A magazine article detailing a short history of pho and why we can't get enough. Originally written for a magazine class.
The yellow lights bouncing off the pale green walls inside Pho Winner give off a distinct feeling of being submerged in a cup of cheap ramen, especially on eyes wearied from staring at a screen for hours on end. The air is hazy with steam, mixed with more than a hint of cigarette smoke.
Deep scents of herbs and spices cut through the fog from the back doorway. The server deftly wraps up an enormous Styrofoam cup with its box of ingredients in a plastic bag, attaching the receipt in one fluid motion. It takes work to fit everything in, but his hands have clearly found a home here.
Pho was launched across the ocean in the late 1970’s, in the baggage of refugees from the Vietnam War looking to keep a piece of home. It was a taste that soldiers from the States came to know well during their time away.
The States were a place of choice for these refugees escaping Communist rule, partially because of the US’s relationship with Vietnam before the Fall of Saigon in 1975. In their search for a new life with only their suitcases and their skills in tow, most turned to already-established Chinese food restaurants for their living, especially on the West coast.
As authentic ingredients, sauces and spices began trickling into the United States, pho restaurants began popping up as novelty restaurants in large cities, and then as shops that began making a name for themselves in the local communities that many of these refugees and their families belonged to. The taste of a home-away-from-home was finally tangible for many veterans from the war, but for their family and friends the taste could almost be classified as familiar too.
"Most of the ingredients are very familiar,” says cookbook author Mai Pham, especially when talking about the pho restaurants of her hometown in Sacramento. “It's fresh and not so spicy. Visually it's easy to see. It's not mysterious.''
It didn’t take long for this phenomenon to reach the Midwest. With flavors that strongly mimic Latino cuisine and already established Asian restaurant foods, the meal established itself firmly in landlocked states. It still resonates with veterans just as much as young people, as children, as exhausted moms, as adventurous eaters, as followers of old habits. To many it still tastes like home, even to those whose home never had anything similar. Even to those who find themselves out late, looking for something substantial enough to own.
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