Pho True Fans of Noodle Soups Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vietnam

Pho began in Northern Vietnam in the early 1900s and spread south in the 1950s after the defeat of the French and the spread of communism in the north drove many to emigrate to the south. With the migration of many Vietnamese refugees throughout the rest of the world came pho, and now this delicious meal can be found almost anywhere there is a significant Vietnamese population.

Answer: All are common

In addition to spiced meatballs, tripe, and tendon, thinly sliced steak, flank, and brisket are commonly seen in beef pho. Pho is ordered with those items given by themselves, or in combination, as in "Steak, tendon, meatball, and brisket pho".

Answer: Rice

Rice vermicelli (also known as rice sticks) are the foundation of pho and many other Vietnamese dishes. They were most likely introduced to the Vietnamese from China, and the word "pho" may be a Vietnamese adaptation of the Chinese rice vermicelli "hofan".

Answer: Tomato wedges

Shortly before bringing out the hot bowl of soup, you are generally presented with a plate with vegetables such as bean sprouts, basil leaves, a lime wedge, sliced peppers, and cilantro. These items are to be added to the soup to flavor it. Some prefer to add the sprouts gradually, since they are cold and will cool down the soup if added too quickly. Squeeze in a little lime juice, tear off a couple basil leaves, and add the peppers and cilantro if you'd like.

Answer: Sriracha Sauce

Sriracha sauce is also called "rooster sauce" due to the rooster on the bottle. Also frequently available is soy sauce, hoisin sauce (a sweet soybean paste), and sambal oelek (a flaming hot red chili paste).

Many pho restaurants include small bowls for you to pour sauces into so that you can pull out bites with your chopsticks and dip into the sauces before eating them. Typical style for eating pho involves doing that, then using your spoon to sip the broth. Very delicious!

Answer: All of these

The broth is made by simmering beef bones, oxtails, flank steak, charred onions, star anise, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves for several hours. The fragrance of the anise, cinnamon, and cloves is unmistakable. Some home recipes allow for shortcuts using soup mixes or bases, but true pho broth takes hours.

Answer: false

The first time I ordered pho takeout from a restaurant, this took me aback. I opened up the hot bowl of broth, then opened up the meat pack and found that all the meat was still raw.

The idea is that the meat is added to the steaming hot broth raw and the broth cooks it as it is taken to your table. This adds to the flavor of the broth as well as cooking the meat perfectly.

On the other hand, if ordering pho takeout, make sure you reheat the broth before adding the meat!

Answer: yes

Almost all pho restaurants now serve many different types of pho. Chicken is very common and very tasty, and I have also seen fish, lobster, tofu, lamb, duck, and vegetarian pho. Some will even blend the varieties--beef steak and chicken is a very common combination.

Like many Asian cuisines, pho is becoming adapted to the demands of the local populace. Menus in American pho restaurants have other Asian dishes, as well as varieties of pho that are pleasing to American palettes.

Answer: Bun Bo Hue

While at first look, it may not seem to be for the faint of heart, bun bo hue is actually quite delicious. It is frequently a little spicier than pho, and the slices of congealed pork blood cake are amazingly flavorful. Had I known what those dark red slices were before I took a bite, I don't know if I would have tried it. Now, bun bo hue is what I order the majority of the time I eat at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Answer: France

French influence in Vietnam dates back to the early 1600's, when missionary Alexander de Rhodes ran the first Christian mission in Hanoi. He wrote the first Vietnamese catechism and the first Vietnamese-European dictionary (Vietnamese-Latin-Portuguese). It is due to his influence that the Vietnamese language is written with the Roman alphabet rather than the southeast Asian scripts Cambodian and Laotian use.

By the 1800s, France was actively involved in Vietnamese affairs, including the 1858 overthrow of the ruling Nguyen dynasty when they considered the French missions to be a threat. In 1887, Vietnam and Cambodia were colonized to make "French Indochina", with Laos being added in 1893.

During World War II, Japan occupied Vietnam. A massive period of unrest followed beginning with an independence movement, then a communist uprising, then the French-Indochinese War, and finally the US-Vietnam War.

Over 300 years of direct French influence has left its influence on Vietnamese cuisine, and it is not altogether unusual to have a banh choux (French cream puff) or banh flan (flan, French caramel custard) for dessert.