Michelin Guide writes about the differences between Northern and Southern pho

The Michelin guide website posted an article about the origin and future of Vietnamese pho, after 16 pho restaurants were mentioned in the first "launch" of the Michelin Guide in Vietnam in early June.

Northern Pho and Southern Pho

In the article titled "Friend Or Pho: Who Really Invented Vietnam's National Dish?", author Joshua Zukas seeks the answer to where the most authentic and delicious pho in Vietnam is.

In Hanoi, a bowl of pho consists of flat rice noodles, clear broth, thinly sliced chicken or beef (but never both), green onions and coriander.

You can add your own seasonings, but it's usually just lemon or vinegar, pickled garlic, and fresh chili.

Asking for anything else can be seen as an insult to the chef, who has spent most of his day perfecting the bowl of broth you are eating.

On the contrary, in Ho Chi Minh City, in addition to the essential ingredients of Hanoi pho, Nam pho has beef balls and vegetables. The broth of Nam pho is also often thicker, somewhat cloudy and sweeter.

The most obvious difference is in the broth and side dishes, when Southern pho is often served with black bean sauce, sweet chili sauce, bean sprouts, basil, coriander...

Phở được phục vụ kèm giá, tương đen, húng quế tại một căng tin ở quận Phú Nhuận, TP.HCM - Ảnh: NHÃ XUÂN — *Pho is served with bean sprouts, black sauce, and basil at a canteen in Phu Nhuan district, Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: NHA XUAN*

Origin of Pho

“It seems that pho was inspired by Chinese or French cuisine, but no one can really be sure,” the article quoted chef Vu Van Hoi of The East, a contemporary Vietnamese restaurant in Hanoi's Old Quarter that was recently selected for Michelin 's Bib Gourmand list.

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In fact, according to author Joshua Zukas, pho may have been inspired by both.

According to Joshua Zukas, pho appeared around the early 20th century during the French colonial period, and beef pho came before chicken pho. Before the French, Vietnamese people did not eat beef but ate pork, poultry, fish, seafood, and sometimes buffalo meat.

The demand for beef came from the French when they favored steaks, pot-au-feu beef stews... and the Vietnamese started butchering cows to sell meat.

The beef bones are brought to street food vendors, and they figure out how best to extract the flavor from this ingredient.

The Vietnamese have used bones to make broth for centuries, so they quickly developed a method that suited local tastes.

They combined that beef bone broth with rice noodles - a dish originating from southern China, and began serving the dish in Hanoi's Old Quarter.

Thực khách xếp hàng chờ ăn phở tại một tiệm gia truyền nổi tiếng phố Bát Đàn, Hà Nội - Ảnh: NHÃ XUÂN — *Diners line up to eat pho at a famous family-owned restaurant on Bat Dan Street, Hanoi - Photo: NHA XUAN*

“One can imagine this dish as having French “blood”, Chinese “body”, and at the same time imbued with Vietnamese soul and character” - Joshua Zukas quoted Peter Cuong Franklin , founder and head chef at Anan Saigon - a 1 Michelin-starred restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City.

The journey of pho "Southward"

In 1954, many Northerners began to move to the South to live, and they brought pho with them to this land.

They opened a restaurant and realized that the taste of Southern people is very different from their own. In the South, people often use a lot of raw vegetables and the dishes here are also sweeter.

From then on, the taste of pho broth was changed to be a little sweeter, similar to other dishes in the South, such as hu tieu.

More importantly, Saigon is a city of immigrants, so pho restaurants let their customers adjust their regional tastes with sauces and side dishes.

Northerners rarely add anything to their bowls when eating. Central Vietnamese people, who like spicy food, may add chili. Meanwhile, Southerners may add black bean sauce and vegetables.