The Day of Pho honors Vietnamese national dish

The event is organized by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper in collaboration with the Culinary Culture Association and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism.

Day of Pho, an initiative of the Youth newspaper, was first held in HCM City in 2017 to honor traditional Vietnamese cuisine and its iconic pho noodle soup.

A bowl of pho contains flat, soft rice noodles dipped in a fragrant beef or chicken broth flavored with different condiments. It is served with beef or chicken and shallots and chili and lemon to taste.

After four organizations, the event has attracted an increasing interest from the community in the efforts to foster the national culinary culture.

The highlight of the Day of Pho is a cooking contest to seek and present awards to chefs with great passion for the taste of pho.

There have been no official documents that clarify the origin of pho. French scholars who came to Vietnam from the 19th century were surprised and delighted by the presence of the dish in Vietnamese daily life. French scholars believed that the pho was named according to the Nom script consisting of Chinese characters.

Currently, Pho, Ao Dai and Tet are three words that have been familiar to the world when referring to Vietnam. The dish has many variations depending on the taste in each locality, but the most common types are pho ga (chicken), pho bo (beef), pho kho (dry), pho chua (sour) and pho vit (duck).

Pho has been the inspiration for many of Vietnam's literary and art works. One of the most famous paintings by renowned painter Nam Son (1890-1973), Pho Ganh, depicts a pho street vendor and has been much loved by art enthusiasts.

Writer Nguyen Tuan (1910-1987) wrote an essay about the dish, in which he expressed much affection for pho sellers.

In the field of poetry, poet Tu Mo (1900-1976) wrote a poem Pho Duc Tung, praising the nutrition of pho: "Pho is a great tonic, as good as ten traditional Chinese herbs/ Cinnamon and Ginseng might not be as good as it / Pho nourishes yin and yang, kidney and liver / strengthens the five viscera, extremities, and eight vessels".

Responding to the celebration of the Day of Pho, the Trucks of Pho program has been launched and makes a significant contribution in the fight against COVID-19.  

 By the end of September 2021, 5,300 bowls of hot pho had been served to COVID-19 patients in Le Van Thinh Hospital and a number of satellite medical facilities.

On September 13-15, 5,000 bowls of pho were served to medical staff staying at 24 hotels of Saigontourist Group before they returned to their localities after supporting Ho Chi Minh City to fight against the pandemic.

On November 1, 2000 bowls of pho were delivered to doctors, pediatric patients and their relatives being treated at Children's Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City and another 2,200 bowls were served to patients and doctors at Ho Chi Minh City Cancer Hospital on December 3.

The Day of Pho is having its meaning expanded day by day. Prior to this year’s event, Le The Chu, the Editor-in-Chief of Youth newspaper said: “Not only pho and pho cooks, the Day of Pho also aims to honor agricultural products as raw materials for the dish so that farmers can feel secure in pursuing the farm work.”