PHAN THANH TÂM

International Pho Day

(translated by Kim Vu)

Vietnamese refugees have made a great contribution to humanity’s culinaryculture: a food imbued with Vietnamese national identity. That food is Pho. The delicious, attractive, hot smell of Pho, suitable for all tastes, has conquered the stomachs of people of all religions. Wherever there are footsteps of Vietnamese people, there is Pho.

Pho deserves to be honored by the world to have an International Pho Day, similar to International Tea Day (May 21), International Coffee Day (October 1) and International Happiness Day (March 20). To complement these, we must have International Pho Day, because after eating Pho, it is customary to drink Tea, Beer or Coffee. From East to West, from Europe to Asia, Pho has been a familiar dish to all ethnic groups since 1975.

The 2024 Vietnamese Business Yearbook said that in Little Saigon in Southern California - which is known as the capital of the Vietnamese diaspora with about 200 thousand Vietnamese - there are over two thousand cafes and restaurants, including nearly 200 shops specialized in selling pho. It is very true that if you want to eatVietnamese food, you have to go to California.

When leaving the country, far from their motherland, Vietnamese people still bring with them the dishes of their homeland that they have tasted since the beginning of their lives. In their restaurants, there is almost no shortage of any dish, even the specialties of each region, in the South, Central and North. Especially Pho. Walking around the streets of Westminster, Garden Grove,... there are signs advertising Pho everywhere. Delicious Pho Here. The fame is deserved.

Not only in California but in all American cities, every Vietnamese restaurant has Pho on the menu. The name Pho or Vietnamese Noodle Soup has a position no less than, or even better than Japanese Sushi, Korean Kim Chi, Italian Pizza, Indian Curry, Mexican Taco, Chinese Dumpling or Quebec Poutine. There are many Americans who have identified Vietnam as Pho or Pho as Vietnam.

It's not an error to say that if you want to learn about America's history, you should learn about the history of food in this country through the ages and events. Just as you want to learn about modern Vietnamese history, you should learn about the formation of Pho from the late 19th century to the present. Pho goes from North to South and then Pho crosses the border to free countries.

Pho Day

Pho is different from the foods mentioned above because Pho is global, transcends all borders, races or religions and can be eaten at any time. If there are no cows, there are chickens; Without chickens, we have vegetarian Pho or Seafood Pho. Other foods are only popular in a few countries. Wherever Pho goes, Pho is welcomed by the local people as delicious and nutritious.

Pho in Africa. Pho in Europe. Pho in Australia. Pho in Asia. Pho currently has many copycats: Korean Pho, Indonesian Pho, Thai Pho, Laotian Pho, Hmong Pho calle Fawm. In May 1995, the Washington Post reported that a Pho war almost broke out in the American capital because every restaurant claimed to be the King of Pho.

In order to honor Pho in the land of Sushi, Acecook, a Japanese company, in 2016 has chosen April 4 every year as Pho Day. The Association of Celebrations of the Land of the Rising Sun has recognized this proposal. Why April 4? April 4 is chosen because the English number 4 “four” is pronounced similarly to "Fō", the Japanese way of calling Pho. After that, Acecook also introduced instant Pho to the convenience store system in Japan.

Seeing that Japan has a Pho Day but the country where Pho originates from does not have a Pho Day, Tuoi Tre newspaper in Vietnam in 2017 together with the above mentioned company initiated December 12 as Pho Day. Since then, every year in Vietnam, seminars and exhibitions about Pho have been held to honor and contribute to the preservation and promotion of Vietnamese Pho.

Cooking Pho is a delicate art. Each person can add, process, and reduce ingredients from rice noodles, beef, chicken, etc., vegetables, and spices as long as the Pho broth is rich, sweet, and has the smell of Pho.Pho without smell is hopeless. Hundreds of Pho shops have hundreds of bowls of Pho with different flavors; But every bowl must smell like Pho. The strange smell is difficult to explain but that is the soul of Pho.

Like a person's life, Pho also has ups and downs along the course of Vietnamese  history. The sound of Pho being advertised through street vendors around Hanoi's neighborhoods in the early 20th century was introduced into literature by artists and writers. Not long after, Pho fell into a state of decline. That was the subsidy period in the North from 1954 and the whole country from 1976 to 1986 under the communist socialist regime. In commercial stores, Pho was degenerated, giving birth to unmanned

Pho: Pho without meat is better than nothing.

Pho only flourished and developed strongly after millions of Northerners migrated to the South in 1954. Here, Pho has added coriander, basil, raw bean sprouts, cooked bean sprouts, hoisin sauce, and red sauce. In 1975, Vietnamese refugees left the country, bringing with them their homeland, including Pho. No manifesto; do not ask to cut mountains or fill rivers; no legendary trails; do not worship leaders; Without factions or festivals, Pho has touched the hearts of people all over the world.

Heritage of the country

Pho's Southern Advancement was like the Southern Advancement of Ao Dai, which was peaceful and did not cause death.   In the South, the land of sublimity, appeared Tran Le Xuan ao dai (1958), Raglan ao dai with sleeves (1960), Mini Raglan ao dai (1971). At that time, in the North of Ho Chi Minh in 1947, through the article Doi Song Moi signed Tan Sinh, Ao Dai was no longer the costume of Vietnamese women until 1976. The Southern Advancement of Uncle Ho's soldiers was completely different from Pho. and ao dai because millions of people died in "20 years of civil war every day".

This shows that food and clothing are not to be sneered at. Very precious. Especially for those who have to suffer from hunger and cold all year round. Reality is needed to uphold Morality. Among the four pleasures of human life, food ranks first. Le Hung, a journalist for the Vietnam News Agency of the Republic of Vietnam. After 1975 was sent to re-education camps, in the article “Exile in the North”, published in “VN Ký Sự"  (VN Diary), he clearly shows the need for food.In a magazine published in Minneapolis in 1983, he wrote, "When the re-education camps in the North did not have a feed-visit policy,almost everyone only talked to each other about eating and drinking, about food. No one wants to talk about politics, society, love, morality, or religion anymore.".

The Star Tribune in September 1996 published an article by journalist Judith Weinrauh recounting the story of Jewish mothers in hunger, cold, and destitution; Even though they lay waiting to die in the Terezin concentration camp in Germany in 1944, they still tried to record their favorite dishes for posterity. More than 50 years later, their descendants published that manuscript in both English and German.

That cookbook is titled "In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy From The Women of Terezin”, published by Jason Aronson, Inc. The Chinese writer Lin Yutang once wrote, "What is patriotism, if not the love of the delicious food we ate as a child?".

Every year since 2013, the United Nations has organized the International Day of Happiness.  International Tea Day is from 2019; International Co ffee Day since 2014; International Beer Day 2008. How long will there be International Pho Day? Which day? This article is only to suggest that competent officials and organizations should find ways to advocate for an International Pho Day.

The smell of Pho from a street food dish does not stimulate rebellion or racial  discrimination but only invites and delights diners from all over. I hope that one day the whole world will eat Pho together; Like eating turkey on Thanksgiving Day in America.

That day the world will be filled with the smell of Pho: the smell of the Vietnamese people.

Phan Thanh Tâm - December 2023, California.

Translate by Kim Vu