Pho Huong Que. It's Pho real.

Charlotte, NC

Now that weather is getting cooler, it's only natural to look for more cozy meals.  One of my favorite comfort foods for fall and winter is a piping hot bowl of pho. 

 So what is pho?  Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup.  It is usually made with a beef broth and served with thin rice noodles, but there are other varieties available with chicken or vegetable broth.  It can be topped with your choice of meats and fresh herbs and vegetables.  Most Vietnamese or pho restaurants have similar menus with half the dishes being pho dishes and the other half of assorted rice and noodle dishes.  The rice dishes are usually rice served with a grilled meat, like grilled chicken or a porkchop.  For the pho half of the menu, it is set up almost a la carte style so you can pick and choose what cuts of meat you want served with your broth.  If you order pho, they will also bring you a plate of veggies and herbs so you can dress your bowl with your choice of toppings.  Toppings normally served include bean sprouts, mint, basil, sliced peppers and limes. 

After checking out the menu, I decided to go with a bowl of pho that included rare steak slices and tender brisket.  The menu had it listed as Pho Tai Nam.  I'm not the biggest fan of fatty cuts or tendons, so I opted for this safe choice.  If I'm in a more adventurous mood, I like to include the beef tripe.  Most restaurants are very accommodating so if you don't see your particular blend, ask if you can substitute or add more toppings. 

Vietnamese restaurants usually have a huge pot o' broth bubbling away in the kitchen so it doesn't normally take more than a few minutes for your order to arrive.  It's like the fast food of the Asian restaurants.  Gotta love it when you are in a hurry.  I got my food in under five minutes.

The rare steak is served on top of the noodles.  If you aren't comfortable with the temperature of the meat, stir the bowl so that the meat can cook a few more minutes in the hot broth at the bottom of the bowl.  The brisket was so tender that it was falling apart in the bowl.  Looks so yummy but I'm not ready to eat yet.  Because the broth is pre-made, it isn't flavored to everyone's personal tastes so they provide sauces for you to spice up your bowl the way you want.  I added a few squirts of lime to give it a tang and a bit of Sriracha or rooster sauce to bring up the heat a bit.  If you like a more sweet broth, try the hoisin sauce.  If you are a savory person, try the soy or fish sauces.  Make sure to try the broth first before you add anything to it!  Every restaurant has their own top secret recipe for pho broth so you may spice it differently for every restaurant.  Now for the toppings...let's add some mint and basil leaves. 

So now that I've added my toppings and sauces, I'm ready to eat.   The noodles were just the right al dente texture: not too soggy or chewy.  The broth was pretty standard.  It's not necessarily a bad thing;  it's just not unique.  On a plus side, it wasn't greasy.  Some places have really greasy broths and I'm not a fan of that texture.  The brisket was full of flavor and after a few minutes, the steak strips were a nice medium.  The perfect rainy day meal. Now it all it needs is a little rain. 

I hope this inspires you to try a bowl of pho.  It has come to be one of my favorite comfort foods.  You can always count of a hot bowl of pho to warm your chilled bones.  It's even great when you're sick.  I think of it as Asian chicken noodle soup. 

Overall, How Nuts Are We about Pho Houng Que?

Food: 4 coconuts. It was a standard bowl of pho: exactly how I wanted it. 
Service: 5 coconuts.  You can't beat fast food service.
Repeatability: 3 coconut.  The menu isn't overwhelmingly large but it doesn't need to be.