What meatless subsidy-era pho was nicknamed after unmanned aircraft?

What meatless subsidy-era pho was nicknamed after unmanned aircraft? It was called pilotless pho, or phở không người lái.

The nickname arose during Vietnam’s subsidy period after the Vietnam War, when state-owned pho eateries operated amid severe shortages. Meat and other ingredients were difficult to obtain, so some establishments served a nearly meatless version whose broth could consist largely of boiled water seasoned with monosodium glutamate.

The phrase phở không người lái literally means “pho without a pilot.” It referred humorously to U.S. Air Force unmanned reconnaissance drones, which flew without onboard pilots. The name therefore captured both the dish’s lack of meat and its wartime-era technological reference.

Pilotless pho was not a separate luxury style or a modern vegetarian innovation. It was a product of scarcity and state-controlled food distribution. Bread or cold rice might accompany the soup, and the period’s adaptations influenced later eating habits, including dipping fried dough sticks called quẩy into pho.