Spices

Star Anise

Native to Vietnam and China, Star Anise is one of the two key spices in Pho noodles soup. It is a beautiful star-shaped fruit that grows on an evergreen scrub. Each Star Anise has five to ten pointed 'boat-shaped' sections with a small hard seed inside each section. This fruit is picked before ripening and then dried.

Star Anise is used mostly to marinate meat and poultry dishes and found widely in Asian cooking. You can taste this spice in soups, candy, cookies and breath fresheners. Other health-related benefits - combating colic and rheumatism, flavoring medicinal teas and cough syrups - use Star Anise.

The Star Anise in our Happy Pho spice packet is of the best quality and USDA Organic certified. We only want finest ingredients for our Pho noodles.

Saigon Cinnamon

Often regarded by spice connoisseurs around the world as the best, Saigon Cinnamon has a distinctive, tantalizing taste and solely grown in its native country of Vietnam.  We can't agree more. Its flavor is unmatched by any other variety.  Yum!

Perhaps the bark makes a difference… thick, rich-dark brown in color. As a little kid, Thao has fond memories of nibbling on Saigon Cinnamon bark walking to her school in the Old Quarter of Hanoi.  It makes a delicious, sweet and spicy warming treat during the winter months…

Saigon Cinnamon contributes a unique and one-of-a-kind flavor to our Happy Pho. Plus our Saigon Cinnamon is USDA Organic certified. We wanted the highest quality ingredient in our soup base. Why not?