From food to cultural heritage

In the dossier for the recognition of intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Pho Hanoi and Pho Nam Dinh fully meet the criteria of representation of community and local identity, reflection of cultural diversity and human creativity passed down through generations, possibility of revival and long-term existence, and the local community’s consensus, voluntary nomination, and commitment to safeguarding.

The northern province of Nam Dinh is the birthplace of Pho. Over time, the dish has become a symbol of pride for locals for its unique qualities in every stage of preparation - from selecting ingredients and crafting the distinctive noodles to the careful cooking process. Beef Pho of Nam Dinh is different from Pho Hanoi thanks to its distinctive clear and aromatic beef broth.

Artisan Pham Thi Anh Tuyet shared that Vietnamese Pho is similar in ingredients, including beef, beef bones, Pho noodles, onions and herbs, but depending on each region, the amount used is different. However, Pho Hanoi and Pho Nam Dinh have different flavors due to regional cultural factors, each with its own taste and culinary background.

Protecting and promoting heritage brands

Cultural experts believe that the recognition of Pho Hanoi and Pho Nam Dinh as national intangible cultural heritage is a good sign, creating more attraction for the most famous dish in Vietnam, contributing to building a national brand, and creating a bigger strategy to promote national branding and tourism development.

With that sense, related parties need to have a great responsibility in preserving and protecting this brand value and unique culinary product, increasing the attractiveness of the tourism sector in particular and the economy in general.

Accordingly, the functional sectors and agencies need to carry on measures to protect and promote the value of the heritage through diversifying forms of dissemination and introduction on the heritage, raise people’s awareness of and responsibility for improving product quality, organize and preserve, develop the sustainable Pho cooking profession, focusing on building the “Pho Hanoi” and “Pho Nam Dinh” brands.

Artisan Anh Tuyet believes that, in addition to preserving the factors that make up the quality of Pho Nam Dinh and Pho Hanoi, practical activities should be implemented to promote and build the brands. In addition, it is necessary to always pay attention to food safety and service style at any store or unit serving these dishes. Meanwhile, Chairman of the Vietnam Chef Association Nguyen Thuong Quan expressed his opinion that in order to preserve the dish, the immediate thing to do is to build the image of Pho.