Vietnamese cuisine draws a great deal of inspiration from China. As such, every Vietnamese chef strives to represent all five essential flavors: sweetness, bitterness, sourness, spiciness, and savoriness — also known as "ngũ vị" or "the five tastes." Phở is no exception to this rule, and it's precisely because of this balance that the dish is so incredibly delicious.
If you look closely, you'll notice that all the ingredients in a bowl of phở -- including the broth, noodles, meat, condiments, and fresh herbs -- contribute to these five essential tastes.But let's focus on just one of these five flavors for today: sweetness. In phở, sweetness comes from natural sugars in aromatics like caramelized onions and shallots. Additionally, the broth gets a touch of sweetness from simmering meaty bones and marrow in the pot, known in Vietnamese as "ngọt thịt" or "meaty sweetness."
This sweetness, which is considered by the Vietnamese to be different from sugary sweetness, arises from the complex sugars and sweet-tasting organic compounds in the cow's muscles, per a 2011 study published in the Asian Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances. But at this stage, the broth is only subtly sweet. To amp up the flavor, good old sugar crystals are added. While many Western recipes use refined sugar, authentic phở uses a special type called yellow rock sugar — and that's what sets the "traditional" phở apart from all others.
Yellow rock sugar, known as "đường phèn" in Vietnamese, is a unique form of unprocessed sugar made from sugar cane juice and palm sap. Unlike the typical granulated sugar you find in most grocery stores, this type of sugar is allowed to condense and crystallize into large lumps, hence its name: "rock sugar." What sets rock sugar apart is its milder sweetness compared to granulated sugar.
You need to use twice the amount of rock sugar by weight to achieve the same level of sweetness.This precise control over sweetness is ideal for fine-tuning your phở broth. Additionally, the sweetness provided by rock sugar has a distinct character separate from granulated sugar. In Vietnamese, rock sugar is described as "ngọt thanh," meaning "delicately sweet," while regular granulated sugar is called "ngọt sắc," or "sharply sweet."
Since we're making a broth and not a dessert like tong sui, the gentle sweetness of rock sugar is what we're aiming for.It should add just a hint of sweetness without overpowering the flavors. When you're picking rock sugar, you'll find two colors: white and yellow. Most Vietnamese chefs prefer the yellow type. The caramel-like hue comes from some extra molasses that remains in the crystals, which supposedly gives the sugar a slightly richer and more complex flavor compared to the white varietal.
How To Incorporate Yellow Rock Sugar Into Your Phở
To make phở broth, fill a stockpot with water and add meaty bones, marrows, and briskets that have been blanched prior. Then, allow this mixture to simmer for about an hour to extract all the meaty flavors and create a basic broth. After skimming the foam and fat floating at the top and adding roasted aromatics and spices, you can go ahead and throw in the yellow rock sugar, along with other seasonings like salt, fish sauce, and MSG.
The exact amount will depend on how much broth you're making. As a general rule, you'll want about 2 tablespoons of yellow rock sugar for every 1.5 liters of broth. Seasoned chefs (ha!) may taste a small sample of the broth to check the seasoning and make adjustments if necessary. If it tastes just right to you, let it simmer for an extra three to five minutes, and your broth is good to go. You can keep it warm on the stove until other components of the phở are finished. All that's left to do is ladle out the broth and serve!
To amp up the flavor, good old sugar crystals are added. While many Western recipes use refined sugar, authentic phở uses a special type called yellow rock sugar
yellow rock sugar
Yellow rock sugar, known as "đường phèn" in Vietnamese, is a unique form of unprocessed sugar made from sugar cane juice and palm sap.
I use yellow rock sugar for traditional pho, which I buy at a local Korean market (it is also sold online). If you cannot find it, you can use regular sugar. The flavor is not exactly the same, but it works. (Rock sugar does a better job at rounding out the flavors.)
Chinese yellow rock sugar is lumps of crystallized sugar made from unprocessed sugar cane. It has a yellow tinge to it and is often used in Asian cooking.
Rock sugar is often used as a substitute for refined sugar and is considered healthy, with less sugar than white sugar. The nature of rock sugar looks like a large sugar crystal and has a hard texture. This type of rock sugar usually comes in two colors, clear white and caramel color (light yellow or dark brown).
Rock sugar can be used to sweeten a variety of dishes, including fruits, vegetables, and meats. It can also be used to make syrups, desserts, and drinks. To cook with rock sugar, it should be slowly melted in a saucepan over low heat until it dissolves and becomes a syrup. The syrup can then be added to a recipe.
Rock sugar typically has a milder sweetness level than a comparable amount of pure table sugar. Since it is made from a water and sugar solution, it is more diluted than refined sugar.
Tart doughs and pie crusts benefit from using Brown Sugars. You'll detect added caramel notes just by replacing granulated sugar with Brown. Chocolate-based desserts get a boost from Brown Sugars, as they enhance the earthiness of chocolate, creating a dessert with deeper, richer chocolate flavour.
The key nutritional difference between the two is that brown sugar has some trace amounts of calcium, iron, zinc, copper, phosphorus, and potassium that is devoid of white sugar. Also, brown sugar also contains fewer calories than white, however, the difference is minimal.
Even though there may not be a major difference between the processing method of the two, rock sugar contains more calories and is more concentrated than table sugar. Therefore, you have it – diabetics should avoid eating rock sugar.
You can opt for coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup, and agave nectar, which are some good and healthy options. Another good option is shakkar, an unprocessed sugar rich in nutrients like zinc, iron, potassium, and magnesium. You can also use jaggery to sweeten up your desserts and beverages.
Pho soup. A great pho soup is a well made beef broth with charred aromatics, sweetened with sugar, and seasoned with fish sauce. The signature taste of beef pho though comes from the charred aromatics and spices: if you leave those out, you don't have pho, you have generic beef noodle soup.
Rock sugar is especially common in Asian cuisines and is used to sweeten teas, desserts, and even savory dishes. It is less sweet than a comparable volume of granulated, white table sugar, making it an ideal, mild sweetener for many drinks and dishes.
Finally, palm sugar adds a mellow sweetness common in pho, but you can also use rock sugar or raw sugar if you don't have palm. All of these ingredients come together with veggie stock and get simmered for just 20 minutes before serving with pho noodles, mushrooms, bok choy, tofu, or any other vegetables you enjoy!
The flavours of pho could be sweeter, saltier or spicier depending on the degree of local preference. What remained consistent was the clear bone broth, the soft white rice noodles, the tender meat slices and green spring onion.
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