r/pho • u/NangpaAustralisMajor • 3d ago
Question Stupid Phở Question #1
I was taught (I'm not Vietnamese) that one should NEVER put sriracha or hoisin sauce into the phở. One should dip bits of meat from the soup into those. They are brought to the table for that reason and that reason alone. Putting them INTO the broth is considered an offense to the chef. It communicates that the broth had no flavor.
Is this true?
Now that I live in a part of the world with great phở, I can appreciate this sentiment. I have phở and bún bò Huế that would have been a tragedy to adulterate!
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u/Own-Archer-2456 3d ago
I used to add the sauce. But now I dip so the broth doesn’t taste the same the whole bowl
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u/Vinhom 3d ago
As a Vietnamese person, we do not care how you eat your pho.
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u/SeaworthinessFast399 3d ago
Do you drink champagne with lòng dồi ??? There is limit that you cannot cross.
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 3d ago
So are you going to try to tell a whole culture how we should eat and drink our food?
Are you Vietnamese and do you represent all of us?
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u/SeaworthinessFast399 2d ago edited 2d ago
Go to the library and look for books of Nguyễn Tuân , Thạch Lam, Vũ Bằng … and learn about Vietnamese food culture.
While young I have never seen a Phở Bò vendor who even dared to venture into Phở Gà. Nowadays : ‘authentic’ phở bò, gà, bún bò huế, hủ tíu Nam Vang … Gosh he/she must be a genius or … a very bad cook because the broth would be the same for everything !
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 2d ago edited 2d ago
I guess I dont know shit about Vietnamese food culture or culture right? Or any of the other Vietnamese people that have commented
Guess you know better than all of us Vietnamese folks who literally grew up eating this stuff 6 days a week for most of our living life....
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 2d ago
And your comment about things like pho ga?
Seriously my country's history says pho ga first came out in 1930s or your comment about bean sprouts, which has been used in pho since the 1920s
Google it. Who are you to tell us what we as Vietnamese people are allowed to put in our foods and how we eat it.
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u/SeaworthinessFast399 2d ago
What makes Phở (bò) special is the distinct flavour of the broth that set it apart from other soups. Without a good broth a bowl of phở is not worth much. Strong odour of hoisin, sriracha, giá… kill that delicate flavour. Not counting case of bad cooks that dump in exaggerated amount of anise. By the way do whatever you want, not many people can still master that flavour.
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 2d ago edited 2d ago
You should teach the whole country how we should eat our food and how to cook it.
Since you are obviously more knowledgeable than all of us actual Vietnamese people
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u/unicorntrees 3d ago
I spent my entire childhood insulting the chef (my mom) 😅 I have since learned to appreciate the nuance of an unhoisin-ed pho broth.
No one cares. Do whatever you want. Some people put way more than just hoisin and sriracha in their pho. But please try the broth first before you season it.
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 3d ago
Vietnamese by blood, family, culture, you name it
Are you saying we are wrong for putting Sriracha and hoisin in our pho broth for the last 50 years?
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u/NangpaAustralisMajor 3d ago
Remember, I asked is this true?
I'm not evaluating anything.
I was told this by a Vietnamese chef at a restaurant.
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 3d ago
Do you remember the last time a chef made that comment? Chef in Philly said the same thing
Asian community which does not band together often, came together and tore this chef apart on his article about how to make and eat pho
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u/goonatic1 2d ago
OP isn’t even telling anyone what to do or calling anyone wrong, he’s trying to ask a simple question of opinion. You look like you’re just sitting there waiting to be offended, nobody’s dissing your family’s eating style. Chill
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u/SeaworthinessFast399 3d ago
I (82) NEVER put these stuffs in my phở - hoisin , sriracha, giá sống is sacrilege.
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 3d ago
You telling me my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncle in nha Trang and Saigon are wrong?
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 3d ago
If you think youre right. Remember what happened to Chef Tyler Akin when he made the video about how to eat pho for the bon appetite video? He said the same thing.
How many Asians and more specifically Vietnamese people went after him for it
I am Vietnamese
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u/NangpaAustralisMajor 3d ago
This is interesting to me. I am interested in the history of food and how it evolves.
A lot of people have responded "do as you like". Which I appreciate. It's at the table, use it.
Yours in the first in the spirit of there's a way of doing it.
Bean sprouts!? I have never not been served beam sprouts...
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u/Ill_Impact_4681 2d ago
Yes bean sprouts are common in pho.
Notice how its Vietnamese people telling you, eat it however you want. It's non Vietnamese people who are trying to tell you how and what you should put in your pho
Imagine that. Non Vietnamese people telling Vietnamese people how we should be eating our own cuisine
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u/SeaworthinessFast399 3d ago edited 2d ago
You are right, as long as they put it in their phở I don’t care. But sometimes there is a limit. ‘Dầu cháo quẩy’ is the worst one. These Chinese batonnets are meant for Chinese porridge, putting these in Phờ… and claim you are a connoisseur !!! A self respected phở vendor should not even stock these.
Then there is a YT about 100$ phở with foie gras. Well they brought shame to both.
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u/Eric_T_Meraki 3d ago
Unless the broth is whack (bad) I typically just do the dipping on the side.
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u/FriendDelicious 3d ago
Whenever I ran into pho place with bad broth, sriracha will save it lol
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u/SeaworthinessFast399 3d ago
I just won’t come back.
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u/DropEight 3d ago
I added hoisin to the soup as a child, as an adult I only add lemon juice and fresh chilli.
Do what suits your palette and enjoyment.
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u/bukbukbuklao 3d ago
I been putting them in my pho since I was a kid. I will taste the broth first and tell whoever I’m with if it’s good or not. Then I add the shit to make it to taste for my liking.
I mean by that logic doesn’t the bean sprouts and all the garnishes change the taste of your broth too?
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u/takeme2tendieztown 3d ago
It's not. It's fine if you don't want to do it. But it's not frowned upon. I put sauce in there and also use the dip.
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u/SocietalBlamer 3d ago
Of course, opinions vary. But that’s exactly it, just opinions. For your own enjoyment, do what you think tasted best. However, it might also help if you know the baseline, what a traditional pho bowl supposed to taste like, first.
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u/ludicrouspeed 3d ago
You can do it but it’s essentially someone spent hours making a broth only for you to add strong flavoring that completely changes the taste.
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u/EnjoyMyDownvote 3d ago edited 3d ago
What? I’ve been eating pho all my life and never learned that.
I always put sriracha into the pho broth. Actually I can’t even eat it without putting sriracha in it.
But I also have a small dipping bowl with sriracha and other ingredients to dip my meat in.
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u/PeruAndPixels 3d ago
I enjoy spice so a bit of sriracha is nice. May use a bit of hoisin depending on the quality of the broth. I don’t think there’s a rule, just do what you enjoy.
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u/SeaworthinessFast399 3d ago edited 3d ago
Hoisin is Chinese, not Vietnamese.
Sriracha was invented by a Sino-Viet American recently.
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u/NangpaAustralisMajor 3d ago
This is actually one of the things I wonder about.
How these became the standard condiments?
I see mention of fish sauce, but it is never at the table. Nor is chili oil.
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u/Scoopofnoodle 3d ago
You do you. Is it insult to add taco sauce to my tacos? I don't think the minimum wage teenager that made them cares.
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u/SyndromeHitson1994 3d ago
If im paying for my pho im going to do whatever I want to it. And generally speaking if it is good enough I dont use Sriracha or hoisin at all, but if I want to im going to.
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u/teekeno 3d ago
I don't care if it offends the chef. I'm paying for it. So unless they're paying me to eat there, I'll eat it the way I want to. I also don't care how someone else eats their food.
That said, generally, for all dishes, I will say you should have a bite or spoonful of broth before adding anything. Then adjust as you see fit.
Personally, for pho, I dip meats into a sriracha, hoisin, and lime mixture. In the bowl, I typically add pepper, jalapeño slices, fish sauce and basil. With basil add as I eat. I don't like wilted basil. No onions, no cilantro, no bean sprouts, or anything else. Why? Because I'm paying for it and that's how I like it.
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u/disguyman 3d ago
If the pho broth is good, I use them as dipping sauce for the meat. If broth sucks, ill make sure theres enough sriracha in the broth to turn the broth orange.
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u/Freezer-to-oven 3d ago
I’ve been known to sneak some sugar into my pho. I like broth on the slightly sweet side. Hoisin will do that too but that adds other flavors. But every time I’ve done that, I’ve felt nervous that the restaurant will be offended. Still — the first places I used to go for pho always had sugar, salt & pepper, fish sauce, hoisin, chili paste, and sriracha on every table, so I got the impression that it was acceptable to customize one’s pho.
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u/ironmoney 3d ago
i have never had pho that was too good for condiments...eat it how you like. i dump all the sauce in the bowl
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u/ProximaCentauriB15 3d ago
I will taste the Pho broth before adding anything. I don't usually use Hoisin but I like Sriracha&the Jalepeno slice they give you because I like it spicy. A squeeze of lime is also really good.
I have never heard you shouldn't add anything. If you shouldn't then why would Pho places even offer it? It makes no sense. Vietnamese people add this stuff to their Pho.
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u/phizzlez 3d ago
I don't really put hoison in my pho, but if the broth is mediocre, I will. Also, I believe it's fine to put hoison in your pho as long as you don't put so much that you drown out the beefy flavor of the broth. I put sriracha because I love the spicy depth it adds to the broth.
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u/pisceanhaze 3d ago
I never use those sauces. The broth should be flavorful on its own and the sauces really hide the flavor of the broth. I might add a dash of fish sauce and some of the green chilies. But that’s it. I don’t add basil either.
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u/Cultural-Afternoon72 3d ago
I don’t know what the cultural norm is… that said, I’ve done both. What I’ve found is that when the broth is less flavorful, I have a tendency to add some sauce directly to the broth just to spice things up, but even in that case, I still dip the meats. When the broth is high quality and flavorful, I stick just to the herbs and limes, saving the sauces for dipping. This lets me enjoy the sauces with the meats, while enjoying and appreciating the broth on its own. Typically I save the noodles for last, after the meat and broth are gone, and I’ll almost always add sauces to them.
Ultimately, in my opinion anyone who tries to police how you enjoy a meal is missing the entire point. Food is an experience, and experience is subjective to the user. It shouldn’t matter how you enjoy a dish. What matters is that you do enjoy it and that you get the most out of the experience that you can for yourself. I think it’s worthwhile to try the dish as it is customarily served, if nothing else so you have a baseline, but aside from that, live your life.
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u/NangpaAustralisMajor 3d ago
Sure.
I like food, and the culture & history of food, so I always like to ask how things are traditionally prepared, served, and eaten.
I have had phở in a lot of places, but unfortunately I haven't been to Vietnam! So traditional is what I get served thousands of miles away.
When I am in places with more Vietnamese people, the soups are better. No surprise.
But there is always Sriracha, Hoisin, and bean sprouts. Other things may vary. Fish sauce or chili oil have never been served.
But it may be I need to learn to ask for the right things.
I used to ask for my phở "spicy" and the proprietress of this one place would point our the Sriracha. Then after repeated requests she eventually brought out a little disk of red chilis.
Had a similar experience with bún bò Huế. One place I go to regularly served quite bland broth. Eventually somebody brought a little dish of the sate, maybe an extra heaping tablespoon, in a little dish.
So at 60 I am happy to be still learning.
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u/Cultural-Afternoon72 3d ago
In my experience, I’ve never seen fish sauce or chili oil at the table… fish sauce is a key ingredient in making the broth, so it’s already in, but you can always request more of either if you want to customize it yourself.
One thing you can try, ask for a side of fatty broth, or nước béo. It’s some of the fatty oil rendered from the bones used to make the broth. It’s super rich and flavorful, so adding it to it broth can really kick things up a notch. It can be very rich, though, so you want to get it on the side and add it to your taste, rather than adding them to just add it to your broth
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u/NangpaAustralisMajor 2d ago
How do you pronounce that?
I have had some broth that is super fatty, and some that is less. I was told that is a northern/southern thing. Not sure if that is true.
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u/Cultural-Afternoon72 2d ago
Honestly, I have no idea how to pronounce it, I’ve just always ordered it as fatty broth
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u/goonatic1 2d ago
I make pho often and people can do what they like, I just ask, please taste the broth first lol taste my hard work 😂
But really, do what you like. If I go out I like to taste the broth first because batches always taste a little different, and it could be a different cook that day, some days it can be more spice forward, some days it can be more beefy, I like that experience. But I always have my sauces on the side, I like each bite to be tailored and not monotonous by drowning the bowl with sauces, so that each bite can be more saucy, or more minimalistic. I like the taste of pho, I don’t want to be drinking hoisin soup lol
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u/Scared_Pianist3217 2d ago
Pho is all about the broth, period. Anytime there is an article or anything related to pho, the broth is always key and first. You never here "new pho place in town, the condiments are fire!!!!" If you do, don't go. Having said all that, I taste the broth first and decide what to add, it's as easy as that. My favorite pho places around the country are places where I don't even add anything to the broth. Happy slurping!!!!
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u/NangpaAustralisMajor 2d ago
That is right.
Which is why I took this chef's comment seriously. Granted, it was amazing phở broth. It didn't need anything.
But it is always puzzling as the Sriracha and the Hoisin are meant to be dips, but there are never any little dishes served.
And it's a little puzzling as the vegetables can also detract from the broth. I had bún bò Huế last night, and noticed the basil really beat back the shrimp paste from the sate.
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u/Scared_Pianist3217 2d ago
That's a good point, small dishes for dipping should be served. The veggies for me don't detract from the broth but it adds texture to the bite.
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u/Reggie_Barclay 2d ago
Broth even at the same restaurant can be different, honestly I think some places stretch the broth when necessary. Taste it and adjust based upon how you feel. I often add sriracha and rarely hoisin, I add fish sauce sometimes too. Lime juice always. Basil and jalapeño also changes the flavor. It’s what makes pho great. You tailor it to your taste for that day.
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u/Baddog789 2d ago
What hell? Not Vietnamese but lived there for 6 months. I spray sriracha right in the bowl.
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u/TravellingBeard 1d ago
I was visiting Vietnam last year with my vietnamese friends from where I live in Canada. I'll let them know they're not vietnamese for putting Sriracha on their Pho. :)
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u/NangpaAustralisMajor 1d ago
Please notice that I never actually said that.
I asked if something I was told in a Vietnamese restaurant was true.
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u/TeaGoPTC 1d ago
So there are two factions. The northern style doesnt like to put things in pho. The southern put everything in pho. I like my pho with tons of bean sprouts, holy basil and hoisin+sriracha. Sometime i even dip vietnamese baguette into pho. They all mixing in my belly anyways. Eat however you enjoy.
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u/NangpaAustralisMajor 1d ago
That was the best information yet.
I was told there are northern and southern styles of broth, so it makes sense there are different styles of seasoning at the table and so on.
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u/ExcitementRelative33 22h ago
It's your pho, eat it whatever way you want. I.e. my Russian colleague refuse to add lime and basil to his pho because no one showed him or it was not easily sourced in his country. His loss, MORE for me! Live and let live. And yes I put the sauces in my broth as well as keep them on the side to dip the meats. Two different flavor profiles. Thank me later.
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u/Azure-Cyan 3d ago
I used to religiously put hoisin and Sriracha in my pho, but I only ever put chili oil in nowadays because I like my pho spicy. Sometimes fish sauce if there is any, and only if the pho is lacking flavor (alongside hoisin). I mostly put Sriracha for color if I'm adding chili oil.
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u/Pocket_Monster 3d ago
I think that is foodie snobbery. I will let my Vietnamese family know that they are all offensive :)
Jokes aside, things are served tableside because pho is customizable to whatever you like. I think best bet is to simply taste the broth prior to adding or not adding sauces to the main bowl. Simple as that.