sliced
2 big handfuls of bean sprouts
Hoisin sauce
Sriracha hot sauce
Beef Pho Rec i pe:

Directons:
Parboil the bones: Fill large pot (12-qt capacity) with cool water. Boil water, and then add the bones, keeping the heat
on high. Boil vigorously for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse the bones and rinse out the pot. Refll pot with bones and 6 qts of
cool water. Bring to boil over high heat and lower to simmer. Using a ladle or a fne mesh strainer, remove any scum
that rises to the top.
Boil broth: Add ginger, onion, spice packet, beef, sugar, fsh sauce, salt and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Remove
the beef meat and set aside. Contnue simmering for another 1 1/2 hours. Strain broth and return the broth to the pot.
Taste broth and adjust seasoning - this is a crucial step. If the broth's favor doesn't quite shine yet, add 2 teaspoons
more of fsh sauce, large pinch of salt and a small nugget of rock sugar (or 1 teaspoon of regular sugar). Keep doing this
untl the broth tastes perfect.
Prepare noodles & meat: Slice your fank/london broil/sirloin as thin as possible - try freezing for 15 minutes prior to
slicing to make it easier.

Recipe Credit: htp://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html
Vietnamese cuisine can be separated
into three diferent sectons: Northern, South-
ern, and Central. Each of these regions have
infuences of their own. The Southern region
of Vietnam, for example, has a Chinese infu-
ence due to the high number of Chinese immi-
grants. These southern favors are more
sweet compared to the other regions. Along
with their sweet infuence, the Chinese
brought things like soy sauce and rice noodles
to Vietnam. The Northern secton of Vietnam
has more strict and traditonal menu items.
The birthplace of my favorite dish, pho, was in
the Northern region of Vietnam. The central
part of Vietnam has infuences of both the
northern and southern regions of the country.
These dishes usually consist of many small
side dishes with a distnct spiciness. The
French culture, however, has infuence
throughout much of the Vietnamese cuisine.
Afer the French occupied the region that is
now Vietnam, they lef behind the legacy of
breads, sandwiches, cofee and ice cream.
Despite all outside infuences, the fresh ingre-
dients are what makes Vietnamese cuisine
unique.

Photo Credit:
htp://www.vietnambudgetour.com/webplus/
viewer.print.asp?aid=116&l=EN
Other Credits:
Ahuja, Alka. "THE CUISINES OF ASIA TASTING THE
FLAVORS OF KOREA & VIETNAM."
Vietnamese Cuisine Continued...