Supersized soup? Wtp?

October 5, 2009 1:48 PM

What size bowl of noodle soups like pho or udon or ramen do restaurants serve a diner in their cultures of origin?

When I order pho or ramen (in the US), the serving size seems like far more than any single person could eat – somewhere between a quart and a half gallon. Why? Are there graceful ways to share with the table or take home leftovers?

posted by zepheria to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

My girlfriend's family is from Vietnam and they serve huge bowls of pho at home, which I sometimes struggle to finish. She says white people just aren't good at eating soup. Restaurants will probably have takeout containers for soup if you want to take some home though.
posted by ghharr at 1:54 PM on October 5, 2009

Pho and Ramen do not keep well as left overs at all. I've tried a couple of times and gurgh! slimy mess.

At our local places, there's always different sizes. Even the small is tough to get through, I know where you're coming from, but the secret is not eating all the noodles or the broth. That said if you don't want to waste, you can ask for some smaller bowls and share with the table. I've seen people do it with no issues.
posted by Kimberly at 1:54 PM on October 5, 2009

If the pho is not bigger than your head, you're doing it wrong.
posted by rokusan at 1:57 PM on October 5, 2009 [2 favorites]

Its pretty much all carbs, you will digest it in half an hour. You can finish a bowl if you get past how big it looks.
posted by BobbyDigital at 2:08 PM on October 5, 2009

I had pho in Hanoi, and it was served in a massive bowl, about the same as in places back in the US that I've tried. Ditto ramen in Tokyo. And I also hate the way the noodle texture changes in the leftovers. I share, or just accept defeat.
posted by mythomane at 2:10 PM on October 5, 2009

In Thailand, the typical streetside serving of noodles in soup (pronounced, very badly, "gwua tio") would be smaller than what you're describing.

In terms of water I'd guess just above a pint (600ml).

But then again, Thai's love an excuse to eat often so small servings aren't a problem.
posted by selton at 2:19 PM on October 5, 2009

I'm Vietnamese and whenever my family has pho it's served in a gigantic bowl. That's typical of everything my mom serves....Vietnamese people love to feed others. She puts out a ton and you eat what you eat, if there are leftovers, that's fine. By the way, don't take the pho leftovers home....the noodles get super slimy.
posted by fresh-rn at 2:31 PM on October 5, 2009

I've found the trick is not to drink all the broth, which chances are if you get it in a restaurant is flavored with lots of MSG anyway. If you get takeout they'll give you the broth and the noodles separately and you can make two meals out of it. But rice noodles won't keep well after a broth bath.
posted by moonshine at 2:51 PM on October 5, 2009

In Japan, ramen is usually served in a very large bowl—one liter capacity, if I had to guess. It wouldn't be filled to the brim, though, and you don't necessarily drink much of the broth. An udon bowl might be as large (I didn't eat much udon when I lived there), and a soba bowl would be smaller.
posted by adamrice at 5:16 PM on October 5, 2009

The size of US ramen and Japanese ramen bowls are pretty much the same. That goes for udon too. This seems particularly strange because the serving sizes for other things are much smaller.
posted by vas deference at 9:16 PM on October 5, 2009