Giant pot of pho broth highlights festival in Nam Dinh province

Pho Festival 2024 in the northern city of Nam Dinh will feature a 300-litre saucepan of broth cooked by 20 local artisans and 30 helpers.

The broth will be made from boiling cow’s bones and some 40 kg of beef, and served with 20kg of herbs, red chilly and spices such as fish sauce, salt, cinnamon, thao qua (cardamom) and hoa hoi (anise).

At the unveiling of the broth Friday afternoon, old artisans will recall the ancient way of making pho (noodle soup).

They will make rice noodles by hands and serve various kinds of noodles from three regions including pho ngo (noodles made from corn from Ha Giang province), rice noodles (Hà Nội), pho san (noodle from cassava from Quang Nam province), pho sen (noodle from lotus seeds) and pho bot chuoi xanh (noodle from young banana).

As many as 1,000 bowls of pho will be served at the site.

“Artisans and chefs are boiling bones and preparing beef for tomorrow,” said Le Thi Thiet, chairwoman of the Nam Dinh Association of Gastronomic Culture. “Other preparations for the festival are almost done.”

Through the giant bowl of broth, the organisers aim to praise traditional Vietnamese spices.

Thiet said the festival also aims to promote the brand names of the spices used in Vietnamese pho.

“Vietnamese pho has a special taste of salt, fish sauce, and herbal spices to balance nutrition in the dish,” she said. “We built a programme titled Journey of Pho at the festival to introduce Vietnamese spices.”

At the same event, Nam Dinh Association of Gastronomic Culture will present a permission certificate of the brand name “Pho Co” to 45 members from Van Cu Village, in Nam Truc district, Nam Dinh province who have opened pho shops throughout the country.

The festival taking place in Nam Dinh province on March 15-17 includes various activities promoting Vietnamese pho.

Nam Dinh has been considered a cradle of the dish with many generations specialising in cooking pho that originated from two villages, namely Van Cu and Giao Cu in today’s Nam Truc district.

They have settled down in many areas of the country and opened pho restaurants.

Nam Dinh province, about one hour and a half from Hanoi, is home to many beautiful and old churches.