The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its The Gioi & Viet Nam (World and Vietnam) newspaper are willing to cooperate with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper to organize the Day of Pho - December 12, an annual event initiated by Tuoi Tre, overseas, an official from the ministry affirmed at an event held in northern Nam Dinh Province on Saturday.

At the gala dinner of the sixth Day of Pho - December 12 celebration, a program to honor pho, Vietnam’s globally famous noodle dish, Pham Vinh Quang, head of the Department of Cultural Diplomacy and UNESCO under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the ministry is disposed to introduce the Vietnamese noodle soup to international eaters.

According to Quang, the organizer of the event and news agencies have contributed significantly to honoring Vietnam’s rice and rice-based products to the world, thus developing the markets for these Vietnamese products and boosting the country’s economic development.

“Bringing Vietnam’s pho to the world not only means promoting a typical dish of Vietnam but also introducing the quintessence of Vietnam’s culture and people,” Quang added.

The gala dinner was attended by ambassadors and diplomats working in Vietnam as well as leaders of some ministries and agencies.

At the event, the organizer introduced pho, its key spices, and how to make the dish in a bilingual manner through a puppet performance.

Editor-in-Chief of Tuoi Tre newspaper Le The Chu said a way to learn about the culture of a locality or a country is through their cuisine.

This is also the conclusion of global cultural researchers.

Vietnam has many dishes but pho is the most typical. Therefore, pho was named one of the 30 best dishes in the world in 2019.

“In 2020, we introduced pho to distinguished guests, who were diplomats working in Hanoi. We were happy and could not forget that a guest ate seven bowls of pho," Chua said.

“The guest said pho was naturally delicious but on that day, each participating restaurant had their own flavor of pho, so he wanted to enjoy it all to better understand Vietnam’s culinary culture.

“The organizer of the Day of Pho was touched to hear such sincere words."

Speaking at the event, vice-chairman of the People’s Committee of Nam Dinh Province Tran Le Doai said Nam Dinh is not only a cradle of history and culture of the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam but only a place of cross-cultural exchange.

Nam Dinh people are proud of their cuisine. Many dishes of Nam Dinh have been honored, including pho.

The Day of Pho - December 12 this year was held in Nam Dinh, which is known as one of the places of birth of pho.

Nam Dinh people have brought pho to every corner of Vietnam, contributing to making the noodle dish the epitome of Vietnamese cuisine, the official noted.

Day of Pho - December 12 – Tinh Hoa Hoi Tu (Convergence of Quintessence)

The gala of the sixth Day of Pho - December 12 is scheduled to wrap up on Monday with the theme ‘Tinh Hoa Hoi Tu (Convergence of Quintessence)’ by Tuoi Tre in association with the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association and the Nam Dinh People’s Committee, with the official sponsorship of Acecook Vietnam Joint Stock Company.

The Day of Pho - December 12 this year features a series of events, which are organized with the cooperation of the Vietnam Culinary Culture Association, the Nam Dinh People’s Committee, the Department of Cultural Diplomacy and UNESCO, the Press and Information Department, and The Gioi & Viet Nam newspaper.

The program is accompanied by Acecook Vietnam, which has sponsored it for six consecutive years, and Southern Airports Services Joint Stock Company (Sasco), ceramic and porcelain ware producer Minh Long, Ngoc Linh Kon Tum K5 ginseng brand, Number One energy drink brand, Chinsu chili sauce brand, and electrical equipment distributor Quan Pham.

The Day of Pho this year includes many special activities, such as the experience of Vietnamese pho by female ambassadors and wives of male ambassadors working in Vietnam, and a tour to the 100-year-old Van Cu pho village in Nam Dinh Province.

The Day of Pho gala was held on Sunday at Vi Xuyen Park in Nam Dinh with many kinds of pho being featured, including pho Nhang of the Giay ethnic minority group (Nhang is another name of the Giay people), pho ngo (corn) of the H’Mong ethnic minority group, pho hai to (two-bowl pho) from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, pho vit (duck) and pho chua (sour) from the northern mountainous province of Lang Son, and pho from the south, Hanoi, and Nam Dinh.

Loving pho vehicles will serve families of children with cerebral palsy in Nam Dinh on Monday.

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