Pho could be called the very symbol of Vietnamese cuisine. Do you know from what kind of rice, and how, those smooth white noodles are made?
In fact, pho has its own dedicated rice varieties, and clear quality standards exist for the milling and noodle-making processes as well. For anyone involved with Vietnam in food importing or the agriculture business, knowledge of the raw rice is essential.
This article explains everything from the varietal traits of pho rice to the noodle-making process and quality standards, from the on-the-ground perspective of agriculture and food.
What is pho? | A refresher on the basics of rice noodles
Pho (phở) is a rice-noodle dish that originated in Vietnam. Its defining feature is that it uses no wheat at all and is made only from non-glutinous rice flour.
Its production method differs fundamentally from Japanese ramen. Because there is no wheat gluten, the texture is better described as "smooth and supple" than as "chewy."
There are broadly two kinds of pho.
| Type | Characteristics | Main region |
|——|——|———-||
| Pho Bac (northern style) | Wide, flat noodles; clear broth | Around Hanoi |
| Pho Nam (southern style) | Somewhat thinner noodles; sweeter broth | Around Ho Chi Minh City |
This difference also stems from subtle differences in the rice varieties used and in the noodle making.
The rice varieties used in pho | What makes a rice suited to rice noodles
Pho rice requires quality characteristics different from table rice. Sticky varieties like Japan's Koshihikari are not suited to pho.
There are mainly three conditions for rice suited to noodle making.
- High amylose content(25 to 28% or more)
- Low protein content(7% or less is ideal)
- Uniform grains that resist breaking
The higher the amylose, the more translucent the noodles become and the less they fall apart when boiled. Conversely, when there is more amylopectin (glutinous-rice types), the dough is hard to handle during noodle making and the noodles tend to stick together.
Representative varieties: IR64 and the OM lines
Widely used as pho rice today are IR64 and OM4900 and other indica varieties.
IR64 is a long-grain variety developed by IRRI (the International Rice Research Institute), with an amylose content of about 24 to 26%. It is grown on a large scale in the Mekong Delta of southern Vietnam and is an important variety as export rice beyond its use for pho.
The OM lines are a group of improved varieties bred within Vietnam, with OM4900 and OM5451 among the most representative. Because they have high disease resistance and stable productivity, demand from noodle factories is rising.
The noodle-making process | From rice to pho
Pho noodle making is based on "wet noodle making," in which water is added to rice flour to form a dough that is rolled thin and cut. The process differs slightly between factory production and handmade workshops, but the broad outline is the same.
The noodle-making flow at a factory
Step 1: Washing and soaking the raw rice
The milled rice is rinsed with water and soaked for 8 to 12 hours. This soaking time affects the particle size of the rice flour and the smoothness of the dough.
Step 2: Wet milling
The soaked rice is ground together with water in a stone mill or wet mill to make a rice slurry (a liquid rice dough). A particle size of around 60 to 80 mesh is typical.
Step 3: Moisture adjustment and dough forming
Excess water is pressed out of the slurry to adjust the firmness of the dough. Setting the moisture content at about 50 to 55% is standard.
Step 4: Steaming and sheeting
The dough is rolled thin and steamed. In this step the starch gelatinizes, giving rise to pho's characteristic chewiness and translucency.
Step 5: Cooling, cutting, and drying
After the steamed sheets are cooled, they are cut to a width of 2 to 3 mm. In some cases they are shipped as fresh noodles, and in others they are dried into dry pho.
Dry pho has its moisture content brought down to 13% or less, allowing it to be stored at room temperature for 3 to 6 months. Most export products are this dry type.
Quality standards for raw rice | The specs noodle factories require
The quality of pho is directly tied to the quality of the raw rice. When noodle factories select raw rice, they generally set the following standards.
| Item | Baseline |
|---|---|
| Moisture content | 14% or less |
| Broken-grain ratio | 5% or less |
| Foreign-variety admixture | 3% or less |
| Protein content | 7% or less |
| Amylose content | 23% or more |
| Pesticide residues | Compliant with the Vietnam national standard (TCVN) |
When there are many broken grains (cracked rice), the uniformity of the dough breaks down during noodle making, affecting the texture and appearance of the noodles. The more quality-conscious the factory, the stricter its broken-grain standard, with some requiring 2 to 3% or less.
Standards for products exported to Japan
When exporting pho to Japan, compliance with pesticide-residue standards under Japan's Food Sanitation Act is required in addition to Vietnam's domestic standards.
The pesticide Positive List system (in force since 2006) in particular covers more than 380 regulated pesticides. Unless pesticide management is thorough from the raw-rice production stage, there is a risk of being rejected at quarantine on import.
The Mekong Delta and the sourcing of pho rice
The Mekong Delta, Vietnam's largest rice-producing region, is a key supply area for pho rice. With a climate that allows three crops a year and abundant water resources, it produces about 24 million tonnes of rice a year.
Mekong Delta rice is dominated by long-grain, low-stickiness varieties, and its strength is high suitability for noodle making. In recent years, however, saltwater intrusion from climate change has worsened, and effects on quality and yield are beginning to appear in some areas.
Noodle factories are concentrated in the Mekong Delta, and many large noodle-processing facilities are located in Binh Duong and Long An provinces near Ho Chi Minh City.
The Japanese market and Vietnamese pho | Import trends and points to watch
Against the backdrop of the popularity of Vietnamese food in Japan, imports of dry pho are rising year after year. In 2022, the export to Japan value of Vietnamese dry noodles recorded a roughly 15% increase over the previous year.
There are three points food importers should watch when selecting products.
- Proof of origin for the raw rice: whether the province and variety can be traced
- HACCP and ISO certification of the noodle factory: whether a quality-control system is in place
- Pesticide-test certificate: a record of testing that meets Japan's pesticide-residue standards
In recent years especially, more buyers are demanding transparency from their sources, and traceability of the raw rice is becoming a competitive advantage.
Summary
Pho may look like a simple dish, but from the selection of the raw rice to the noodle-making process and quality control, it is a product in which agriculture and food processing are intricately intertwined.
- Pho rice is best suited to indica varieties with high amylose and low protein
- Noodle making is based on five steps: soaking, grinding, steaming, cutting, and drying
- The key indicators in raw-rice quality standards are moisture, broken-grain ratio, and pesticide residue
- For exports to Japan, Positive List compliance and raw-material traceability are important
Understanding Vietnam's pho industry is the same as understanding the supply chain of rice farming as a whole. For people in agriculture and food importers, grasping the realities of production on the ground is the first step to raising the quality of their business.
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