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A clear, aromatic broth — the most delicate thing on this list, and the easiest to steamroller.
A dry Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, or a very light Pinot Noir served cool. The problem here is not clashing. It is overwhelming.
Pho is the opposite problem to ramen. The broth is clear rather than emulsified, simmered with charred ginger and onion and perfumed with star anise, cinnamon and cloves. It is aromatic, savoury and quite delicate, and it arrives with a pile of raw herbs, lime and chilli to be added at the table. Almost any wine with real weight or oak will simply flatten it.
The defining flavours of pho are warm baking spices. Star anise is the loudest, and its character comes from anethole — the same compound behind fennel and liquorice, which is why those three taste related. A wine with its own aromatic top notes meets that; a neutral wine sits underneath it doing nothing.
Riesling is the best answer for the same reason it is good with so much Asian food: intense aromatics, very high acidity, low alcohol, no tannin. Dry rather than off-dry here, because pho is savoury rather than sweet — a Trocken from Germany or an Alsace Riesling.
Pho is finished by the person eating it. A squeeze of lime raises the acidity sharply, which means the wine needs enough of its own not to be flattened. Fresh chilli brings heat, which argues for lower alcohol. Thai basil and coriander add a green, aniseed edge that will make a herbaceous wine taste greener still.
That last point is worth knowing: a grassy Sauvignon Blanc plus a fistful of raw herbs is a doubling rather than a match, and the result can taste stalky. Riesling and Grüner Veltliner are aromatic without being herbaceous, which is the distinction that matters.
Pho bo is a beef dish, and the instinct to reach for red is reasonable. Keep it very light and serve it cool: a village red Burgundy, a Beaujolais cru, or a cool-climate Pinot Noir. Anything with real tannin or oak will bulldoze a broth this fine.
One structural note: the broth is served scalding hot, and heat mutes your perception of aromatics and sharpens alcohol. A cool glass alongside a very hot bowl is a bigger contrast than it sounds, and it works in the wine’s favour.
A dry Riesling, a Grüner Veltliner, or a very light Pinot Noir served cool. The broth is delicate, so the wine has to be aromatic without being heavy.
Both contain anethole, the same aromatic compound, which is also what gives fennel its character. It is the loudest note in a pho broth and the one the wine has to meet.
Dry. Pho is savoury rather than sweet, unlike Pad Thai — a German Trocken or an Alsace Riesling rather than a Kabinett.
Less well than you would think. The raw Thai basil and coriander already bring a green, aniseed edge, and a grassy Sauvignon doubles it rather than balancing it. Riesling is aromatic without being herbaceous, which is what you want.
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