The Official Pho Page

What is Pho?

Pho, also known as Hanoi Beef Soup, is a popular Vietnamese soup. In America, Pho is eaten as either lunch, dinner, or just an afternoon snack. Traditionally though, in Vietnam, Pho is eaten for breakfast.

Many people often have have difficulty pronouncing Pho. Pho actually has an accent on top of the 'o' that cannot be represented in HTML. In America, many people like to ignore the accent and pronounce it Pho. This is incorrect and may be insulting if heard by someone Vietnamese. When pronouncing Pho, don't forget the accent. If that doesn't help, it is kind of pronounced like "fuh".

What should I get in my Pho?

When ordering Pho, you will usually have a variety of types to choose from. You can get Pho with meatballs, bible tripe, beef tripe, soft tendon, brisket, and a variety of other tasty things. And if none of those sound appealing to you, you can always get your Pho plain. Well, not exactly plain, you don't eat your Pho just like that. It is customary to add "Thai basil", usually substituted for with mint leaves in the U.S., bean sprouts, lemon and lime juice, plum sauce and jalepeño sauce to your bowl of Pho as well. Therefore, everyone's Pho is unique to themselves and their individual taste. For hundreds of years now, Vietnamese families have been having Pho for dinner. Now, we are fortunate enough to have a multitude of Pho restaurants so we too can enjoy Pho. Here you can see a vietnamese family travelling miles to the marketplace most likely to buy ingredients for Pho.

Family going to buy ingredients for Pho.

Does Pho have any nutritional value?

Pho actually has a lot of nutritional value. It is made from only all natural, home grown ingredients. In ancient times, Pho was given to the sick in order to remedy them. It is believed that Pho has many beneficial values and is therefore eaten a lot. Just ask this wise Vietnamese woman!

The Tao of Pho

Many philosophers have attempted to relate Pho to everyday life. The most common theory about Pho and Life was written down hundreds of years ago on parchment by an unknown philosopher. He said the following:

Life is like a big bowl of Pho. It is constantly surprising you with things unexpected. When you get meatballs, it means you are having rocky times. When you get beef tripe, you are having trouble internally with your emotions. . .

Where can I get Pho?

If you're lucky, you'll be able to find instant-Pho at a local convenience store or vietnamese market. I've never had it but a reader of the page said it is made in Vietnam and is very good. If you can't find instant-Pho, you'll most likely be able to find it in a big city or an area with a large Vietnamese population. Check out my growing list of restaurants that serve Pho throughout the U.S. and Canada. If you would rather stay home for some home-cooked Pho, here are some links to recipes that can tell you how to make it!

http://godzilla.eecs.berkeley.edu/recipes/ethnic/vietnamese/

http://www.epicurious.com/

http://www.neosoft.com/recipes/soups.html

http://www.wam.umd.edu/~andrewb/recipes.html

If you would like to visit some commercial Pho sites, follow the links below.

Follow this link to visit the Nam Phuong web site.

Follow this link to visit the Pho Hoa web site.

Questions and comments

If you have any questions or comments about The Official Pho page, please mail them to me. Your comments are greatly appreciated. Also, if you know of any good pho restaurants in your area, mail them to me so I can add them to my list. Thanks and happy Pho eating!