The dish known as pho, a beloved staple of Vietnamese cuisine, finds its roots in the northern city of Hanoi. This aromatic noodle soup has blossomed into an ambassador of Vietnam’s complex history and vibrant culinary tapestry. In 2024, the Vietnamese government marked the dish’s cultural significance with an official fanfare. They designated it a national icon, a fundamental component of the nation’s intangible cultural heritage. Pho started in the north, but it has long since left those regional boundaries. Now, it is a cherished national dish savored by Vietnamese communities across the globe.
Pho’s story is the story of Vietnam as well. People didn’t eat much beef before French colonizers arrived in the mid-19th century either. Rather, cows were instrumental as the sine qua non of agriculture. With the French came new culinary influences and techniques. Among them was the one-pot meal pot-au-feu that most people think gave rise to the name “pho.” This melting pot of tastes and cultures helped crystallize what today is one of the most popular Vietnamese delicacies.
Regional Variations of Pho
Though pho began in the north, the influence of regional variations have made the dish’s character all of its own. Today, in northern Vietnam, Pho is served for breakfast. Ha Nguyen, who hails from Hanoi, explains that up in the north, they eat it for the first meal of the day. For that reason, the servings are generally on the smaller side. Northerners like their soup with thinner broth. They improve its taste by using ancient herbs and spices common to Chinese cuisine, including star anise, cinnamon, coriander seed, and black cardamom.
Southern Vietnam has adopted a much bolder reading. Southerners like it sweeter and richer, usually drinking it all day long. As Ha Nguyen, one of my cooking instructors, explained, food for southerners is an all-day affair. As a result, they don’t have larger portion sizes and pack in a multitude of other ingredients. This difference in recipe development and serving style has been the creative spark of a culinary competition between the two areas since the 1980s.
Dr. Do continued to elaborate on this competition, “The southerners and the northerners are very proud of their pho. This pride is not just about food choice, it stems from a greater sense of cultural distinction and local pride that exists all over Vietnam.
Pho as a Cultural Symbol
Pho has succeeded in becoming the most visited food around the globe, but it has taken on additional layers of meaning of representation, of Vietnamese identity and resilience. To Dr. Do, a pho restaurant is not just about the delicious food and tasty broth. As such, it acts as a reimagined homeland, an island of Vietnam that the diaspora continues searching for and attempting to recreate in their adopted homeland. The dish’s journey doesn’t end at Vietnam’s borders—it has the potential to connect communities divided by both geography and politics.
Given its popularity today, the historical context behind pho only adds to its significance. Political turmoil caused many northerners to flee south during the exodus of 1954. They carried their culinary heritage with them, spreading pho to new markets in Saigon, today’s Ho Chi Minh City. Dr. Do continued, “The Exodus of 1954 carried pho to the south. That’s what made pho the national dish of all Vietnamese.”
Pho represents harmony within the Vietnamese community, despite internal divisions. “A national dish for Vietnamese across borders, across political divisions,” Dr. Do stated, underscoring its role in fostering national pride and cultural continuity.
The Soul of Vietnam in a Bowl
Pho exemplifies the heart and soul of Vietnamese culture, telling tales of tradition and flavor with each delicious bowl. Tess Do highlighted the pre-colonial perspective regarding cattle: “Cows, like buffaloes, were used to plough the fields — and they were far more useful for Vietnamese farmers and peasants as live animals rather than dead ones.” This historical context gives you an understanding of how pho developed, out of necessity and adaptation, to what it became today.
As pho becomes more popular across the globe, it is still that shining jewel of Vietnam’s deep and varied culinary culture. Each bowl served is a step towards recognizing the nation’s past while building pride in its diverse present. “That dish represents the Vietnamese soul and essence,” Dr. Do emphasized, capturing the heart of what pho means to its people.
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