Winter 2025 | Feature

Staple Soups of Asia

Diving into the cultural significance of pho, ramen, and tom yum.

Across Eastern and Southeastern Asia, soups composed of layers of distinctive-yet-subtle fresh flavors are culinary staples reflective of the diverse cultures from which they originate. Among the soups hailing from Vietnam, Thailand, and Japan, many share the same ingredients because they grow in comparable climates, yet each nation makes its own unique contributions as well, giving each dish its characteristic aromatics and flavors.

Soups from this region of the world are generally broth based rather than creamy, as dairy isn’t culturally prevalent across the continent — in fact, it’s actively avoided in countries with strong Buddhist or Hindu presences.

Pho, tom yum, and ramen are comforting sources of nutrition made from foods grown or found in their home countries, such as galangal (a relative of ginger) in Thailand. A single pot of soup can feed many people cost-effectively. Each also starts with a complex, flavorful foundation to which layers of flavor and heat can be added to the sipper’s individual taste.

So bundle up and grab a spoon as we explore these distinctively delicious soups that can be so comforting on cold winter nights. And meet some of the local masters who make them.

Taste of Thailand
According to Opal Rahm, chef and co-owner of Moo Dang Thai in Reno, tom yum must have three ingredients: lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves. Each provides an essential layer of flavor to the soup, plus they all grow everywhere in Thailand, so they’re easy to find, she says.

Rahm explains that “tom” translates to “boiling” or “soup” in her native Thai; and “yum” means “spicy.” Spiciness is a local preference in Thailand, as Thai chiles are abundant, but Rahm says you don’t have to eat the soup with the chili paste as people in her home country do; it’s just another tier of flavor.

Shrimp, bone-in chicken, and fish sauce also are commonly found in tom yum, as is what Rahm calls “prawn liver” — or tomalley, the fatty substance found in prawn heads that’s often considered a delicacy — which also is generally used in the soup when made in its motherland.

The bone broth she makes every morning includes chicken and pork bones, onions, carrots, daikon, and other aromatics and vegetables that makes Moo Dang’s tom yum memorably mouthwatering. Guests can have proteins added to their soup, such as the pork and beef that are popular in America, Rahm says.

Rahm explains that in Thailand, tom yum is consumed every day, often alongside fried rice. You can find it anywhere in that country.

“Tom yum is a savory soup that, once you have it, it explodes with all the flavor,” Rahm says. “Had to be sourness, had to be saltiness after, and then also the spicy. These three flavors … a good base is going to make a good taste.”

A Local Pho Fixture
In 2017, Don Nguyen became the third owner of Pho 777 in Downtown Reno. Nguyen had already been a regular customer, coming in daily for a taste of his home, Vietnam, after emigrating to The Biggest Little City in 1992. After his 12-hour overnight work shifts, he’d find it difficult to sleep in the daylight, so he headed for Pho 777 to eat the dish that reminded him of home.

Nguyen took over the restaurant from Quyen Nguyen, who, although no relation, had become like a brother to Don. Being familiar with the new owner, who’d patronized the restaurant for 19 years at that point, most of Pho 777’s staff remained.  

Every day of his youth, Don ate pho in Vietnam. While he says pho is something people can — and do — eat daily, now he only eats it a few times a week at the restaurant, often with his wife.

“When I eat the food we have, I remember my mom and my dad,” Don says.

Pho is the national dish of Vietnam and the infant of Asian soups, originating during French colonial rule in the early 20th century. The French often used beef in their recipes, a practice that eventually infiltrated Vietnamese cooking, which had previously used mostly fish, pork, and chicken, according to the Institute of Culinary Education.

Therefore, true Vietnamese pho begins with a beef bone broth, Don explains. Pho 777’s broth, crafted by the restaurant’s longtime chef Consuelo Rosales Valencia, takes at least eight hours to prepare.

The original pho typically contained no vegetables — only noodles and broth — because the dish was created in Northern Vietnam, where colder temperatures make growing vegetables difficult.

Today, several versions can be found on Pho 777’s menu, including vegetarian options with a vegetable-based broth and tofu for protein.

Vegan and vegetarian guests can rest assured that Pho 777’s kitchen contains separate equipment and prep spaces dedicated to preparing vegetable-only dishes. Don can confidently tell guests there is no cross-contamination in the kitchen. His professional credo is to treat guests how he would want to be treated, and his trusted, long-standing team follows suit.

Ramen’s Roots
Ramen became a household name globally when dried noodles packaged with flavor packets were mass produced and sold in 1958 by Japanese food producer Nissin. Today, it’s a mainstay on nearly every college student’s shelves.

However, ramen originated in China. The simple dish comprised of wheat noodles submerged in a meat- or fish-based broth and generally flavored with miso or soy sauce made its way to Japanese shores from China in the mid-1800s. Since then, it has evolved into a version of what we order today at restaurants such as Drunken Monkey in Truckee.

At Drunken Monkey, chef Pablo Martinez starts the restaurant’s ramen with a pork- and chicken-bone broth, which is simmered for a day and a half with vegetables, including green cabbage, carrots, onions, and garlic. Lengthy simmering breaks down the bones’ collagen and fats to create a rich, flavorful broth with a slightly creamy consistency.

Wheat flour, eggs, and soy comprise the far-from-gluten-free ramen noodles that are added to the broth. Chef Martinez then adds seaweed, kimchi, fried garlic, green onions, and honey-soy-glazed pork belly to the dish, elevating it from its humble street-food beginnings to a gourmet umami experience. Spicy ramen lovers can level up the dish’s fire by adding Drunken Monkey’s house-made chili-garlic sauce.

“Doesn’t matter if it’s summer, fall, or winter, I feel like our bodies and souls need a really nice broth,” Martinez says. “Doesn’t have to be winter to have ramen noodle soup; even when it’s really hot, that soup … it’s perfect.”

From affordable fare meant to feed the masses to sought-after creative cuisine, these Asian soups have, thankfully, proliferated beyond their countries’ borders and into bowls the world over. Now we’re the lucky ones who get to enjoy them.

RESOURCES

Drunken Monkey
11253 Brockway Road, Ste. 105, Truckee
530-582-9755 · Drunkenmonkeysushi.com

Moo Dang
1565 S. Virginia St., Reno
775-420-4267 · Thaimoodang.com

Pho 777
102 E. Second St., Reno
775-323-7777 · Pho-777-vietnamese-noodle-restaurant.foodjoyy.com