Sticky rice stall for nearly half a century in Saigon's Chinatown

For the past 45 years, the shop of Ms. Lan Anh and her sisters in District 5 has been selling sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves and rolled with rice paper, more than 200 portions a day.

At around 5am every day, when it is still dark, the two sisters of Mrs. To Thi Lan Anh, 68 years old, bring pots, pans, glass cabinets, trays... to the entrance of Phung Hung market to prepare to sell sticky rice. Two large basins filled with pre-cooked sticky rice are placed on a charcoal stove to keep warm. One basin contains only sticky rice, the other contains green beans and charcoal sticky rice. Next to them are pre-sliced ham, sausage, pork, shredded pork... in a glass cabinet. Sesame salt, sugar, and coconut milk are served in tin boxes. The sticky rice counter becomes eye-catching with the colorful glutinous rice, green beans, and side dishes.

The two sisters of Mrs. Anh have been selling here since 1978. At first, they only sold sweet and salty sticky rice. In recent years, they have added sticky rice with gac fruit, sweet soup, and ginseng juice. "The other dishes are just for fun, but the main dishes are still sweet and salty sticky rice. Just those two dishes alone sell more than 200 portions a day," Mrs. Anh said, her hands quickly sprinkling sesame salt, sugar, and coconut milk on the sticky rice for customers. On the opposite side, her younger sister To Thi Tuyet Lan is busy making sticky rice with salty taste. Each person divides a dish to serve customers in time.

Ms. Lan Anh (left corner) and her sister selling sticky rice at the corner of Phung Hung market. Photo: Quynh Tran — Ms. Lan Anh (left corner) and her sister selling sticky rice at the corner of Phung Hung market. Photo: *Quynh Tran*

The recipe for making sticky rice was learned by the two sisters from their mother and then they have been selling it separately at Phung Hung market for the past 45 years. Every day they wake up at 1am to cook sticky rice and make side dishes. The main ingredients are goose sticky rice and charcoal sticky rice, and they cook more than 20kg a day. The sticky rice and mung beans are soaked for 7 hours before to soften. The sticky rice is cooked in an aluminum pot, placed on a charcoal stove for three hours continuously to ensure it is cooked evenly and fragrant. While waiting for the sticky rice to cook, they take the time to make other side dishes such as sesame salt, ground peanuts, sliced Chinese sausage and ham before setting up shop.

The shop’s savory sticky rice attracts customers by being wrapped in banana leaves to keep it warm, instead of being lined in a paper-wrapped plastic bag as is usually the case. In addition to being served with ham, pork, pate, pork floss, or quail eggs, the savory sticky rice also has pickled radish to suit the tastes of the Chinese community around Phung Hung market.

"I order the other savory side dishes from my regular supplier, but when I buy the Chinese sausage, I steam it myself so it cooks evenly and doesn't burn or get greasy like fried sausage," said the owner of the sticky rice stall.

Savory sticky rice is wrapped in banana leaves, sweet sticky rice is rolled in rice paper. Photo: Quynh Tran

Sweet sticky rice is made to Vietnamese taste, the highlight is that it is rolled in rice paper. A full serving includes green beans, black sticky rice, grated coconut, sprinkled with sesame salt, peanuts, sugar and poured with coconut milk. The rice paper is grilled crispy, must be exposed to dew to soften so that the sticky rice can be rolled tightly and not broken when eaten. The spices served with sweet sticky rice are all handmade and sprinkled evenly on the sticky rice.

The shop is crowded from 7am to 9am every morning, and at many times customers stand around the counter waiting to buy sticky rice to eat before going to work or school. Each portion of sticky rice costs from 15,000 to 20,000 VND, and is made quickly in 30 seconds. The shop also has three more assistants, so customers don't have to wait long.

Because her house is near the shop, for over 30 years now, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Hang, 58 years old, has stopped by several times a week to buy sticky rice for breakfast. She said that before, she only bought one portion for herself, but now she always has to buy two more boxes for her grandchildren to eat before going to school.

"Both the sweet and salty sticky rice here are fragrant and sticky, the side dishes are delicious, and they are wrapped in banana leaves, making them look rustic. I usually eat sweet sticky rice more because it is wrapped in rice paper, and nowadays I rarely see any restaurants making it the traditional way," said Ms. Hang.

For the past 5 years, when passing Phung Hung market on her way to work, Ms. Bich Van often brings a glass box, buys 20,000 savory sticky rice to bring to the company to eat. She said the price is reasonable, a portion of sticky rice is large so she can eat until noon. "The shop is located right at the beginning of the market, there are a lot of cars coming and going so there is no parking space during peak hours," said the 32-year-old woman.

Lan Anh and her sisters sell all week, and by 11am they are sold out. In addition to sticky rice, customers can also buy black bean sweet soup, sticky rice, mixed sweet soup, and ginseng water for 6,000 - 10,000 VND per portion. However, because it is located in a market, there is no sidewalk, so the space is cramped and there is no parking. The small signboard also makes it difficult for first-time visitors to find.

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