If you have never had phở, I feel bad for you, son. Because I grew up in Africa, I did not have the chance to enjoy this wonderful dish until I came back to the US for college. It is, to put it candidly, delicious. Phở is made with a meat broth (I have yet to hear of vegetarian phở), rice noodles, and a variety of meat options. I usually get several different kinds of beef, although I also enjoy chicken, and I once braved tripe. Tripe, to me, was pretty boring flavor-wise and oddly chewy.
When you order phở in a restaurant, you usually have options like hoisin sauce and sriracha for dressing it up as well as bean sprouts, lime wedges, basil, and jalapenos. Everyone seasons their phở to their liking, and it is delicious on a cold day. Shoot, I’ll eat it in the middle of summer too. It’s just that good!
On Monday, we were eating phở with a bunch of my friends, and I paused with my utensils in midair. Will there be phở in Mongolia? Will I be able to find hoisin or sriracha in the stores? It seems a little silly to bring Asian condiments to an Asian country from the US, but…I kind of like having these sauces around the house!
The good news is, Google put the first of my fears to rest within a quick search’s time. According to Google maps, there is a phở place in Ulaanbaatar. Phew! Whether or not I can buy hoisin and sriracha in country remains to be discovered.
Judds in Mongolia 