Qu'est-ce Que C'est? De-Mystifying Chicago Restaurant Menus: Pho

By L. Stolpman in Food on Aug 15, 2008 6:15PM

Don't call Phở "foe", foo'. It's pronounced "fuh" and this delicious noodle dish captures some of the best flavors in Vietnamese food. Phở is clear beef broth with white rice noodles. That's just the beginning. Menus will offer it with sliced steak, tripe, flank, tendon, meatballs...the list goes on and on. Choose your meats and the steaming bowl comes to your table, sliced onions floating on top. Check out more pictures here.

The broth...oh, the broth. We once thought we might try making this but upon looking at the list of ingredients and the time commitment, we quickly decided to leave this to the pros. And for as little as $4 a bowl, enjoy their commitment to your enjoyment. It's made by simmering beef bones or oxtail and lots of great spices including star anise and cloves. The flavor is intensely beefy and that makes it incredibly awesome.

Along with your bowl of noodles and awesome, you'll be served a plate of bean sprouts, slices of limes, fresh Thai basil and some slices of jalapeno. Squeeze some lime in your bowl, rip up some basil and drop in some bean sprouts and jalapeno. (Remove the jalapeno after a few minutes if you don't want too much spice.)

As for where to find this great dish...darn near every single Vietnamese restaurant you go to is going to serve you this incredible meal. Check out a list here.

Give it up: where's your favorite place for phở?

Photo by L. Stolpman