RSSVietnamese Pho (Noodle Soup) Recipe
June 19th, 2009 by Dawn, Co-founder of Rouxbe
There seems to be quite the debate about whether Vietnamese Pho is pronounced “Fa”, “Fuh”, “Faux”, “Pho” or “Phar – like “Far” with an ever-so-soft “r”. I have spoken to many people about this, even those that grew up eating this soup, and the answer is rarely the same.
For me, it really doesn’t matter what it’s called…just as long as it’s tasty. We recently released a Cooking School Lesson on “Broth-Based Clear Soups” and this was one of the practice recipes. I know that most people go out for Pho, but if you are a fan of the soup (or if you have never had it), you will likely be pleasantly surprised at just how delicious and refreshing it is to make your own. Yes, it does take a bit more effort to make, but it is well worth it. I make a big batch of the broth-soup base and then freeze it. After that, you only need to pick up a few ingredients and you’ll be able to whip this delicious soup together in about 15 minutes.
Happy Cooking!
dawn
p.s. for those of you that do care about what it is called, just know that I tried to get those “squiggly” marks around the word “Pho” for about 20 minutes and the code wouldn’t stick. However, you will notice that text recipe for Vietnamese Pho, on Rouxbe, has it. And I am curious…how do YOU pronounce it? I found this interesting site, which is solely based on the “love of Pho“. There you can read and hear what they have to say about its pronunciation (and a whole lot more).
They were talking about this on NPR today. They said it almost takes more energy to make it than to eat it because you need to assemble all of your own ingredients to complete it.
I guess that is what cooking is about. It’s indeed more effort than going out to eat, but it is often much more satisfying.
Chad LOVES Pho, I’m not a huge fan but knowing that he likes it so much I am going to make it!! even if it takes me forever to make I think I rather make it myself, that way I know about the quality of the ingredients and it’ll be more rewarding at the end =)
Thanks for posting it!!!
J.
Come on over Jenny and I will give you some of the broth that I made a while back and froze. That way it will take you no time at all :-)
We usually order this at the restaurant. The broth is relaxing yet invigorating. This dish is light yet gratifying. I’ll take the broth. :) It’s about time to make my own Pho.
I am surprised that such a debate exists, as I have never heard of it. The “American” pronunciation is similar to “fo” (rhymes with “so”), but this is mostly used by those who have never asked someone how to pronounce it. The one often used, and also the closest to the Vietnamese pronunciation, is “fuh”. I can’t think of any rhymes for this, but the site you linked has it correct. I was born and raised in Vietnam but now live in the United States, and even amongst the different Vietnamese accents, the pronunciation is phonetically the same.
I do wonder who you’ve spoken to that has given you such varying answers! The speech of a Vietnamese-born American may differ slightly, so may I suggest perhaps asking not those who simply grew up eating the food but a native Vietnamese or owners of a pho restaurant? =) It would really shock me if you were given anything close to the choices you listed (faux, fa, far?).
Dawn,
i find it an absolute riot that Wikipedia lists a Vietnamese version and an English version for saying ph?. having tried to explain the tonal Vietnamese spoken word to atonal English speakers, i can understand why; it is sometimes an exercise in futility. many people can’t even hear the nuances in the dips and curves of the pronunciation much less attempt to wrap their mouths around a short, seemingly intricate word like ph?. so i can see some native speakers giving up and just saying, “sure, yeah…it’s faux…sigh”.
flying home to my parents in August and my mom promises to make a big stock pot of ph? for my brother. i’ll tell her about your great tip for storing the soup-base in the freezer.
thanks!
thought i was being so smart and sneaky but i guess the diacritics really didn’t stick as you mentioned.
You are cute Eunice! thanks for your comments. Have a great trip home…you are so lucky for all of the great food that you will probably be eating…yum!
woot…Dawn thinks i’m cute! we’ll toast our spoons in your name as we slurp down big bowls of noodle soup.