25 Oct 5th–Oct 11th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | banh hoi, comprise a full third of the menu. Bun kho — likely familiar to those who frequent pho joints — are skinny rice vermi- celli noodles, served chilled in a bowl with lettuce and fresh herbs, garnished with pickled vegetables and crushed peanuts, and topped with whatever manner of Vietnamese nibbles float your boat. With a splash of sweet fish sauce, this is hot weather food made with the same elements as the com tam dishes reconfigured into a format that’s light and refreshing. Banh hoi, meanwhile, are a little less common around town, but they’re another playful variation on the theme. These ultrafine rice noodles are woven into a tight, spongy lattice and formed into thick sheets that are steamed and cut into smaller squares. Served similarly to com tam, they soak up the sauce from the grilled delicacies and are delicious eaten as-is. But they’re served with a plate of lettuce and garnish for rolling and dipping, if you like. Noodles for breakfast Everyone should feel comfortable exploring Com Tam Thuan Kieu’s noodle soups. Though you may wish to reconsider when you order them. Everything is available from open to close, and there’s no stigma attached to ordering whenever you please. But this is a spot where you can grab noodle soups as they’re often eaten in Vietnam: for breakfast. The hu tieu at Com Tam Thuan Kieu is just as compelling as the restaurant’s namesake dish. It’s available with rice noodles or egg noodles served wet or dry and with any number of additions. The common element is the broth. Pho-philes will feel right at home ordering the hu tieu banh pho nam vang, a familiar tangle of clear rice noodles swim- ming in a bowlful of clear broth along with shrimp, sliced pork, ground pork and a bobbing, poached quail egg if you’re lucky. But this broth is less fragrant and more hearty than its beefy brethren, a silky concoction that’s lush and umami-rich. It’s beautiful on its own, but here’s where you can season as you see fit. A light touch is plenty. A few drops of fish sauce, a squirt of citrus or a scattering of torn chrysanthemum leaves from the accompanying garnish plate, and the soup goes from savory to sublime. This is the kind of dish that doesn’t peak until you’re halfway through, when you’ve dialed in your seasonings and the broth’s luscious lick of pork fat has coated your tongue. Suddenly it clicks, and every slurp blooms with a rich warmth that wraps itself around you and follows you out the door when you leave. The mi bo vien served dry is one of my favorite variations. Covered with scallions, chives and crispy fried shallots, it’s a bowl of skinny, delicate egg noodles served with bo vien — robust Vietnamese beef meatballs heavily worked and fortified with starch to give them a bit of a snap and a dense, hearty chew. This is the opposite of what we find desirable in European meatballs and a text- book example of how there’s more than one way to do things “right.” Perhaps the best part of ordering hu tieu dry is that the broth comes on the side, plain as can be, completely unadorned but for a few bits of scallion and a small cube of stewed pork. There may be no better way to appreciate Com Tam Thuan Kieu’s broth. And that hunk of pork, though it contains cartilage and connective tissue, has stewed so long that it dissolves on your tongue like a cloud of liquid meat, a melt- away bit of pure unadorned porky bliss. Too many good things There’s much more to try at Com Tam Thuan Kieu, and within the broader scope of Vietnamese cuisine, even this hefty menu is barely a drop in the bucket. So why is getting people to try anything other than pho such a heavy lift? It’s tempting to blame the internet’s bandwagoning winner-take-all culture, where what’s “best” and what isn’t is the only framework that sells. Or perhaps our collective obsession with iconic dishes is more a matter of social identity than culi- nary preference. But I’d like to think that more people would be willing to quit hugging the trunk and step out on a limb if they just had a bit of a guide to give them permission. So consider the menu at Com Tam Thuan Kieu a guide. No more excuses. Get going. Com Tam Thuan Kieu 66 S. Dobson Road, Mesa (Inside Mekong Plaza) 480-668-5959 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. daily Starters $6.50-$12; Mains $13-$25. Cha Gio (fried rolls) at Com Tam Thuan Kieu are wrapped in rice paper, which produces a wildly textured, blistered chewy-crisp wrapper. (Photo by Dominic Armato) No Pho? No Problem from p 23
