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My New-Found Love

Vietnamese Cuisine

Southeast Asia — Vietnam: PhoBy: 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 momdrove a mini-van, my dad drove a

pick-up truck (unl 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 oen. In every city we visit

oen we have our favorite Asian

restaurants. In Bar Harbor, ME we

frequent Siam Orchid; a fantasc

Thai Restaurant. In DC we always

go to Bangkok Joe’s, a contempo-

rary Thai restaurant, and in Phila-

delphia the restaurant Vietnam is

our place of choice. The restau-

rant Vietnam single handedlyswitched my favorite food from

bualo chicken straight to pho. It

was love at rst bite. There is

something about the combinaon

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 lile shopping center on

the corner of Adams Avenue in

Northeast Philadelphia there is aplace 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 combinaons 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 ferle soils in Vietnam,

there is no shortage of these fresh ingre-

dients. 

Photo Credit: 

hp://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 familywould 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 beshared apart from the individual bowls of rice.

Photo Credit: hp://claynferno.isfeasng.com/posts/

beef -pho-in-allston 

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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 *oponal+ 

6 quarts of water 

1 package of Pho Spices *1 cinnamon sck, 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 sh 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 ank, 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 

B e e f P h o Re c ip e :

Direcons: 

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. Rell pot with bones and 6 qts of

cool water. Bring to boil over high heat and lower to simmer. Using a ladle or a ne mesh strainer, remove any scum

that rises to the top. 

Boil broth: Add ginger, onion, spice packet, beef, sugar, sh sauce, salt and simmer uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. Remove

the beef meat and set aside. Connue 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 avor doesn't quite shine yet, add 2 teaspoons

more of sh sauce, large pinch of salt and a small nugget of rock sugar (or 1 teaspoon of regular sugar). Keep doing this

unl the broth tastes perfect. 

Prepare noodles & meat: Slice your ank/london broil/sirloin as thin as possible - try freezing for 15 minutes prior to

slicing to make it easier.

Recipe Credit: hp://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef -noodle-soup-pho.html 

Vietnamese cuisine can be separated

into three dierent secons: Northern, South-

ern, and Central. Each of these regions have

inuences of their own. The Southern region

of Vietnam, for example, has a Chinese inu-

ence due to the high number of Chinese immi-

grants. These southern avors are more

sweet compared to the other regions. Along

with their sweet inuence, the Chinese

brought things like soy sauce and rice noodles

to Vietnam. The Northern secon of Vietnam

has more strict and tradional menu items.

The birthplace of my favorite dish, pho, was in

the Northern region of Vietnam. The central

part of Vietnam has inuences of both the

northern and southern regions of the country.

These dishes usually consist of many small

side dishes with a disnct spiciness. The

French culture, however, has inuence

throughout much of the Vietnamese cuisine.

Aer the French occupied the region that is

now Vietnam, they le behind the legacy of

breads, sandwiches, coee and ice cream.

Despite all outside inuences, the fresh ingre-

dients are what makes Vietnamese cuisine

unique.

Photo Credit: 

hp://www.vietnambudgeour.com/webplus/

viewer.print.asp?aid=116&l=EN 

Other Credits:

 Ahuja, Alka. "THE CUISINES OF ASIA TASTING THEFLAVORS OF KOREA & VIETNAM." 

Vietnamese Cuisine Continued...