- Two popular comfort foods with roots in the heart of Asia.

Both have noodles in a tasty broth, influences from China, and countless fans here in the US.

But when you dig a little deeper, there's a rich history that makes each dish uniquely its own.

Have you ever tasted something that transported you to another world?

Dude, that's so legit.

I'm Chef Yia Vang.

That's what I aim to do every time I cook.

This looks amazing.

As a Hmong refugee from Southeast Asia, I use food as a way to share my culture, my family, and our history.

Join me as we step into the kitchen with local chefs to relish the cuisines and culture of our neighbors.

There is something so satisfying about a bowl of hot noodles.

And two of the best have to be the ones we're talking about today.

pho and ramen.

Do you have a favorite?

Ramen, with its rich broth and tender noodles.

Or pho, famous for its fragrant herbs and tender beef.

Let's dig in with a little history.

The origins of pho, and no, it's not pronounced "foe," are not crystal clear, but most historians agree, it was invented in the early 20th century in northern Vietnam.

It's thought the dish was influenced, both by the Chinese communities that settled in the area, as well as French colonizers.

Pho has similar ingredients to a popular Chinese dish of that time.

But beef, which is a classic pho ingredient, is credited to the French.

Over time, the Vietnamese made pho uniquely their own.

And a century later, it is loved around the world.

As with pho, the origin story of ramen varies depending on who you ask.

But most historians agree, Chinese immigrants inspired the dish when they brought wheat noodles into Japan in the 19th century.

Originally found in traditional Chinese soups in Yokohama's Chinatown, the Japanese quickly began putting their own stamp on the dish, using local spices, flavors and ingredients.

Just as the history is complicated, so is the food itself.

Each bowl of pho and ramen is different, depending on who's making it.

When it comes to ramen, my favorite comes from the chef who runs this spot.

Meet John Ng.

He's the chef behind one of the Twin City's most popular ramen shops.

He's known around town and the Internet as the Ramen Architect.

Time to find out why.

(upbeat music) - Basically, I was born in Hong Kong.

I moved here when I was 16 years old.

And the first place I landed was San Francisco.

So I went to high school, college.

While I was pursuing architecture as my major, I was also working part-time in a Japanese restaurant.

That's how I become who I am now, I guess.

After a while, I realized that being an architect is different than what I imagined.

There's always something more I want in cooking.

(gentle music) - John, I'm really excited to dig in here with you.

What kind of ramen are we making today?

- Today we are gonna make a Champon ramen, which is a very traditional seafood and pork ramen with miso in it.

- Tell me how going to school for an architect, how does that connect with building a good broth for a ramen?

- I think, first of all, it is knowing the ingredients.

To me, ingredients is like building materials, right?

The more you know how they come about, the better it is.

- [Yia] Is there anything that you pull from childhood flavors through your mom, through your grandma?

- [John] Yeah, I definitely do.

Especially when I come down to vegetable.

Like whenever she stir fry a vegetable dish, I remember the exact flavor of which kind of vegetable she used.

So that really bring me back to my childhood.

And then I try to bring that flavor back.

- And you do a lot of the sketches of your ramen bowls - Right.

- And your ideas.

Talk to me a little bit about that.

- That part is part of my training as an architect.

(gentle music) It's like a chopping board, but it's in my mind.

The way I cut things, the way I want to lay them together, when I have a question of "How do I cut them?"

Those are really helpful too for me.

That's how I use my sketches to create my bowl of ramen.

(gentle music) (hammering chopping board) Now we're finished cutting our ingredients.

Let's go ahead and start making broth.

- Awesome.

Let's do this.

- Yeah.

To start, we have chicken backbones.

- Okay.

- Chicken feet and chicken skin.

(gentle music) Also one trick too.

You see me, I'm leaving the center open a little bit.

- [Yia] Yep.

- [John] The reason you do that is because when it start rapidly boiling, you want to center core to have intense heat to start rolling out.

- Okay.

- It's kind of like building something.

- It's kind of like being an architect, right?

- Yeah, sure.

(gentle music) - With all this chicken feet here, I just wanna wave to them.

It's like high five, high five.

There you go.

- Skin will cook by itself as its own pot.

The skin will produce the creaminess to the broth.

And the bones itself will create flavor.

All we have to do is just add some water in it.

- Yeah.

(gentle music) So with these two, how long does it take?

- Well, the skin is gonna take about two to three hours.

Bones and the feet, because of the bones, obviously, it'll take longer.

It's about four to six hours, sometimes even longer.

- [Yia] Then after they're done, what do you do with them?

- [John] Well, basically, you have to strain them individually.

And then you have to combine them into one big pot.

- Like would you put the broth as the most important part?

- I think the broth itself is really where it start.

However, I think the most important thing is the dashi.

(gentle music) - Mm.

What's dashi?

- [John] Dashi basically is the extraction from kombu and shiitake.

How you inject that umami flavor in your broth, that is the most important thing.

- [Yia] And the dashi gets added to the broth.

- Right.

Every single form of ramen I do, the broth I do, I will readjust the dashi depending on what I use.

That's why it takes pretty much whole life to learn.

(gentle music) - [Yia] Wow!

- [John] So this is the outcome of the chicken broth.

- [Yia] And that color.

It's like this golden, - [John] Right.

- [Yia] Beautiful, beautiful color.

- [John] Right.

- [Yia] You're right.

It looks very, very clean, you know?

- [John] Yeah.

It take hours.

- [Yia] Yeah.

- [John] And also the thickness of the broth even, control that by using the refractometer.

This is the device to check the thickness of the liquid.

(gentle music) With the light.

- Oh!

- [John] It's up there, right?

- Yeah!

- It's like six or seven, right?

- I feel like a lot smarter, cooking ramen with you right now.

- Yeah.

So it's like seven Brix, or - - What are you looking for?

- I'm looking for anything around five to seven.

- I could just see a bunch of you ramen chefs sitting around and go, "I'm a five."

"Well, I'm a seven and a half.

Oh, no, no, no."

- Like, especially ramen.

I have a lot of influence from learning from my mom and grandmother.

'Cause back in the day when I was kid, you know how Chinese people love to make their herbal soup, right?

It usually take them hours and hours to make that broth.

So that is something that I always remember as I grow up because of my mom and my grandmother cooking those dishes for me.

So that's how I get that flavor profile of complexity.

- [Yia] Okay.

Let's do this, man.

- [John] Yeah.

So you gotta massage noodle first.

(classical music) - [Yia] Oh, are we being gentle though?

- No, you want to squeeze it.

- Oh!

(classical music) - [John] And then you roll it back up to a ball and you're ready to use.

You will start stir frying.

First, you will put ginger, garlic in it.

And then you will add the pork in it.

- [Yia] Yep.

Well, that aroma, right?

- [John] Yeah, that aroma.

So that's the goal right there, right?

(classical music) - Ah!

Yeah!

- [John] Carrot and cabbage in it.

And let it cook until it gets softened.

To me, the traditional part is the process.

But what not traditional is the ingredient we get from our area.

- [Yia] Yeah.

- So I have to find whatever I can find here.

Now, we can probably put the noodle in there.

- Okay.

(classical music) (classical music continues) (classical music continues) (classical music continues) (classical music continues) (gentle music) Look at this thing.

It smells delicious.

It looks delicious.

I don't know what else to say.

Can we dig in?

- We should slurp!

- Like, yeah.

Mm.

Dude.

That's amazing!

In the West here, you're not allowed to slurp, right?

- [John] Right.

- But, - But we slurp in Asia.

- [Yia] Yeah.

- The reason you slurp is because you want to introduce oxygen - [Yia] Okay.

- while you're slurping, to cool down the noodle while you doing it.

So the more you slurp, the more flavor you get.

- Mm.

This, to me, is like just the ultimate of what food is about, right?

- [John] Yeah.

- So you got this kid born in Hong Kong, raised in Hong Kong.

- [John] Right.

- But cooking Japanese food, like, - [John] Yeah.

- Tell me about that love.

- I think to me it's, I just look at it as just food in general.

I don't have a boundary of Japanese food, Korean food, Chinese food, American food.

To me, food is food.

- So, you know what I always get asked, is that word authentic and traditional.

- [John] Right.

- People can look at you and be like, "Well, you're a dude from Hong Kong, like..." - [John] Right.

- Are you really making authentic ramen?

- Right.

- Are you really making traditional ramen?

- [John] Right.

- How do you answer that?

How do you talk to 'em about that?

- I think the best answer I can give them is authenticity is based on your memories, right?

It's not whether how you look and what you speak.

It's all about your memory.

In food, this case, it's all about your palate memory, right?

- Thank you so much, man.

- No, it's my pleasure.

- You let me into your kitchen.

You let me a little bit into your heart to kind of see how everything works, man.

- But that's what friends are for.

(gentle music) - You might think that a chef like John will scoff at a pack of instant ramen just like this.

Well, you'd be wrong.

This type of ramen was considered revolutionary when it was invented in 1958 by Japanese businessman, Momofuku Ando.

The invention quickly spread across Japan and beyond.

Today, more than 100 billion packages of instant ramen are consumed every year, including five billion here in the US.

As the noodles spread across the world, different regions made changes to adapt to local flavors and ingredients.

And people are still making instant noodles their own.

- Today I'm testing out the viral ramen with everything bagel seasoning going around on the Internet.

- [Speaker] This is called Soondubu ramen.

It's made with only a microwave.

- Grab some everything but the bagel seasoning and season it with that.

- [Speaker 1] Are you craving cheesy, spicy ramen noodles?

- It's simply delicious.

- Making instant noodles, growing up, was like choose your own adventure.

You could put whatever you want into it.

You can do meats, you can do vegetables, you can do eggs, you can do more meats.

And now we're gonna go meet a chef who does things his own way.

Meet Chef Hai Truong.

For decades, his family has shared Vietnamese cuisine at some of the most iconic pho spots in the Twin Cities, including the former Ngon Bistro, where Hai served up his twist on this classic dish.

- Hey, how are you?

- Pretty good.

How are you doing?

- Good, good.

- What you got going on?

- Hanging out with you.

- Yeah.

(gentle music) So here at United Noodles, I love the produce section.

- [Hai] Yeah.

- Because you could just smell all those fresh herbs and vegetables and everything, you know?

- Yeah.

I always walk through here first.

- Yeah.

- Especially if I'm trying to think of something to cook.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- I like to touch and feel and smell.

- Yep.

- [Hai] What's fresh?

What's good?

Just take a look at the ginger.

It's really nice.

- [Yia] How do you tell if it's fresh ginger?

- [Hai] The lighter colors are really nice.

Looks like this is their Thai basil.

- [Yia] That whole box just smells incredible.

- [Hai] Yeah.

- Yeah, we'll just throw that in there.

- Throw that in there.

- Yeah.

Every time I do sprouts, I always try to stay away from the pre-bagged ones.

- [Hai] Yeah.

- 'Cause you kind of just don't know how long it's been there.

It gets wet, it gets soggy.

- Yeah.

Go in the grocery store.

Just kind of have to look and see what's looking good.

If something's looking wilted.

- Yep.

- Skip it.

You can make something else.

- Yep.

Oh, we got this cilantro.

The bundle of cilantro looks amazing.

(gentle music) - [Hai] Well, looks like we found the spice aisle.

- Oh, here we go.

- There you go.

anise.

- Yep.

Oh, that's.. - [Hai] This is cinnamon, but.. - It's a little different, right?

- It's a little different.

- Oh, these guys?

- Yeah.

- Oh, okay.

Yeah.

These are more like a tree bark.

- Yeah.

- What else?

- I love the spice oil.

You're looking at stuff, you're like, I don't know what that is, but you know what?

If they have a small packet, I'm gonna buy it and try it.

- Yeah.

- You can put it in your mouth.

Taste it.

You can steep it in something.

Figure out what the flavor is.

There's a little thing called the internet, so, - [Yia] Well, bro, I'm getting hungry just talking about the ingredients, smelling the ingredients.

Let's go make some pho.

- Yeah, let's go make some.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) My dad started the Caravelle restaurant.

- Okay.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- So, - In this building?

- This building.

- Okay.

(gentle music) - I went to school for economics, went into finance, but I still helped out at the restaurant.

He sold this to one of my aunts.

(gentle music) I couldn't do the corporate life.

I need to do something creative.

I went to my boss, it's like, "I'm done."

(gentle music) - You shifted from the world of finance to the world of food.

(gentle music) - My dad knew I was looking for a restaurant.

He's like, "Your aunt's retiring.

You interested?"

(upbeat music) The restaurant was open for a little over 16 years.

I spent so much time trying to perfect my recipes and I do everything based off of taste.

- [Yia] Yeah.

- My recipes are all tastes, taste memories, and kind of visualization of what needs to go in there.

So I start seeing like images.

- You and I kind of have that similar background of coming here as refugees and immigrants, so, - Yeah.

- When did you guys get to this country?

- '79.

One of our restaurants that my dad and my family's part of is Pho 79.

And the 79 is the year that we got here.

- Where did you guys end up?

- So we were in the Cedar Riverside.

There was a huge Vietnamese community there.

And you play with kids that know your language, so.

- [Yia] Yeah, and look like you, and everything, yeah.

- Being an immigrant, you don't remember a lot of things.

'Cause there's a lot of little traumatization.

Your childhood is not as clear as.

Some people are like, "What do you mean you don't remember?"

It's like, "I don't."

My mind blocked it out for a reason.

I don't really wanna go there, so, - Yeah, I feel the same way.

Because even being in the refugee camp?

- Yeah.

- I think to myself, "Was this like a memory?

Or was this like a dream that I made up?"

- [Hai] I remember the days that my grandma would make stuff for United Noodles.

Like the whole house is just steaming.

And even things like that I try to recreate.

'Cause I have a craving for it.

And that's how I cook.

And based off of what I remember eating and what the flavors are and stuff like that.

- Talk me through the pho.

I mean, it's now your "traditional," you know?

- [Hai] Yeah.

- So talk me through that.

- So the ingredients, the bones are very important, and everything else that making the stuff like the meatballs is very important.

It is using just great beef bones.

Using grass-fed beef makes a difference.

It's a slow process where we roast it, we slow cook it.

The pots will, it'll steep until we need it, or when we're ready, so.

The longer it cooks, the better.

- All this talking about the pho, dude, I'd love to just kind of dig in with you and see how you do this.

- [Hai] Yeah.

(gentle music) Make myself spices for the pho.

I've had these things for about 16 years.

Can't get rid of 'em.

- [Yia] Yeah.

- [Hai] There's just something, you can see the season.

- [Yia] Some of the key ingredients here are the cinnamon.

- Yeah.

I call it Vietnamese cinnamon.

- It's such a different smell too.

- [Hai] Yeah.

- You have the cloves.

You have the star anise.

Is there anything else, or?

- There's plenty of other stuff.

We call it a family recipe, but it's also my recipe.

Yeah, this is the kind of stuff, when you walk through the Asian stores, when you go to Chinatown.

- [Yia] Yeah.

- [Hai] You walk in those spice herbal places you got.. - For me, it smells like grandma's house.

- [Hai] Yeah.

(gentle music) - So, Hai, then do we just throw this in the broth, or what happens next?

- I take it upstairs.

I toast it.

I put it in a spice bag.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) So does this smell like your grandma's spice cabinet now?

- [Yia] Absolutely, it does, man.

Like I know those smells by heart.

- Yeah.

- [Yia] You know what I'm saying?

- No, absolutely.

(gentle music) - So, Hai, when do you put this in the pho broth?

- Right at the end.

So when we're ready for the pho broth, you start smelling it in the kitchen.

Even with the hood going, it fills the kitchen.

- And that's like the whole thing when we're talking about like, kind of that interaction when it comes to cooking, right?

- [Hai] Yeah.

- It's all the senses.

- Smell, taste, listening to it.

Because you can hear how the broth bubbles.

- Yeah.

- [Hai] Four senses.

- I was gonna say that.

- You know when it's too hot.

Having my son made a big difference.

It gives me kind of a purpose.

Growing up in a family that owned their own business, it's tough.

My parents worked so much.

We only had that Sunday and I did not want to do that.

I'm like, "I don't want to be here every day."

I don't wanna be back in that corporate life where I'm losing myself because I'm making stuff that I think people would want.

I wanna be creative, but make food that I want to eat.

And I hope people enjoy my expression.

- So we're making meatballs for the pho.

Talk me through this process here.

And what is this thing?

- Buffalo chopper.

Gets to a certain consistency that I enjoy.

We use grass-fed beef.

I marinate it, I spice it, I let it sit.

Then I do this right before I make the meatballs.

(chopper whirring) - [Yia] How can you tell?

- [Hai] See how it sticks?

- [Yia] Yeah.

- [Hai] So it becomes a literal - - [Yia] Paste?

- [Hai] Paste.

- [Yia] Man, you're gonna have to teach me this technique.

'cause I've never done meatballs like this before.

- [Hai] Fold over.

Scoop.

- [Yia] And just drop it in?

- [Hai] Right in there.

- [Yia] Dang.

You're so good at this, bro.

I can't!

(gentle music) I just feel like I'm mashing this up.

This is, it's so fun!

You're right, when you say like, there's this texture to it that you're looking for.

Because you wouldn't be able to do this if the texture wasn't right.

But it is like, I'm like overthinking this.

Oh man, mine's a rustic.

(upbeat music) (Yia laughing) Mine looks like some weird alien head.

- So we're just letting it cook.

So see, when they float?

- [Yia] Mm hmm.

- [Hai] That means they're ready.

- [Yia] That's amazing!

- There's one of your alien ones.

A little appendage going out there, right there.

- Yes.

- [Hai] It's handmade.

- Yeah, it's handmade.

Looks like another birth of another meatball.

- [Hai] Yeah.

- [Yia] Coming out.

- That's where meatballs come from.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) All right, there's the noodles that we just cooked.

Oh, there's your special one.

- [Yia] Yeah.

- [Hai] I'll put that in your bowl.

- [Yia] Thank you.

- Cilantro onion mix that we cut earlier.

I just like it a little bit liberal.

- And I love how thinly all this is done.

So when you put that hot broth in, - Yeah.

- It cooks it gently.

- Yeah, absolutely.

And the key is boiling hot broth.

And you got to get it to boiling point.

(gentle music) - And when you're putting the broth in, are you one of those guys?

Yes.

You cover it.

- [Hai] You cover it.

(gentle music) Sprouts, basil.

- [Yia] Oh yeah.

That Thai basil, dude.

- [Hai] Get that stem out.

Pile it on.

Jalapenos.

- [Yia] Yep.

- And limes.

That's for the side.

Ready for some food?

- [Yia] Awesome.

Let's do this.

- [Hai] All right.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues) - Oh man, dude, that's so legit.

- [Hai] Thanks.

- Oh man.

That meat ball in there?

- Yeah.

- It's delicious.

What do you enjoy about being a chef?

- Getting people to enjoy what I create.

And when you see someone enjoy it, it makes you feel good.

It uses all your senses to create this memory.

- For me, I've been eating pho my whole life, but spending the day here with you has given me a deeper appreciation for pho.

So thank you so much.

- Well good, good.

- I'll be very honest.

I picked up a few techniques.

- Yeah?

- Working with you, and then I'm gonna be working on those meatballs.

- [Hai] Yeah.

- What I've learned from John and Hai is this.

That from every strand of noodle to every drop of broth in that bowl, it tells their story.

And every story deserves to be heard.

So no need to play favorites when it comes to these two classic meals.

I encourage you to find that local shop in your neighborhood.

Grab that big bowl of noodles and listen to the stories all around you.

(gentle music) (gentle music continues)