If you’ve had one Vietnamese food,
it’s most likely “pho.” There are now restaurants all over the world serving the noodle soup with slices of beef or chicken and a stack of
fresh herbs on the side.
When I visited Vietnam one of my goals
was to find the most delicious and authentic bowl I could. I quickly realized the
pho I was used to was only one of many variations of the soup.
Depending on
what city you're in there are different toppings, different measurements and
most importantly different broth. It’s all about the broth. The preparation
always begins with the patient monitoring of beef bones as they simmer in a pot
all day.
Those regional touches are added at
the end. Northern towns tend to be generous with the chili. In the south, the
broth is sweeter and has a greater variety of herbs.
In addition to pho there are dozens
of other kinds of soups that are equally as integral to Vietnamese cuisine.
There’s Bún bò Huế (spicy beef soup with
lemongrass and shrimp), Bún riêu (tomato soup with crab), Mì bò viên (egg noodle soup with meatballs), Bún
măng vịt (bamboo shoots and duck soup)…the list goes on.
Most
Vietnamese eat soup at least once (often twice) a day. Women drive with pots
strapped to the back of their motorbikes offering it right off the stove. Other
vendors set up camp on the side of the road and wait for the customers to be
lured in by smell of the broth.
For 50 cents how could you not be?
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