Hủ tiếu Nam Vang, The Most Versatile Noodle Dish
Noodles are a common dish in Việt Nam. However, the way they’re made and served varies according to the climate, history, and personality of each region. Hủ tiếu is a popular breakfast meal that is one of a kind. It can be served as a soup (hủ tiếu nước) or dry with no broth (hủ tiếu khô).
In the 1960s, Hủ tiếu became popular in Southern Việt Nam, particularly in Sài Gòn and the Mekong Delta region thanks to the large number of migrants from Cambodia. Pork bones are the main elements in this meal, which are combined with various types of noodles, herbs, and other meats. Originally from Cambodia, made popular by Chinese vendors and enjoyed by local diners, hủ tiếu Nam Vang captures the essence of Vietnamese history in one hearty bowl of noodles.
The origin of hủ tiếu Nam Vang may lie in the heart of Phnom Penh’s Old Market, where Cambodians from all walks of life sit down at open-air stalls and order for themselves a steaming bowl of kuay teaw. In Khmer, kuay teaw refers to both a variety of chewy rice noodles and a noodle dish made from pork broth and garnished with fried shallots, spring onions and bean sprouts.
The traditional version just has minced pork and fish balls, but chefs in Phnom Penh have added liver, blood pudding, prawns, and a variety of pork innards to elevate the dish. The recipe for this premium version of kuay teaw followed Cambodian immigrants to southern Vietnam in the 1960s, evolving into the hủ tiếu Nam Vang that Saigoneers enjoy today.
Whether the hủ tiếu chef is Chinese, Cambodian or Vietnamese, most people seem to be in agreement on what constitutes a standard bowl of hủ tiếu Nam Vang: chewy rice noodles, topped with minced pork, prawn or squid and embellished with a sprinkle of spring onions, bean sprouts and garlic chives. When in Sài Gòn or elsewhere in the Mekong Delta region, there’s bound to be hủ tiếu noodle soup stall practically in every corner and alley and because there are various types of this dish and depending on the interpretation of each chef, a bowl of hủ tiếu in one stall may look and taste different from one in another.
To add more confusion, the components in each bowl can differ significantly. The noodles used to create a hủ tiếu dish can be chewy clear tapioca noodles, opaque flat white rice noodles like you’d use for pho noodle soup, thin rice noodle (bún), instant noodle or thin Chinese egg noodle (mì). The toppings used may be as confusing which can be a combination of all or some of different meat and spices including boneless pork, pork ribs, pork offal, prawn, squid, wonton dumplings, fried garlic, fried shallot, spring onion and garlic chives. The dish may be served khô (dry) where the noodles and the soup are placed in two separate bowls or nước (wet) where everything is served all together in a single bowl. As usual, the diner will pick and choose according to his preference. In a sense, hủ tiếu is the extreme have-it-your-way Vietnamese food experience.
There’s no denying that Vietnamese people love hủ tiếu of all forms. Even though the Nam Vang version is the most popular, if you ride down the route from Sài Gòn to Cà Mau, Vietnam’s southernmost province, you may pretty much uncover a new adaptation with every food vendor. There is hủ tiếu Gò Công, hủ tiếu Sa Đéc, hủ tiếu Châu Đốc, hủ tiếu Mỹ Tho and dozens of lesser known versions.
It’s practically impossible to determine the exact history of a street food dish in Sài Gòn because the city attracts individuals from so many different provinces and countries. We could spend all day figuring out the distinctions between kuay teaw and hủ tiếu.
