@K: Korean cuisine has many different recipes for stocks and broths for different dishes. I’m not sure what specific dish you’re referring to, but many Korean dishes actually do not require having clear broths. While some recipes do call for soaking meat in water (I assume you mean beef in this case), I don’t think soaking alone before cooking will give you a clear broth. It would be helpful to see your recipe and understand what it’s trying to accomplish.
For the clearest broth possible (which is what pho requires, and for dishes requiring clear broth), most well-trained chefs and other foodservice professionals would probably agree that parboiling and low simmering would give you a clear broth. This is exactly what I recommend as well.
Another consideration worth noting:
Supply chain for food ingredients are not the same in many Asian countries when compared to Western countries. Even by today’s standards, Asian meat products still have a much shorter time and distance between when a cow is slaughtered and when people purchase the meat from the market. This means the meat one gets to cook in his/her kitchen may be much fresher and at the same time not as “cleaned” as its Western counterpart.
As a result, people had to do further cleansing in their kitchen before actual cooking, initially out of nessesity then becoming a habit over time. This is still true in many rural areas in Vietnam and probably in many other places around the world. It is certainly true for any protein that’s not been done through a commercial slaughterhouse.
I’m sure “family” recipes that have been passed from people to people and from place to place may not have been properly updated to account for new or more modern food supplies, availability, and quality standards. For this reason alone, I always review recipes closely to ensure they make sense before going into full production for service in a particular restaurant. Anything that needs updating will be updated.
Bottom line? 1) Don’t always trust a recipe; 2) make sure it’s from a reliable source, and 3) understand why certain thing or technique is done.
FAQs
The numbers represent the history of war and sacrifice, hidden in plain sight for this popular cuisine in Los Angeles. The number can be personal to the owners by representing the year the shop opened. After nearly a decade of hard work and savings, Tiffany Nguyen's mother opened Pho 86 in Westminster in 1986.
Is it impolite to slurp pho? ›
Slurping your noodles loudly is considered a compliment to the chef throughout Japan and China – a sign of deep appreciation for your one-bowl meal. In South Korea and Singapore, however, not so much. There, you might get unappreciative glances – the kind you get when you talk too loudly in a quiet train carriage.
How do you eat pho respectfully? ›
Even though slurping noodles is considered polite in many cultures, it's important to keep the noise level down so that other guests can still enjoy their conversations. It is also important to remember that when eating pho, your hands should never use utensils to touch the soup or its constituents.
What is the proper etiquette for eating pho? ›
This dish is meant to be enjoyed with some noise and a lot of slurping is just fine. So here's the process in a nutshell. The best way to attack a steaming bowl of pho is to have chopsticks in one hand and a soupspoon in the other. Take in a little broth with your spoon, slurp in some to get a taste of it.
What does the number 75 mean in pho? ›
Take Pho 75, for instance, whose number commemorates 1975–the year of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War.
Is pho considered junk food? ›
Any nutritionist will tell you eating pho is a healthy act, for the most part. In fact, pho is being increasingly used as a post-workout meal.
Is there a wrong way to eat pho? ›
The chopsticks should pick up the noodles, vegetables, and meats, while the soup spoon should be used to scoop up the broth. The Vietnamese also add condiments like lime juice, fish sauce, and hoisin sauce to flavor their pho. The right way to eat pho is to customize it to your tastes.
Why does pho make you full? ›
Pho is a hearty dish. It's filled to the brim of the bowl with a generous amount of broth, spices, noodles, and veggies. It's a great appetite-killer in this sense. A single bowl will settle easily in the stomach and take care of any lingering hunger that would otherwise double-down a few hours later.
Are you supposed to put sauce in pho? ›
If you find the broth needs a little more flavor, you can add some fish sauce, a common pho condiment, to it. Two other common flavorings added to pho broth include black pepper and lime juice. Very frequently, an entire lime wedge will be squeezed into the broth.
Is it rude to leave chopsticks in pho? ›
People need to refrain from leaving chopsticks in the food bowl if they are not eating as it is considered rude table behavior. The quality of its broth determines the quality of Pho.
Soups and broths are the obvious answer, and they are almost always on the menu for the first day or two of any illness. For the takeout option, I've already mentioned pho and it hits the spot for all cold, flu, and COVID nourishment needs.
Why do Chinese restaurants use numbers? ›
It is because mathematics is a universal language. It is easily understood, easily communicated and never misinterpreted. It makes ordering easier for both the customer and the merchant. Outside of Chinese-speaking countries, number 7 is easier to deal with than fānqié chǎo dàn.
Why is it called pho 79? ›
The restaurant was named for the year many of the family arrived in the United States, 1979. The restaurant was one of the first in the area to serve pho and according to the Beard announcement, "helped pave the way for Southern California's Little Saigon to become the dynamic hub of Vietnamese cuisine" in the area.
Is there a lot of MSG in pho? ›
Chinese cuisine and many other restaurant foods are notorious for having lots of MSG in them. Restaurant pho is no different. In fact MSG use in many pho restaurants is so prominent and unmistakable that you can literally taste it instead of the flavorful pho broth that it should be.
What is rare in pho? ›
The rare beef used in pho is normally round eye steak that is thinly sliced. Ribeye or tenderloin can also be used for tai pho meat. These tender thin slices of beef offer a clean beefy flavor.
