Have you ever come off a rough shift, and felt the need to nourish yourself with something tasty, healthy, and affordable at the same time? Then try Pho Momma, the newest restaurant featured in the revered Michelin Guide. The restaurant is near UC Davis Medical Center, a short drive from the 50 freeway. Address: 9555 Folsom Blvd., Suite A.
California, particularly Sacramento, is home to the largest Vietnamese population outside of Vietnam. The community’s signature dish is “pho,” pronounced “fuh,” from the French word “feu.” Many Vietnamese migrated to the United States as refugees during the war, so it is very rewarding for me to be able to partake in a cuisine beloved by many of my patients.
The Little Saigon District starts on Stockton Blvd near UC Davis and goes on for miles. There are so many pho restaurants there that when I was in training, it felt like my co-medical students and residents were eating at a new pho place every other week. The classic comfort food on a budget, pho has long appealed to my colleagues and friends from every background. In my book, this is a home-run food for doctors!
Pho is a rice noodle soup served in a meat broth; the meat is usually beef, but it can be chicken, and the soup can be solely vegetable-based, too.
Pho Momma honors the traditional cuisine – with a twist, or rather a “swirl.” I love to start my meal with a blended icey, fruity, creamy smoothie, known as a swirl, from a long list of flavors, with orange being my personal favorite. Appetizers also come in the form of lightly spiced fried chicken or calamari, various shrimp or butter-beef spring rolls, and bone marrow toast with creamy, flavor-packed garlic noodles. Their pork wontons, which are Chinese dumplings wrapped in silky, chewy squares of dough, are house-made and perfectly seasoned.
Now, the restaurant’s pho itself is utterly divine – the best I have ever tasted. Pho is a rice noodle soup served in a meat broth; the meat is usually beef, but it can be chicken, and the soup can be solely vegetable-based, too. Pho at first glance may sound like a simple, straightforward dish, but I guarantee you, it is extremely difficult to make. I have tried multiple times to reproduce pho at home, and from what I’ve read, many families in Vietnam cannot do it, either. The meat must be boiled for several days. To make the broth, the fish sauce must be balanced with sugar and a mind-boggling number of hard-to-get, expensive ingredients. All of this usually requires a restaurant kitchen.
The pho at Pho Momma is clear and light, but don’t let that fool you. The breadth and depth of flavor in the broth are both subtle and stimulating. The thinly-sliced white onions give the soup a crystalline texture, and the consomme clear broth allows you to see the bottom of the bowl, where the rice noodles swim. The floating green herbs of cilantro and chive appear like lotus leaves in a koi fish pond. And for those who are a bit adventurous, you can also try your pho with a helping of tendon or tripe, classic textures in Asian cuisine.
To prepare to eat pho, the host will give you a separate plate of sliced jalapeno, bean sprouts, Thai basil leaves, and wedges of lime. When served, the soup will be piping hot, so this will give you time to flavor the broth with these extra ingredients. I recommend adding the bean sprouts to the soup to let them cook and to add texture, as well as squeezing one or two wedges of lime directly over the pho. This will add a tangy flavor and a healthy dose of vitamin C! Adding the basil leaves will give the broth an earthy flavor. For those interested in a bit of heat and spice, feel free to add one or two jalapenos, but be careful: the broth can get pretty spicy toward the bottom of the bowl. I usually take the jalapenos out halfway through eating.
The table will also provide a bottle of red Sriracha sauce and a bottle of black hoisin sauce. Sriracha is a classic chili sauce that is beloved all over the world – and as any Sriracha connoisseur knows, only the Huy Fong brand with the rooster drawing on the front will do. Hoisin is a soy-based sweet sauce and usually comes in the Lee Kum Kee brand.
Now, there is a healthy debate online and around the world as to how to use these two sauces when eating pho. Should we squirt the Sriracha and hoisin directly into the broth, or squirt them on a plate to dip the meat? After much reading and pondering, I have decided that there is no right answer. It sounds like people around the world do both, and in actuality, no one really cares. You do you; try out both ways and see what you like. For me, I prefer to squirt the sauces on the side and dip the meat. One recommendation that I think is reasonable, though, is to at least taste the soup before adding sauce, so that we honor the chef’s hard work in getting the pho flavor just right.
When pho was first developed in Vietnam in the past century, it was mostly for the rich. Poorer families would save money to purchase one bowl of pho on special occasions, to share among family members.
The atmosphere of Pho Momma is bright, comfortable, and spacious; the service is excellent. I recommend going to the restaurant early during mealtimes, because there is always a wait: usually 10-15 minutes, but up to 30 minutes on the weekends. A medium-sized pho costs $15. Imagine this: Where in the world can you get a Michelin-rated meal for $15? It’s basically impossible.
Pho consumption in America has really blossomed in the past couple decades, to where most people now know what pho is. When pho was first developed in Vietnam in the past century, it was mostly for the rich. Poorer families would save money to purchase one bowl of pho on special occasions, to share among family members. Later, it also became a breakfast food with egg, and there are various types of pho now around the world. Fortunately, pho is now much more affordable, and in the long run it can even help with health equity. I now tell patients: “Don’t go to McDonald’s; go get a pho.”
The restaurant is named after owner My Le, the “Momma” of Pho Momma. Born in Stockton, she started cooking with her mother at an early age. According to The Sacramento Bee, her father fought in the Vietnam War and her family immigrated here. Inspired by her travels in California and Las Vegas, Le developed all the recipes herself.
As a doctor, I give my highest recommendation to Pho Momma, and invite you to join me for pho every Saturday. Given the well-known health benefits of pho and soup in general, I consciously make sure to get my family pho at least once a week. “Finish the whole bowl,” I always say to my kids as they slurp on the noodles. It is important to me that my family has strong immune systems, especially during the school year and cold/flu season. If you have never tried pho before, Pho Momma would be a great start to your culinary journey – with a healthy boost of immunity on the side!
David Hsu, MD
david.hsu@commonspirit.org
David Hsu, MD is a psychiatrist.
