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Renowned chef Christine Ha celebrates Vietnamese 'pho' on its day

Wednesday, December 15, 2021, 14:23 GMT+7
Renowned chef Christine Ha celebrates Vietnamese 'pho' on its day
Christine Ha is seen in a profile picture on her verified Facebook account.

Renowned Vietnamese-American chef Christine Ha on Sunday night uploaded a video in which she was enjoying a bowl of Vietnamese pho while celebrating an event which she called 'Pho Day.'

Originating in northern Vietnam, pho is a noodle dish served with hot broth cooked from beef or chicken.

Ha’s video followed a Google Doodle which celebrated Vietnam's national soup dish the same day in 20 countries.

“Today’s Doodle, illustrated by Hanoi, Vietnam-based guest artist Lucia Pham, honors pho, Vietnam’s national dish that is served as an aromatic soup brimming with savory broth, soft rice noodles, fresh herbs, and thinly sliced meat,” Google said about its Doodle.

Google Doodle celebrates Vietnamese pho on December 12, 2021.

Google Doodle celebrated Vietnamese 'pho' on December 12, 2021.

“On this day in 2018, December 12 was selected as the official day to celebrate Vietnamese pho, in honor of the beloved culinary treasure and the cultural fusion it represents."

Google also stated that what makes pho distinct is a mindful cooking process to achieve multi-layered flavors and a clear broth which "serves as the foundation for aromas and tastes for every palate” when made “from ingredients like roasted ginger, fennel seed, star anise, and cinnamon."

In a two-minute-39-second video posted on her verified Facebook account, Ha first informed her followers about the day.

Christine Ha celebrates Vietnamese 'pho' in a video she posted on her verified Facebook account on December 12, 2021

“Hello everyone! Happy Pho Day! December 12 is Pho Day in Vietnam,” she said.

“All of you, or many of you should know that pho is the national dish of Vietnam.

“In celebration of Pho Day of Vietnam on December 12, Google is actually doing a pho Doodle in more than 20 countries around the world, so you’ll be able to go to Google’s homepage and see the pho Doodle.

“So, in celebration of that, I’m actually eating a bowl of pho today and I want to share a little bit with you about what pho means to me."

According to her, pho was the dish that her mom would make on leisurely weekends when she had the many hours it takes to cook.

Ha said her family would freeze the broth and eat the dish for days on end.

“I love eating pho because it’s such a comfort dish,” she said.

“We of course eat it all year round, but it’s especially good during the colder months in fall, winter and the beginning of spring.

“When I eat pho, I definitely think of my mom.

"She died when I was young, never taught me how to cook her pho, never wrote down the recipes, so it’s actually a dish of hers that I’ve been chasing all my life to try to replicate."

Every time Ha cooks or eats pho, the dish has always reminded her of her childhood memory of eating around the table with her parents and having a steaming bowl of pho in front of her face, she said.

“It’s a dish I’ve been eating all my life, super comforting,” she said, adding that the dish can cure a hangover or help ease her pain when she is sick.

Ha ended her video by enjoying her bowl of pho bo (beef pho) and calling on people to go have a bowl of pho on the day.

Christine Ha is the first-ever blind contestant and Season 3 winner of the competitive amateur cooking television show 'MasterChef' with Gordon Ramsay in 2012, her website said.

She defeated over 30,000 home cooks across America to secure the coveted MasterChef title, a US$250,000 cash prize, and a cookbook deal.

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