It is difficult to deny that sour pho is not pho even though this dish has traces of Chinese bread through the culinary roots of the Tay and Nung ethnic groups. This is a mixed pho dish, without the characteristic aroma of pho, and the taste is as sour as salad, but it is still pho.
Sour pho first appeared in the northern border localities and is rich in the flavor of Chinese cuisine such as xioi luong, Chinese sausages, roast duck, pork organs... so it is possible to be sure about the origin of the dish. However, in each locality and ethnic region, sour pho is also different.
The sour and cool nature of sour pho will prove that this is a summer dish and is used for cooling down. In that way, sour pho is a sister dish to Luong Bi (liang pi), a cold noodle dish that is very famous in China.
However, thanks to its rich and attractive flavor structure, sour pho has gradually become a popular dish all over the world. Coming to Ha Giang on such a cold day, no one would consider it strange to have just played a plate of sour pho and immediately serve dessert with a hot bowl of dried water to give the smell of ginger to warm the body.
Those who are easy to calculate the "feature of pho" can also consider sour pho in the mountainous areas as the inspiration for the pho mixed below the steep, thanks to its cooling properties and not pouring broth. However, mixed pho in Hanoi, for example, only uses chicken and chicken intestines as filling, not as diverse as sour pho.
So what is the structure of sour pho? Sour pho is a combination of many ingredients, including: fresh, soft-fried pho noodles; thinly sliced fried fried chard; spined duck with strands or diced bones; grated roasted peanuts; grated Chinese sausage and sliced sausage; boiled or fried duck eggs; and herbs such as basil, garlic, papaya, or cucumber.
The sauce creates a new sour taste, which is the soul of this sour pho. The sauce is made from boiled meat broth mixed with vinegar, garlic, chili, onions, ginger, sugar... to create a sweet and sour mixture. Then, the sauce is beaten with a little flour to create a thick consistency.
Basically, the structure of sour pho is like that, however, depending on each region and the length of the ingredients, the way of making it is customized accordingly. Thanks to that, there are 3 basic directions for processing sour pho, originating from Lang Son to Cao Bang, then from here spreading to Ha Giang.
The best sour pho in Lang Son must be sour pho from the That Khe region thanks to its diversity of flavors and ingredients - the mark of the Nung ethnic cuisine. That Khe sour pho must have shredded chicken, diced duck, fried pork leg, ham (fresh workshop), fried pork liver, fried mon khoai, fried onions, phi garlic, papaya and soaked fiber...
The sauce of That Khe sour pho is very delicious because its basic ingredient is water taken from the intestines of roasted ducks, so it is very fragrant and sweet, or duck broth. Thanks to that, That Khe sour pho is considered a specialty, a must-eat dish when coming to this region.
From That Khe to Cao Bang is only a few dozen kilometers, but pho sour has changed a lot. Cao Bang is home to a large number of Tay ethnic people, so the flavor of sour pho becomes more harmonious, even though its complexity and sophistication are no less than sour pho That Khe.
Cao Bang sour pho is a symphony of aroma and spices, with ingredients including pork belly, pork liver, pork stomach, Chinese sausage, duck meat and sweet potatoes. Ship potatoes are only grown in this land, so they are used to replace mon potatoes, creating a strange flavor.
In addition to the roast duck, most other ingredients are fried or grilled, giving it a much more outstanding flavor. Pork liver, pig stomach, workshop sliced into pieces and then fried, while the ship's potatoes are sliced into thin slices and golden brocade. In addition, there are roasted peanuts, herbs, onions, and thinly sliced cucumbers.
When sour pho was naturalized in Ha Giang, the basic ingredient was the duck spinning and suddenly disappearing. Ingredients have also been reduced, leaving only the basic ingredients: pho noodles, beef or black pork, eggs, Chinese sausage, peanuts, raw vegetables and herbs such as bean sprouts, green onions, coriander, perilla, corn, basil...
The change in structure (from chicken and duck to beef, pork) has created a difference in flavor. That Khe's sour pho has the clearest Chinese flavor with fried mon potatoes, seasoned with shii oil and lots of fat (tsui ro), while Cao Bang sour pho is outstanding in its aroma thanks to its baking process.
Meanwhile, Ha Giang's sour pho has a cleaner, sweeter taste thanks to the use of black pork to make fried pork and Chinese sausage. In addition, the broth for making the sauce is to use bone broth mixed with vinegar, sugar and winch with cassava flour to create thickness. But the local spice also contributes to creating a difference in flavor.
It seems that the trend of Ha Giang sour pho is growing strongly thanks to the higher number of tourists than the other two sour pho regions. However, if we consider the brand, Pho sour That Khe (Lang Son) and Cao Bang still have more reputation.
But we also witness another phenomenon: It seems that sour pho only exists in the above localities and cannot spread as strongly as typical dishes of other regions. Sour pho is still seen in Hanoi and many provinces and cities, however, it has never become an eating trend.
People only remember sour pho, eating pho only when "going up the mountain", like enjoying a gift of unique mountain paint. But it's okay, sour pho still contributes a remarkable look in the flows of pho in Vietnam, like burnt liver pho in Bac Ninh, duck pho filmed in Trung Khanh, goat pho in Ninh Binh...
