Pho do treo gio (wind-dried red noodles served with chicken) is an original dish of the Xin Man land, the western part of Ha Giang province. 

Pham Phong Ba, 40, the owner of Xin Man Pho Restaurant, said the dish has a special name because of the original materials it uses and the sophisticated recipe.

The most noticeable is the red noodles, which are made manually from red rice, or ‘huyet rong’ (Oryza sativa L) and white rice cultivated by local people, and therefore, they have a special flavor.

Red and white rice is mixed in reasonable proportions, which can be flexible to create dark red or light red color. However, Ba said the proportion must not be more than 1/5 (one unit of red rice and five units of white rice). After soaking rice for five hours, rice is ground and filtered to get powder for making noodles.

Noodles, after made, will be hung in the wind to create wind-dried noodles

“After a lot of experiments, I found that mixing rice at the ratio of 1/7 (one unit of red rice and 7 units of white rice) will give the best noodles. If using too much red rice, the rice paper will be too firm,” Ba said.

“When the process of making rice noodles finishes, the noodles will be hung indoors to evaporate the water to prevent them from becoming soggy and sticky,” he explained.

The interesting thing is that the rice powder is white, but after it is steamed, it will turn red brown. The dish is called ‘pho do’ (red pho).

When diners come, the restaurant owner will pull the noodles down and slice them. As the noodles are made manually, they are thicker and wider than white rice noodles.

The sliced ​​noodles will be dipped in boiling water, then scooped out and put into a bowl to ensure the right chewiness and softness.

Pho do Xin Man is serviced with chicken instead of beef. The chicken in the highlands is special as fowls are free range and therefore, the meat is more delicious.

“I mostly use castrated roosters which are believed to have more nutritional value with moderate toughness. You will feel natural sweetness and aroma when eating it,” the 40-year-old restaurant owner said.

Regarding the broth, Ba said it is processed from black-pig bones and chicken bones, simmered for many hours with spices.

Thao Trinh