In Vietnam beef bone broth is highly popular – it serves a national Vietnamese dish, Pho, that has made its way all over the world as a tasty savoury treat. Pho is a traditional Vietnamese soup and noodle dish – it has subtle layers of flavour from the beef bone broth to the vegetables, spices, herbs and beef that contribute. Originating from Nam Dinh in northern Vietnam, this Vietnamese dish is the country’s most successful culinary contribution internationally. In the capital city Hanoi, Pho is a popular breakfast dish although traditional Pho is served at any time during the day and enjoyed all year round.
As a simple street food, Pho stalls are well known in Vietnamese streets where the cooks create each bowl to order – steaming hot beef bone broth is poured over soft rice noodles and sliced meats, and topped with vegetables and chopped herbs. Each customer will customise their bowl of Pho to please their palate – from squeezed lemon juice, to sprigs of basil, slices of chilli and flavoured with hoisin sauce.
While Nam Dinh is believed to be the historical home of Pho, it is also closely tied to Hanoi where history and culture supported its popularity. Pho was born out of French colonialism in north Vietnam. The French demand for beef led to greater availability of both beef and a surplus of beef bones. These were used in cuisine by Chinese and Vietnamese vendors to enhance and extend the flavour of the Nam Dinh broth. The dish became popular with Chinese migrant workers, reminding them of a dish from back home. The Vietnamese enjoyed the introduction of beef flavours and by the 1930’s travelling vendors with mobile kitchens on their shoulders were a common sight.
Over the years Pho evolved from a simple noodle soup containing water buffalo meat cooked in beef bone broth with rice noodles to the much more sophisticated Hanoi Pho dish. Beef became the prominent meat in the dish and the flavours were refined with spices and herbs and a range of vegetables.
After the Vietnam war Pho became popular internationally. Following this, it evolved radically from its earlier years with international chefs getting inventive – many different types and cuts of meat were introduced. Young Vietnamese chefs experimented with various noodles and created Pho noodle rolls. Chef Anan Saigon famously created a $100 Pho with truffle oil, wagyu and foie gras. In Hanoi Pho fans can enjoy a fine-dining version of their favourite dish and a Pho cocktail. McDonalds even briefly introduced a Pho burger but for most chefs they prefer to remain closer to the original creation.
These days the beef bone broth base is created with a wide range of flavour sources from beef bones to oxtails, flank steak, charred onions, charred ginger and spices including star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and coriander.
At Taranaki Bio Extracts our Butler range offers both beef bone broths and extracts, and our expertise extends to customised products. Whether your product requires flavor, mouthfeel, or nutritional customisation, we can work with you at any level:
- Making an ingredient at scale to your own recipe
- Helping you develop a custom recipe with specific protein content, taste profile and product texture.
- Refining your product requirements so you can move from test kitchen to full scale.
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