Pho Van makes eating out easy on the health minded conscience.
March, 2006 Portland, Oregon

Counting calories? Points? Limiting carbs? No carbs with protein? Nothing but grapefruit? Where do you begin? Proper nutrition often seems complicated, leading people to try all kinds of fad diet plans without sustainable results. But just as you don't need to be a certified mechanic to operate and maintain your car, neither do you need to be a doctor or nutritionist to have a healthy body. One of Northwest Portland's favorite ethnic restaurants serves up seductively flavored dishes that, despite their decadent taste, are easy on the waistline.

When it comes to balancing flavor with nutrition, Vietnamese food is ahead of its geographic brethren. Most dishes native to Viet Nam shy away from fat laden ingredients such as large portions of oils and coconut milk, tending more toward colorful, fragrant, fresh vegetables and herbs, and judicious use of fried ingredients for flavor.

Pho Van is no exception. Ben Tan, the restaurant's vivacious assistant manager ushers me into to the restaurant's open, spacious dining room. Many of the tables abut windows and a young couple gazes out at passersby. They look a bit sheepish when I ask them about healthy food just as a waiter drops an audaciously pink raspberry cheesecake on their table. "We don't usually have dessert," says Anika Tudorache, "normally we are so full by the end of dinner." Her partner, Jeremy, chimes in, "This cake is delicious and we don't have to feel guilty because the rest of our food was relatively low in fat." He explains that they had the salad rolls, substituting nouc mam for the usual penut sauce, and a beef pho soup. Pho is a popular Vietnamese soup with noodles, consommé, thin slices of meat, herbs, and grilled onion, along with lemon, chili, herbs and spices. "The broth is the best part," says Jeremy, "It's light and filling."

The average American consumes far more protein per day than is needed (two cups of low-fat milk and a piece of meat the size of a deck of playing cards is sufficient for most). Excess protein causes metabolic burdens on the kidneys and liver; however, the thinly sliced strips of beef in Pho mean it delivers all of the robust flavor of meat without going completely overboard on servings of fat and protein. Pho Van's menu provides plenty of options for those who want to enjoy a restaurant dinner minus the moral hangover that usually follows.

Two of the restaurant's signature dishes are light on fat, packed with good carbs, and full of complex flavors, aromas, and textures. The Goi Bap Chuoi (banana blossom salad) is a beautifully festive plate. The banana blossom is the flower of the banana plant. Like an artichoke, its outer leaves are often too tough to be eaten. Pho Van uses the burgundy shell of the blossom to cradle the tan, soft pink and yellow ribbon-like shreds of the blossom's interior, moist chicken breast, and a sprinkling of: grapefruit, julienned jicama, and dark green rau ram. Rau ram, also known as Vietnamese coriander, is a fresh herb. Along with a light fish sauce, honey, and lime dressing, it gives the dish a strong taste of spring time. Hints of citrus are the first scent to greet your nose. Half an ounce of caramelized fried onion provides just the right amount of oil to balance the springtime taste of the dish, and helps bind the unique blend of flavors. At only $7 Goi Bap Chuoi makes a perfect choice for a health-minded lunch.

Ben returns to my table with a look of utter delight. Like a child presenting his most precious show-and-tell, he slowly unwraps a dark green banana leaf covering the Ca Hap (steamed sea bass). The filet is sprinkled with amber strands of fried and raw scallion. Beige underbellies of shitake mushrooms peer up from a honey-colored sauce. Hints of sesame oil and soy waft from the plate. I can understand Ben's enthusiasm as I savor the buttery consistency of the dish. Sea bass is white-colored fish, a lean member of the Drum family. In this preparation the flavors are so well rounded that no one ingredient overwhelms. I note the gentlest suggestion of: shitake, ginger, and sesame oil. The Ca Hap is served with a cup of steamed rice. The restaurant gladly substitutes brown rice for the standard white upon request. I can wholeheartedly declare the steamed sea bass worthy of its $21 price tag.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than half of Oregon's residents are considered obese or overweight. Even on a global scale, research shows that social determinants play an important role in individual health and well being. Research commissioned by the World Health Organization states that, "People's lifestyles and the conditions in which they live and work strongly influence their health." Luckily for us, Pho Van shares with us what the Vietnamese know about good health without asking us to give up what NW Portland foodies demand on flavor.

Tanya Barham is the owner of Recess, a Portland company specializing in fitness, wellness, and health. tanya@recessfitness.com