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The history of Vietnam is as complex as it is fascinating. Travel back in time with us to the days of peasants and emperors, colonisation and revolutions to discover the lineage of some of Vietnam’s most essential dishes. Here’s how phở , bánh xèo and cà phê sữa đá shine a light into a complex country.An Early Start, and the Birth of NoodlesThe known history of Vietnam began around 12,000 BC, when the indigenous people of Vietnam settled in the Hong River Valley. There was possible to sustain life through hunting and harvesting plants.Six thousand years later we can see evidence of agricultural advances, and the Vietnamese people began wet rice farming. This rice, as well as the herbs, plants, fish and meat readily available on the fertile lands of Vietnam, was the early base of the Vietnamese diet.foodImage source: retailnews.asiaThough rice has always been one of the nutritional staples for the Vietnamese people, the cuisine would eventually evolve as cooking tools became more sophisticated, and as the influences from other countries became stronger.In the 2nd century BC, the entirety of what was then known as Nam Viet was considered to be a Chinese province. For 1,000 years the Vietnamese people would live under the reign of various Chinese dynasties, and this proximity, though often fraught with political strife, would have a by-product: noodlesNoodles were invented in China sometime around the time of the East Han Dynasty. Originally made with millet or other grains native to China, the recipe soon expanded to include new forms made with wheat, rice and eggs. These noodles and the techniques needed to create them were exported to Vietnam; soon they were being used in different and delicious ways.
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foodImage source: fthmb.tqn.comHere we are, more than 2,000 years in the past, and noodles have come to Vietnam, so this must be when phở was invented, right? Wrong. Surprisingly, phở, the most famous Vietnamese dish in the world, was only created in Northern Vietnam in the early 20th century. By then the Chinese rule in Vietnam had long come to an end and the colonialist French had arrived on scene. From 1887 to 1954, Vietnam was an essential part of French Indochina, and the strong culinary influences of la cuisine Francaise in modern Vietnamese food can still be seen today.A French TouchThe fusion of Vietnamese noodles and herbs with a French beef broth is likely the basis for the original phở. In addition, the word for the soup itself has French roots. The French word pot-au-feu literally translates to pot in the fire. A pot-au-feu is traditionally made by boiling beef bones and vegetables in water and then adding meat to make a soup. If you pronounce phở so that it rhymes with ‘duh’, you will get pretty close to feu, the French word for fire.