There are countless stories told about the origin of Hanoi noodle soup, but the truth is only 1. All are in the narrative of Ms. Vu Thi Chinh – a woman who accidentally thought of how to make pho rolled out of a customer’s sweat.
As a Hanoian or a long-distance visitor, “I haven’t come to Ngu Xa before eating pho”
Surely many people have heard the phrase “Pho Ngu Xa, Ma May fried rice” when referring to the famous dishes of the West Lake area. Nowadays, everywhere around Hanoi, there are shops selling fried rice noodles, but if you want to eat the best pho, you must find the right village of Ngu Xa in the west of Thang Long citadel, now a small peninsula. along Truc Bach lake.
According to history books, the old Ngu Xa village was famous for its bronze casting profession. But by the end of the 20th century, due to the influence of the urbanization process, the traditional copper casting job faded away, giving way to the restaurant to grow like mushrooms and become a famous culinary area of Hanoi with dishes. Traditional: shrimp cakes, rolls, mixed noodles, stir-fried pho … and especially pho rolls that delight fans, are always on the list of certain foods to enjoy when they have the opportunity to visit Hanoi.
Many people mistakenly think that the noodle dish has a long history as the origin of the first inhabitants to give birth to Ngu Xa village. However, the truth is that the new pho was born about 20 years ago! And the inventor of this legendary dish is a gentle woman of Trang An origin – Ms. Vu Thi Chinh, 65 years old this year, is the owner of the busiest noodle shop in Mac Dinh Chi street.
Portrait of “mother” of Hanoi noodle soup – Mrs. Vu Thi Chinh.
The people of Ngu Xa peninsula have a catchphrase that is “To Ngu Xa, you must eat chicken noodle soup of Mrs. Chinh”, which comes from the first pho pho on Tran Vu street opened by Mrs. Chinh alone. Many people thought that she was from a small village, married in the old town, so she “changed her life” to Hanoi’s bride, but in fact, she was born in an old house on 26 Hang Fan Street. Mrs. Chinh’s family has 7 siblings. After the bid, she followed her husband to live in a room of only 7 square meters in the middle of Mac Dinh Chi street.
Talking about the charm of making pho, it turns out that Mrs. Chinh is also a professional child: “In the past, my mother sold the famous noodle soup in the old town, so I also learned a few traditional cooking secrets from her. In 79, I gave birth to a child. My first child, my life was getting more and more difficult, so I just joined my mother’s street vendor profession. 23 years old, I went to the streets early in the morning to spend every penny to cultivate for my family. “
While telling a story while lulling her nephew to sleep in the crib, Mrs. Chinh still remembers the first days when she started to trade in a basket. When she got married, she had a small 7-square-meter house, she worked hard, so she traded expensive goods, after a few years had more money to buy a neighbor’s house, gradually expanded into a 2-storey 64m2 house like now.
More than 20 years ago, when there was no Tran Vu street surrounding the bustling Truc Bach lake as now, Mrs. Chinh was the only pho seller in Ngu Xa area. By the time the boundary changed, the roads were built more and more beautiful, then the other pho opened bustlingly, becoming the concentration of famous pho in the capital such as stir-fried pho, fried pho, mixed noodles, pho water, Pho roll … is extremely popular with customers. 30 years ago, Mrs. Chinh sold only a few trenches and 1 bowl of pho water, which was enough to feed the whole family and build her own estate.
The woman who invented two famous dishes of Ha Thanh, but always denied her credit because of false rumors
When she could not continue to sell pho on the sidewalk, Mrs. Chinh retreated to open a restaurant at home, took the names of the couple together to form a signboard. The original menu was also simple, only a few dishes from chicken pho, but it was extremely crowded.
One hot summer day in 2000, when she was busy serving guests, Mrs. Chinh noticed that everyone was eating and wiping sweat very well. Pho can be delicious to eat hot, but it is not very comfortable in summer weather. When the kitchen had a few noodle cakes with beef, Mrs. Chinh immediately took the meat and cilantro rolled it with a piece of soft chewy pho and invited guests to try it to cool down. She also thought up a bowl of sweet and sour sauce like spring rolls to eat with some pho rolls, I did not expect that everyone would have a delicious compliment. So she decided to name this brand-new dish as pho roll and put it completely on the menu to serve guests at the restaurant.
The good news is that, at first, guests came to eat just out of curiosity about how it looked like pho roll, then family members loved this dish very much because it had many advantages. Many people compare pho roll to pho nuoc and claim that it does not have many layers of rich flavor, nor is it as thick and processed as a traditional beef noodle bowl, so it is only considered as a normal dish. However, they are not the inventors of pho roll! The comparison is even more wrong when pho roll is now the “beauty flower” of pho village, as popular as pho water, which can be eaten in 4 seasons year round regardless of heat or cold.
It has been 20 years since then, although Mrs. Chinh has made great merits in creating famous noodle rolls on the culinary map of Ha Thanh, but the story of pho rolling was born without many people. known. Even many guests who came to eat hesitantly asked her if this was the birthplace of pho roll or not, because they read on the internet that they said “Pho book Chinh Thang is not standard, pho roll was born in Ngu Xa street. That’s right “, then an anecdote about pho roll was born because customers arrived late to eat pho, so some restaurant owner quickly used the leftover photo roll with the remaining meat. The gentle hostess just shook her head and said no, in her heart she had never intended to monopolize this dish, so she did not make a noisy statement to people that she was the “mother” of pho roll,
“Honestly, I am not too sad, all Ly Thong only robbed Thach Sanh but I do not have a dispute. What I am happiest and happiest about is that this noodle dish has been known to foreign customers for several years. Now there are Japanese TV stations, VTV has come to report about my pho restaurant, that’s too meaningful.
When I first came up with pho roll, I sold 1,500 VND / item, 15,000 VND / plate. At that time the beef was still cheap, but now the price is too high. The customers who come to eat are also very observant, they always tell me to sell too cheaply, because the beef I personally choose the best tenderloin, cut into thick, rich marinated pieces, stir-fried it feels soft and sweet, then bring it to sell for guests. Over the years, I have never rolled pho industrial-style available, but must be wrapped by hand “.
A noodle roll at Mrs. Chinh’s restaurant has a smaller diameter than many other pho, in which only lettuce leaves are rolled with beef, not filled with a pile of vegetables like other places. The sweet and sour sauce mixed with green papaya and carrots is also prepared very nicely, without any fancy recipe, yet combined together, it still makes thousands of diners remember.
Mrs. Chinh said, there are special guests she still remembers, like international students who always visit her shop first when returning to Hanoi, and Western, Chinese, and Japanese guests … are also impressed. with pho roll here. Perhaps the rustic purity of Mrs. Chinh’s pho roll is the true attachment to customers, not obscured by any artificial flavors.
One day, Mrs. Chinh’s shop can sell up to 60-70kg of pho bread, get termites from a familiar shop in Thuy Khue for the past 40 years, since the day she just came back to be a bride on Truc Bach lake. In addition to pho roll, currently the menu of Mrs. Chinh has dozens of different dishes, serving drinks such as spring rolls, fried gizzards with lemongrass and chili, fried vegetables, fried beef, fried stomach … at very average prices. people, only from 50-100k / dish.
Besides, few people know that Ms. Chinh is also the inventor of the chicken noodle soup since the subsidy period. A bowl of pho then only had a handful of fresh pho with a few chopped chicken pieces filled with broth, but it stood out because of the difference from traditional pho. The old copper aluminum casting furnaces around the house of Mrs. Chinh were lined up in long lines to get pho to bring back every morning. Customers visiting Mrs. Chinh’s “pho ghanh” are also people playing in the old town, ordering a bowl of pho, but always telling her to keep her thigh or chicken wings full.
All three of Mrs. Chinh’s sons are now successful and married. 3 people are masters of state employees, but the youngest Nguyen Ngoc Khanh decided to quit his job as a desk to keep his mother’s shop. “I always regret not taking over my mother’s store sooner. Inheriting my mother’s enthusiasm, sharing with everyone about Hanoi culinary culture – that’s what makes me feel happy every day. It was so tiring and tiring, but seeing customers sitting around the restaurant, meeting actors, celebrities, food bloggers … coming to eat and review is a meaningful success.
The couple, Khanh and his mother, are also able to rest. One year, Mrs. Chinh’s family only stops selling goods for 5 days, from 28 to the third of Tet. She always said she thanked heaven and earth for being blessed with fortune thanks only to 1 dish.
Theo Lynk Ảnh: Phạm Hoàng
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