subject: Pho Hanoi - Hanoi Noodle Soup In California [print this page] In a small space of around 20 square meters, Cuong looks like a culinary aftist - a knife in one hand and fresh beef in the other. With a dexterous clack of his cutlery, Cuong slices and places the raw beef atop the hot noodles, just above the broth.
Diced green onion is added to the soup, steeped with beef bone, and the bowl is complete. While he cooks Cuong talks and smiles with all his customers, sharing friendly stories of "the old days" and his childhood in Hanoi.
Cuong is a true Hanoian, born in the old street where he learned what it takes to become a good cook. When he grew up and moved to the San Jose, California, he missed nothing more in his homeland than Hanoi pho (Hanoi noodle soup). Cuong tasted various bowls of "pho" in San Jose, where a large community of Vietnamese-Americans live, but none replicated the special taste he remembered. Every weekend, Cuong and his wife Van invited their friends over for his own delectable rendition of Pho. His friends soon encouraged him to open a restaurant, which is how Pho Hanoi got started.
Van recalled the early days of the restaurant, when long lines of up to 150 people trailed out-side the door. Typically, it wasn't until 2 pm that the restaurant sold out its breakfast. Some customers iust came out of curiosity about the long lines. Most, however, came to satiate their cravings for true Hanoi Pho. While most "pho" restaurants in California use dried noodles sold at the supermarket, Pho Hanoi sticks to noodles that are fresh, soft, white and smell of rice. To get this special kind of "Pho" noodle, Cuong found a Chinese noodle maker, and arranged a special deal. After many experiments with ingredients and procedures, Cuong and his noodle maker succeeded and made the perfect noodle.
Another specialty of Pho Hanoi is the rare beef. The beef needs to be very fresh, cut into thin slices, beaten, and then cooked by dipping into the boiling broth. The broth thus has the combined tastes of ginger, bone, fresh onions, and fresh beef. Pho Hanoi has all kinds of Vietnamese pho, inclucling chicken. In California it is difficult to find chicken with same taste as in Hanoi. Cuong went to different farms hundreds of kilometers away from San Jose until, finally, he found the right poultry.
