Phở : A Complete History of Vietnam’s Most Renowned Dish

What is the history behind Vietnam’s most renowned soup, phở?

I started researching this topic out of personal curiosity, but I found so many interesting things that I ended up writing this long-format article.

It’s commonly accepted that what we eat is heavily shaped by historical circumstances. What I didn’t expect was that exploring the history of phở would lead me on a journey through many of the major events in Vietnam’s recent history.

In fact, this article could easily have been titled “Telling Vietnam’s Recent History Through the Lens of Its National Dish, Phở.”

Before we go any further, please keep in mind that I’m not claiming to be an expert or historian. I’ve relied solely on publicly available sources for this article, and I’ll be happy to correct any potential mistakes.

1. Origin of the Word Phở

To determine the origin of a dish, a logical approach is to examine when and in what context the term used to describe it first appeared.

This usually makes perfect sense, but in the case of the word “phở,” it only leads to more questions:

• As a French person, I wanted to believe that the word originated from France, simply because of its phonetic similarity to “pot-au-feu,” a French dish made from slowly boiled meat and vegetables. This explanation is often found online, but it would be wrong to consider it the only truth.

• Another theory mentions Chinese communities from northern Vietnam who may have sold a dish called 牛肉粉 (beef with noodles). The Chinese character for 粉 is pronounced “fun,” similar to the Vietnamese “phở.”
• These two theories compete with a third, which claims that the word “phở” is derived from a combination of Vietnamese characters created using Chữ Nôm, the writing system used for Vietnamese before the adoption of the Latin alphabet.

2. First Mention in Literature

This confirms in any case that phở is a relatively “recent” dish, as evidenced by its absence in early Vietnamese dictionaries like the 1895 Tự điển Huỳnh Tịnh Của or the 1898 Tự điển Genibrel.

One of the earliest mentions of phở in Vietnamese literature comes from the famous journalist Nguyễn Văn Vĩnh, who, writing from Paris in 1906, expressed nostalgia for the call of the phở vendor on the streets of Hanoi.

A few years later, renowned author Nguyễn Công Hoan noted bowls of phở being sold on Hanoi’s streets for prices between 2 and 5 xu.

The dish was only officially added to a Vietnamese dictionary in 1931 when it appeared in the Việt Nam Tự Điển by the Ban Văn học Hội Khai Trí Tiến Đức.

In 1934, the satirical poet Tú Mỡ wrote Phở Đức Tụng (Ode to Phở), a poem that elevated the humble dish to a symbol of Vietnamese identity and national pride—a political statement in a country still under French rule.

By this point, phở had made its grand entrance into Vietnamese culture.

3. Xáo Trâu

What is more widely accepted is where and how this dish gained its popularity. First, it’s important to understand that, at the end of the 19th century, eating beef was not common in Vietnam.

While cows weren’t typically raised for food, buffalo were used to assist farmers with fieldwork. They were, of course, also occasionally eaten.

One dish made with buffalo meat at the time in northern Vietnam was called “xáo trâu,” with “xáo” being an old Vietnamese word for broth.

4. The French and the Beef

Phở, as we know it today, likely began to appear in Nam Định province at the very end of the 19th century. Since their arrival in Vietnam, the French, eager to eat beef, gradually introduced it as a more common ingredient in the country.

In Nam Định, about 100 km south of Hanoi, the French began constructing Indochina’s largest textile factory in 1889, which employed over 10,000 workers by 1933.

At that time, the most popular soup among the local population was “cua” soup, made from rice field crabs but, the French workers preferred beef, which provided bones ideal for making broth.

In an interview with the BBC, “Phở Master” Vũ Ngọc Vương explained that this period marked the beginning of ambulant soup vendors—including his ancestors—combining beef with traditional dishes like bánh đa cua and xáo trâu.

It may have been during this time and place that the version of phở we know today was born.

5. Coming to Hanoi

From Nam Định, phở quickly made its way to Hanoi as many people left their hometowns to work on infrastructure projects initiated by the French, such as the Long Biên Bridge, which began construction in 1889 and employed over 3,000 local workers.

Among the migrants were ambulant soup sellers, who brought their culinary technics to the capital. Several of these families remain behind some of Hanoi’s most renowned phở establishments today.

One example is Vũ Ngọc Vương, mentioned earlier, who currently operates five phở restaurants in Hanoi. Another is the family behind Phở Gia Truyền Bát Đàn, a spot I highly recommend in my guide to Hanoi’s street food.

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More : Street Food in Hanoi: 11 Places to Try the City’s Most Iconic Dishes

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It’s important to note that the phở shops we’re familiar with today were not how the dish was initially sold in Hanoi.

In its early days, phở was almost exclusively sold by street vendors, known as gánh phở. These vendors carried their entire kitchen setup on poles balanced on their shoulders, moving through the streets to serve customers. They were instrumental in popularizing phở during the early 20th century.

Interestingly, the version of phở that reached Hanoi was simpler compared to the Nam Định version, where the beef was often stir-fried before being added to the soup. This adaptation in Hanoi helped shape the phở we recognize today.

6. From Phở Bò to Phở Gà

The origin of phở was heavily influenced by historical circumstances, but the dish’s evolution did not stop there. It continued to adapt, shaped by the ups and downs of the country’s turbulent history up to the present day.

In 1939, authorities tried to limit cattle slaughter to preserve buffaloes, essential for agriculture, by banning the sale of beef on Mondays and Fridays. In response to these restrictions, phở gà (chicken phở) began to appear and gain popularity.

The situation only worsened during World War II, culminating in the devastating famine of 1944-1945. This disaster, caused by a combination of mismanagement, forced rice requisitions by the Japanese-French authorities, bad weather conditions, and American bombing, led to the deaths of between 400,000 and 2 million people in Northern and Central Vietnam.

7. Going South

Another turning point for both the dish and the country came in 1954.

Led by General Võ Nguyên Giáp, Vietnam defeated the French Army at Điện Biên Phủ. The Geneva Conference that followed marked the end of French colonization in Vietnam but left the country officially divided in two.

Following this partition, it’s estimated that between August 1954 and July 1955, around 600,000 to one million northerners, mostly Catholics, moved south, encouraged by American propaganda and incentives.

Phở traveled with them to central and southern Vietnam, adapting along the way to local tastes and customs. Years later, a noticeable difference developed between the phở eaten in Hanoi and the one in Ho Chi Minh City, to the point that Sài Gòn-style phở became a distinct variation of the dish.

Common differences with Hanoi phở include (but are not limited to):

• A richer and slightly sweeter broth
• A larger variety of beef cuts, including meatballs
• Additional toppings like bean sprouts

8. Phở Goes Global

Twenty years later, with the fall of Saigon in 1975, the international chapter of phở’s history began.

Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fled the country, settling in Southeast Asia, the USA, and Europe, bringing their cuisine with them.

Today, it’s estimated that over 3.4 million Vietnamese live abroad.

The largest destination for the Vietnamese diaspora is the USA, where, according to 2021 official data, 2.4 million individuals were either born in Vietnam or report Vietnamese ancestry.

It’s no surprise that in states like California and Texas, which welcomed the largest numbers of Vietnamese, phở restaurants have flourished. What’s even more remarkable is that the dish’s popularity has spread far beyond the Vietnamese community and is slowly becoming a mainstream favorite across the country.

Though reliable statistics are hard to come by, various sources estimate that there are over 3,000 phở restaurants in the US alone.

A few points about this American phở story:

• The Vietnamese diaspora predominantly came from the southern part of the country, meaning that the Saigon version of the dish is more commonly found than the Hanoi one in the US.
• Vietnamese migrants had to adjust their recipes due to the initial unavailability of certain traditional ingredients, which explains some of the difficulties in reproducing the ‘real’ taste of the dish.
• Phở also grew in size—portions served in the US are, on average, 33% larger than those in Vietnam, and that’s without ordering the “Large” or “Extra Large” versions.
• Phở franchises, like Phở Hòa, began to emerge, and even major companies like Campbell’s started selling canned phở broth.

While some may view these changes as a departure from tradition, this evolution is a natural part of any cuisine that becomes globally embraced.

9. Phở không người lái

While the Vietnamese diaspora was helping phở gain global recognition, the 1980s were a difficult decade for Vietnam as a country.

Under the American embargo, this period was marked by severe food shortages, especially in cities like Hanoi.

Due to the scarcity of beef, many vendors and households had to find creative ways to continue serving the dish, often using minimal or no meat at all.

This is when the term Phở không người lái, literally translated as “driverless phở,” emerged to describe a version of the dish without any meat.

The Đổi Mới reforms that began in 1986, followed by the end of the embargo on Vietnam in 1994 and the normalization of bilateral relations in 1995, marked the start of a new era of impressive economic growth that benefited to the whole population.

Phở was again part of this history when, in 2000, Bill Clinton—the man behind this new chapter of US-Vietnamese relations and the first American president to visit the country since the war—stopped at a local restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City to taste the iconic dish.

10. Reinventing Phở

This rapid transformation that has marked Vietnam from the 1990s until today has also shaped its national dish in many ways. Listing all of these changes would take too long, so I’ll just highlight a few examples here.

Getting dry – Phở Trộn and Phở Cuốn

Phở without soup?

It might sound like a “crime” to some, but phở trộn, the dry version of the dish, has gained popularity in recent years, even though its exact origins are hard to trace.

If you want to try it, don’t hesitate to ask for the trộn option, as many of the most renowned phở restaurants in the capital now offer it.

More radically, in the Trúc Bạch peninsula, located in the heart of Hanoi, phở ingredients were used to create an entirely new local specialty called phở cuốn.

According to local legend, one night the owner of a phở shop ran out of broth just as late-night diners arrived. To satisfy them, the owner rolled beef, salad, and coriander into a phở noodle, and phở cuốn was born.

The shop credited with this invention is still around today, and it’s on my list of recommended street food spots in Hanoi (along with a few other must-try places).

Phở Cocktail

For those who aren’t keen on the idea of dry phở, let me take you to the other end of the spectrum with the phở cocktail.

Originally called the “Joan Baez” as a tribute to the anti-war singer, it’s now simply known as the phở cocktail.

This drink uses the key spices found in phở as the foundation for a bold cocktail that’s far more than just a gimmick. In fact, its success has played a crucial role in shaping the unique identity of Hanoi’s cocktail scene, but this deserves a dedicated story of its own.

You can find it at several places, but I recommend sticking to the bars founded by its creator, Nê and Nê Boong-ke.

11. Việt kiều Locally Influencing Phở

As Vietnam has become a more welcoming country, many Vietnamese immigrants have decided to “return” to their homeland.

Among them, some have used the experience and capital gained abroad to set up businesses, including restaurants.

One example is Chef Peter Cung, who left the country as a child in 1975 and returned more than 40 years later to found Anan, the first restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City to receive a Michelin Star.

Recently, Chef Cung added a new space on the third floor of his restaurant called “Pot Au Phở,” dedicated solely to phở, where he deconstructs the dish into a 10-course set meal.

His creation has sparked the kind of debate you’d expect from such experimentation, but one thing is certain: with him, phở has officially entered the fine dining space.

12. Official Recognition and Modern-Day Celebrations

Interestingly, despite being a cornerstone of Vietnamese culture both nationally and abroad, official recognition of phở took time.

December 12 was officially designated as the ‘Day of Phở’ in 2018, one year after the first ‘Day of Phở’ was initiated and held by the newspaper Tuổi Trẻ. Google has even celebrated this day multiple times with a dedicated Doodle visible in over 20 countries.

Another honor was given to the dish in 2024 when, on August 9, the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism added both Hanoi and Nam Định-style phở (along with My Quang-style noodles) to the national intangible cultural heritage list.

This came 90 years after the publication of Tố Mo’s famous poem.

What’s next for Phở? 

I don’t have a crystal ball, but what I do believe is that when a dish reaches this level of recognition, it can become many things at once.

The traditional version of phở, trying to replicate the original Hanoian taste as closely as possible, can coexist with a vegetarian version made by those concerned about the environmental impact of beef consumption.

The dish can be prepared by the descendants of the first phở sellers who came from Nam Định to Hanoi, or by a curious amateur cook from the other side of the world who has fallen in love with its flavors.

The story of food, like phở, is ever-evolving, shaped by the hands of those who simply continue to cook.