What it is
Phở is a rice-noodle soup built on a long-simmered broth — beef bones for phở bò, whole chicken for phở gà — flavoured with charred ginger and onion and a small, disciplined set of spices: star anise, cassia, coriander seed, clove. The bowl arrives with the meat and noodles already in it and the herbs on a separate plate, because you are meant to finish the dish yourself at the table.
What makes a good one
A good phở is judged on the broth before anything else. It should be clear rather than cloudy, taste of beef rather than of spice, and be salty enough that you do not reach for the hoisin. Cloudiness usually means the bones were not blanched first; a strong five-spice note usually means the spices were boiled rather than toasted and steeped. The noodles should be separate strands, not a clump, and rare beef should still be red when it arrives so it cooks in the broth in front of you.
Regional variation
Northern phở (phở bắc) is plainer and saltier, served with little more than spring onion, and it is what you get at Phở Bà Tâm. Southern phở is sweeter, comes with a full plate of basil, sawtooth coriander and bean sprouts, and is the version most Americans learned first. Neither is more correct than the other.
Common questions
- Is phở good for delivery?
- It is the hardest dish in the cuisine to deliver well. Noodles keep cooking in hot broth and herbs wilt. Every restaurant on Beply that serves phở offers broth packed separately, and we default to that on delivery. If you are ordering for right now and you are close by, pickup is genuinely better.
- Is phở gluten-free?
- The noodles and broth usually contain no gluten ingredients, but hoisin and some soy-based seasonings do, and kitchens do not control cross-contamination. We label dishes 'no gluten ingredients' rather than 'gluten-free' for that reason. If it matters medically, call the restaurant.
- What is phở đặc biệt?
- The house special — rare beef, brisket, tendon and meatballs in one bowl instead of choosing. It is the standard first order at a place you have not been to before.