Beaverton pizzeria explores Asian American culture with its food

On a bustling Saturday afternoon at the Beaverton Farmers Market, Aaron Truong and his wife Natalie are busy stretching dough, slathering marinara sauce and selling whole pizzas under their Hapa Pizza canopy.

The word “hapa” comes from the Native Hawaiian definition for “half.” In the modern sense, it most commonly refers to someone who identifies as half Asian or Pacific Islander and half white, but in Hawaii, it’s used to refer to anyone of mixed race. And Aaron believes it’s the perfect way to describe his modern take on pizzas.

“We’re taking elements of both of these cultures that have influenced us and bringing them together to make something new,” Aaron says.

While Natalie takes customer orders at the front table, Aaron and three staffers, all friends and family members, operate three small pizza ovens in the back — aiming to turn out several pies as quickly as possible.

Their most popular menu item is the phở pizza. It’s topped with ingredients normally found in the iconic Vietnamese soup dish, including bean sprouts, Thai basil, braised beef brisket and a house-made special sauce.

“It’s a reduced phở broth that we’ve been able to thicken to get the sauce consistency,” explains Aaron. “The brisket is slow-cooked in the broth so that it kind of absorbs a lot of the flavor.”