Bringing sidewalk noodle soup to America

Ms. Pham Le Nguyen Hao (in the middle of the black shirt, in Ho Chi Minh City) with her frozen snakehead fish noodle soup product displayed at the Thua Thien Hue 2024 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition - Photo: NHAT LINH

Missing the rich aroma of the firm snakehead fish mixed with the spicy taste of Hue chili satay, Ms. Hao has been nurturing the idea of ​​how to encapsulate the flavor of that sidewalk noodle soup bowl to send far away to serve Hue people everywhere.

Missing the taste of hometown from the sidewalk noodle shop

Late autumn afternoon in Hue, drizzling rain. From Phu Bai airport, along Highway 1 towards Hue city, a 4-seat car stopped in front of a snakehead fish noodle soup restaurant near Thuy Duong overpass.

Getting out of the car, Ms. Pham Le Nguyen Hao (38 years old, living in Ho Chi Minh City) took a deep breath of the cold air mixed with the strong aroma of onions, chili, satay, and dried shrimp rising from the pot of broth boiling on a wood stove in the middle of the restaurant.

For the past 20 years, every time she returns to her hometown in Hue from Ho Chi Minh City, Ms. Hao has to stop by, find a small corner on the sidewalk, and order a bowl of hot snakehead fish noodle soup, to eat immediately to satisfy her craving for the spicy taste of chili satay that tingles the tip of her tongue, the sweet taste of the broth, and the rich, salty taste of the dried snakehead fish from Hue.

"It has become a habit. Every time I return to Hue, I have to eat a bowl of snakehead fish noodle soup on the sidewalk. I eat it to satisfy my nostalgia for my hometown and the taste of the old days.

Every time I return to Ho Chi Minh City, I miss the special delicious taste of that bowl of noodle soup. And suddenly the question of what people who are far from home should do to enjoy this delicious dish from home to ease their homesickness suddenly appears in my mind," Ms. Hao said.

Starting from… Hue Thuong

The first thing on Ms. Hao’s journey to start her business with Hue-style snakehead fish noodle soup was to find a name for the brand. Hue Thuong were the first two words that came to Ms. Hao’s mind.

The process of processing, packaging, and freezing a bowl of Hue sidewalk snakehead fish noodle soup by Hue Thuong - Photo: NGO PHUOC

Unexpectedly, when registering the domain name Huethuong.com, Ms. Hao was surprised to find out that this website's domain name had been registered by a Japanese person a long time ago.

"My colleagues and I had to negotiate and buy this domain name from the Japanese side. Luckily, everything went smoothly and Hue Thuong returned to the original Hue people. Currently, the Hue Thuong brand has been registered and sponsored not only in Vietnam but also in the US," Ms. Hao said with a smile.

After having the brand, Ms. Hao went to find the essence of Hue snakehead fish noodle soup. To find the right sweetness of Thuy Duong snakehead fish noodle soup, Ms. Hao went to countless noodle shops in Hue to eat and learn how to stew fish, make flour, add floss... to get the right sidewalk flavor.

A bowl of Thuy Duong snakehead fish noodle soup of Hue Thuong brand after being processed - Photo: NGO PHUOC

Having the recipe, Ms. Hao and her colleagues found a way to package and freeze the bowl of noodles. Turning a fresh dish into a packaged product is not an easy task.

"Luckily, I previously worked in the seafood processing and export industry to the US, so I understand the strict regulations and strict quality requirements if you want to bring products into this country.

I have to learn more about allowed and disallowed ingredients when exporting, to make appropriate adjustments to the Hue noodle soup package," said Ms. Hao.

Going to America and hoping to go further

After completing the first packages of banh canh, Ms. Hao sent them to relatives and friends of the Thua Thien Hue Association at home and abroad to try.

Among the people Ms. Hao sent the noodles to try were an elderly Vietnamese couple who were both fellow countrymen and long-time partners of hers in the US in the seafood export industry.

After eating the package of snakehead fish noodle soup from Thuy Duong sent by Ms. Hao from Vietnam, this couple choked up and were speechless at the taste of their homeland's cuisine that they had not enjoyed for a long time.

"Why don't you bring this frozen noodle soup package to America? We will help you sell it." The invitation made Ms. Hao almost jump for joy because after many years of trying, her dream of bringing Hue snakehead fish noodle soup to America was about to come true.

The first 6,000 packages of Hue Thuong brand snakehead fish noodle soup will be introduced to the US retail market in early 2024.

After the success with snakehead fish noodle soup, Ms. Hao and the Hue Thuong team started researching to make Hue specialties such as beef noodle soup, Nam Pho noodle soup, turmeric noodle soup... in frozen packages.

After the snakehead fish noodle soup product, Hue Thuong's frozen Nam Pho noodle soup product is also supported by the market - Photo: NGO PHUOC

"Since the beginning of 2024, more than 70,000 snakehead fish noodle products and other products of Hue Thuong have been shipped to the US. Hue Thuong is now available on the shelves of convenience stores in 48 states of the United States.

Having conquered a demanding and strict market like the US, we are setting a further goal of bringing Hue specialties to the EU, Australia, Japan, and Korea markets in the near future.

Recently, the Hue Thuong project - Hue-flavored packaged rice noodles won 3rd prize in the 2024 Thua Thien Hue Province Innovation and Startup Competition.

Mr. Ho Thang, director of the Department of Science and Technology of Thua Thien Hue, said that packaged snakehead fish noodle soup is a new, convenient startup idea with great market potential.

"This startup idea contributes to promoting and bringing Hue cuisine further," Mr. Thang commented.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dua-to-banh-canh-via-he-di-my-20241024135004719.htm