Phở — a deeply complex, long-simmered beef bone broth flavoured with charred ginger, charred onion, star anise, cinnamon, clove, and fish sauce, poured over rice noodles and thinly sliced beef, garnished with a plate of fresh herbs — is Vietnam's national dish and the foundation of Vietnamese-American restaurant culture. After the fall of Saigon in 1975, Vietnamese refugees established phở shops across America, and the dish became one of the most influential imports in American food history. The Vietnamese phở restaurant — with its massive stock pots simmering from dawn, its herb plates, its condensation-fogged windows — is now as common in American cities as the Chinese takeout or the Mexican taquería.
A large bowl of clear-to-amber beef broth (simmered 6-12 hours from beef bones, charred ginger, and charred onion, seasoned with star anise, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, coriander seed, and fish sauce) poured over cooked flat rice noodles and thinly sliced raw beef (the broth's heat cooks the raw slices). The herb plate on the side: Thai basil, cilantro, bean sprouts, lime wedges, sliced jalapeño, and hoisin and sriracha sauces for the diner to add to their own bowl.
1) The broth is the dish — 6-12 hours of simmering beef bones (knuckles, marrow bones, oxtail) with charred aromatics. The broth must be clear (skim impurities constantly during the first 2 hours) and deeply flavoured. 2) Char the ginger and onion — halve them and char on an open flame or under a broiler until blackened. The charring adds a smoky sweetness. 3) The spices go in a cheesecloth sachet — star anise (3-4), cinnamon stick (1), cloves (3-4), coriander seeds (a tablespoon). Remove after 1 hour; longer steeping makes the spices bitter. 4) The raw beef slices cook in the hot broth at the table — they should be paper-thin.
The phở restaurant's stock pot — a massive vessel simmering continuously from 4am — is the heart of the restaurant. The quality of the broth is immediately apparent in the first sip. A thin, bland broth signals a compromised kitchen. The Vietnamese-Cajun synthesis (LA4-05) connects directly to this entry — the phở restaurant and the gumbo pot are the same principle: a deeply built broth, made with patience, served with garnishes at the table.
Andrea Nguyen — The Pho Cookbook; Charles Phan — Vietnamese Home Cooking