Pho–The Art of Soup

Two souls live in the culinary bosom of Vietnam. Thousands of years of occupation by China have left their mark on the cuisine of North Vietnam. The generous use of ginger, black cardamom, and fermented soybeans is just as Chinese in origin as the steaming and stir-frying. Other occupiers have contributed other elements and customs. Coffee and baguettes (Vietnam is actually the only country in Southeast Asia with a respectable baguette) date back to the French and their century-long colonial episode. And with the fall of Saigon and the withdrawal of the Americans, nothing stood in the way of the triumphal march of Vietnam's primordial soup around the world. The art of war? Sunzi? Not at all. The art of soup follows a peaceful path.