Hi,

I am an American born Chinese who grew up on wonton noodles and chowfun/chowmein. I tried pho for the first time this year and took a liking to it. I still avoid the basil leaves though

I know that the rice noodles in pho is less fat compared to the egg noodles I eat with wonton. But, the soup broth in pho seems to be very fat. Like over night, I notice that the pho broth becomes a jello-like substance the next morning. You don't see no liquid form. That tells me that the soup is extremely fat and very unhealthy if you slurp and drink it.

Do Vietnamese peeps eat pho once every week? To me, I see them as a very thin and supposedly fit people. I know the pho will kill if you have the habit of eating it every week. True or not?

Troll.....

it depends on who makes it. if it's made at home, most people i know will put it in the fridge a night/day before so they can pick out the fat the day dafter. you also scoop out the fat while the broth is hot. but assuming that you eat it at a restaurant, i doubt they care enough for the health of their customers get rid of the fat.

It is mainly unhealthy because of all the MSG that is used in the soup. My mom makes it without MSG so it's healthier, but doesn't taste the same.

I get used to it though and it's pretty good to me. If I had to eat Pho with MSG, I would eat it no more than once or twice a week.

That's what my mom does so there's hardly any fat in her Pho.




As for the pho restaurants, try asking them to give you "clear soup - no fat". They should understand what you mean... unless the pho restaurant isn't runned by Vietnamese . In Vietnam, ppl tend to like the fat so the restaurants add a extra spoon of fat into the soup. I think many pho restaurants overseas still do that too, so just tell them that you don't want the fat, just clear pho soup. Hope that works

^An extra spoon of fat into the soup??? Do you mean it is like lard or something? Man, that is really scaring me!

It's not lard, but a soupy base with greater concentration of fatty droplets.

wow..i feel so ashamed. i didnt even know we could order clear pho soup. or htat such a thinkg existed

It's actually not that bad. First of all, the fat you see floating on the top is the only fact you get. When you chill it and it's solid, it's not the fat that's doing it, it's the protein. Collagen to be exact. As a matter of fact, that is what they use in Jello. Same stuff.

I would not worry too much about the soup. Even the MSG is not a big deal except the hype of the Health food nuts. The MSG can make you feel thirsty and give some people headaches. It makes me feel slow afterwards but overall, no long term side effects except for the sodium content, and even then ony if you have high blood pressure.

The stuff I would worry about is the meats to go in sometimes. Especially the brisket and the tripe is really bad too. The raw beef shank is not too bad though, but even that is worse than the soup and the noodles. The beans sprouts are great of course.

and dont forget beef balls..haha

You're right, I asked my parents why Pho turns jelly-like when you put it in the fridge and they told me it's not fat, it's the collagen, which is protein, as you said. *phew* That's a relief to know.

In Viet Nam, many people eat pho once a day. It's a breakfast meal. Breakfast is the best meal of the day in Viet Nam. For many people, it's the only meal that they eat outside of their house. American eats light breakfast with cereals and pancake. In Viet Nam, people eat breakfast with Hu Tieu, Pho, Com Tam and Banh Mi.

Pho won't kill. Everything in moderation is fine. If you're already chubby, you shouldn't blame the pho.

man i eat pho liek once a month or every 2 week really depend. My mother alway ask me to drink the soup coz she sed it good n healthy

Tell your parents I say "thanks". That jelly stuff has always been on my mind. I can relax now...

The jelly-like substance is Gelatin. It is made when bones, tendons and skin of animals are boiled. If you eat Jello, you are eating Gelatin. Jello is made of highly filtered Gelatin with color and sugar added. Here are the nutritional contents of a basic pho dish:
http://www.metrokc.gov/health/nutrition/recipes/pho.htm

i think pho is absolutely great...^_^....n no harm....when i was in VN i ate it almost like everyday(cuz it was damn cheap....cant do dat no more since pho iz too expensive in U.S.)....... n hardly gain any weight

excellent post.

ya'll making me hungry now even though i don't like pho as much bun rui cua is that how u spell it i'm bad at vietnamese writing hehe

hahaha...bu'n rieu cua....^_^