Matsuo Tomoyuki is the president of the Japan-Vietnam Culinary Culture Association. Although he is not good at Vietnamese, he can pronounce the names of dishes and places correctly with his understanding and love for Vietnamese cuisine.
Chef and businessman Matsuo Tomoyuki - Photo: QUANG DINH
At the Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 held in Tokyo (Japan) on October 7 and 8, Mr. Matsuo is the program's ambassador, directly introducing pho, demonstrating how to make pho noodles, and how to prepare pho.
Sharing with Tuoi Tre , Mr. Matsuo Tomoyuki said: "I feel the common cultural features of the two nations. I think every Japanese person knows that pho is very important to Vietnamese people, and at the same time loves this dish."
The beauty of eating
* Can you share more about this culinary perspective?
- Pho, although not rice, is made from rice. Perhaps that is why Japanese people are very sympathetic to rice noodle dishes, because we eat rice every day.
People often compare Korean and Japanese cuisine , or Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. However, if you look closely, Vietnamese and Japanese cuisine have in common that they do not have too many spices. If you want spicy food, you can add or reduce the amount of spices according to your taste, such as adding wasabi to the fish sauce or adding wasabi to the dipping sauce when eating sushi.
That is part of the beauty of each nation's way of eating. Or like soup, the Japanese cook different types of broth for ramen noodles, whether the ingredients are beef, chicken or whatever, the broth is still clear. The same goes for pho broth, it is very harmonious, not too strong so it is suitable for the majority.
I used to work in Hawaiian restaurants, where the food is delicious but greasy. So I often go to Vietnamese restaurants to eat pho and bun because they are very healthy and easy to digest, very suitable for dinner.
Many Japanese people think of Vietnamese cuisine as delicious, healthy, and good for their health. That must be the reason why Vietnamese cuisine, including pho, is so popular with the Japanese.
* The Japanese have been very successful in bringing their cuisine to the world with consistency in quality and standardization of portions. What can Vietnam learn from this story, in your opinion?
Chef Matsuo Tomoyuki answers questions from Vietnamese pho restaurant owners about his experience preparing food in Japan - Photo: QUANG DINH
- Talking about food is talking about the dishes we eat every day. Eating is not only one of the "four pleasures" but also related to personality and health. Therefore, eating is very important.
In Japan, besides pho, there are many other Vietnamese dishes, but due to taste or availability of ingredients, these dishes are not prepared 100% like the original.
It can be said that Vietnam Pho Festival is a great opportunity for the most authentic Vietnamese dishes to come to Japan, serving the Vietnamese community as well as Japanese people who love Vietnamese cuisine.
Nowadays, Japanese ramen noodles are popular all over the world and are loved. It seems to be the most famous dish in Japan, but ramen noodles originated in China. After entering Japan, this dish was welcomed and adapted to become Japanese-style ramen noodles.
Japanese ramen has many different styles depending on the region, such as Sapporo, Hokkaido, Fukuoka... I think variety in each dish is important. If we only talk about one type of soup and one flavor, it might not be interesting.
So with pho, in addition to introducing this delicious dish, we can still highlight different pho styles to make international diners curious and interested in exploring.
Each pho flavor has its own unique character.
Pho Dau (HCMC) - Photo: QUANG DINH
* It seems that Vietnamese cuisine has many stories to tell the world. As an ambassador of Vietnam Pho Festival 2023, what stories do you think this event can tell?
- Behind each dish, each flavor is a story about regional specialties , the unique cultural environment of the community and locality. That is also the way cuisine goes out into the world, making people remember, cultural cuisine.
At Vietnam Pho Festival, pho brands will bring different pho flavors. And the traditional highlights and unique flavors of each pho brand will convince diners through their own historical stories.
We should not compromise but bring our own style, our own story. There may be comments like this meat is softer, that pho broth is fatter or this pho flavor is saltier, more fragrant. But believe that each pho flavor will have its own unique features for diners to discover.
It is not easy to have the most authentic bowls of pho in Japan. Either we bring all the ingredients from Vietnam, or we have to flexibly use ingredients similar to those in Japan. But with the heart of the cook, I believe that the pho restaurants participating in the Vietnam Pho Festival will still be able to introduce to diners the difference in flavors.
* You have a project to introduce 63 delicious dishes and specialties of Vietnamese localities to the world by standardizing them. So what are the opportunities for other economic values to come after cuisine?
Pho spices - Photo: QUANG DINH
- This is a great time and opportunity for Vietnamese cuisine to go out into the world. What is the strength of Vietnamese cuisine? It is the spices. Spices are the key to flavor.
Looking back at the history of human development, the first wars were also fought for spices. Vietnam possesses many treasures like that.
Secondly, Vietnamese cuisine uses a lot of vegetables and fruits. These are natural, delicious ingredients for a healthy diet. It's like magic when you combine this fruit and that flavor, it will create a new dish. Not many cuisines in the world are lucky enough to have that.
Nowadays, green lifestyle, healthy eating, topics like sugar-free, gluten-free are mentioned a lot and that is the trend. Many Vietnamese vermicelli, pho, and glass noodles made from brown rice are being chosen and searched for a lot. Even Vietnamese burnt rice is an interesting discovery.
Bringing specialties of 63 provinces and cities of Vietnam to Japan
This is the revelation of Matsuo Tomoyuki to Tuoi Tre . This December, the project of 63 Vietnamese products will come to Japan through an exhibition right in the center of Tokyo. Having succeeded with the project " soba noodles from buckwheat ", Matsuo said it took him eight years for the above soba noodles to be able to be exported to Japan. Therefore, the story of bringing Vietnamese products and agricultural products around the world, according to him, is very potential, a "rich gold mine" but will not be easy. "However, I still want to do it. Because if successful, it will not only help farmers in the highlands or remote areas improve their lives, but the ingredients, which are entirely from Vietnam, can create a lot of added value if properly branded and exploited. Similarly, with pho, I want to introduce to the Japanese Vietnamese pho, which is the result of the process of processing ingredients from star anise, cinnamon, cardamom to bones, beef, and even the way of pouring pho noodles. It is a rhythmic and elaborate value chain," said Matsuo Tomoyuki.Vietnam Pho Festival 2023 is co-organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper and Saigon Tourism Corporation, with the participation of Hoa An Vang chefs of previous years such as: Nguyen Tien Hai, Nguyen Tu Tin, Pham Quang Duy... and chefs of famous pho restaurants: Pho Dau, Pho Hai Thien, Pho Hotel Majestic Saigon, Pho Phu Gia, Pho'S, Pho Sen SASCO, Pho Thin Bo Ho, Pho Thu Duc Golf Course Restaurant, Pho Ta - Binh Tay Food...
The program is supported by the Embassy of Vietnam in Japan - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam, Vietnam - Japan Friendship Association of Ho Chi Minh City and Japanese friends such as Mr. Aoyagi Yoichiro - Member of the House of Representatives, Mainichi newspaper. The program is accompanied by Vietnam Airlines, Suntory Beverage & Food, Simply Food, SASCO, Dai-ichi Life, Pho'S, ALSOK...
The reigning Miss Intercontinental Le Nguyen Bao Ngoc is the official ambassador, accompanying and participating in the program's activities.
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