Market in middle of HCM City a food-filled Cambodian oasis

Decades of dedication: Tu Xe enthusiastically shows off her produce to customers. She is considered the seller that has been in the Cambodian Market the longest (50 years so far) and offers the widest variety of products there.

If you ask for directions to the market, locals living in ward 1 in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, they will enthusiastically tell you, “that market is located in a hamlet where Cambodian Vietnamese originally inhabited and traded. There are a lot of interesting things to see in the market, and people are sociable as well.”

Indeed, when we walked into the market, we could feel an atmosphere which was totally distinct from other Vietnamese’s common ones. The foodstuff on offer there had delightful eye-catching colours. The sellers are all Cambodian Vietnamese who have resided in Vietnam for decades.

According to them, a significant number of Cambodians migrated to Vietnam in 1970. At the beginning, the group lived in Hoc Mon District, but after relocating frequently, they chose to settle in District 10, and then the market was formed.

In the market, various products originating from Tonle Sap lake area in Cambodia are well-stocked on wood shelves. They vary from different kinds of dried fish, dried frog and vegetables, to traditional foods.

Market staple: Nguyen Thi Co’s food stall selling sweetened porridge has been in business for 40 years.

“People can easily recognise the original culture of the neighbouring country by the written signboards and the particular layout of the market. There are a huge number of Cambodian products such as vegetables, dried food or necessities being sold here. Besides, though the sellers speak Vietnamese like natives, they still have the typical Cambodian swarthy skin and pleasant personality,” Huong who lives at Le Hong Phong Street, District 10, said.

According to Vietnamese customers, there is not much of a price difference between Vietnamese products and Cambodian ones. The latter costs a bit more due to high transportation charges.

If you are a real foodie, you cannot miss the Num Bo Choc fish noodle of Tu Xe. “Besides dried fish, my family also brings another hometown food, which is Num Bo Choc fish noodle, to the city. All of its ingredients are from my homeland,” she said.

According to Xe, the main ingredient of the noodle is the snakehead fish from Tonle Sap Lake, Prahok and whole rhizome. Prahok is a Khmer traditional paste made with salted and fermented mudfish.

Shapely: Pumpkin custard - a traditional dessert in Cambodia. Photó kenh14.vn

Noticing that the customers seemed surprised by neem tree leaves being sold in the market, Ba Sen, the seller, affably recommended, “Cambodian Vietnamese like these a lot. They mostly buy these for a dish made of raw fish. It would be much more delicious if you tear the leaves off, mix it with a bit of shredded dried snakeskin gourami or snakehead fish, add some slices of pork side and cucumber, then eat with chili garlic fish sauce. Moreover, the price is not high at all, only VND5,000 - VND7,000 (20 to 30 US cents) per bundle.”

Besides Xe’s noodle, there is another intriguing dish, which is sweetened porridge, cooked by Nguyen Thi Co in the market.

Just as Co said, she had sold sweetened porridge with her mother since childhood, and she kept doing this job for 40 years after her mother passed away.

Her porridge is a favourite of many Vietnamese for its extraordinary taste of palm sugar, which is the main ingredient.

Imported products: The Cambodian Market in central HCM City attracts many customers by offering various unique foodstuffs from Cambodia.

“The mixed porridge here is different as it is coloured with natural ingredients. This food makes me feel really fresh after school. It is low-priced as well, varying from VND7,000 to VND 20,000,” Hang, a frequent visitor to the market, said.

At present, this market is not only the place where Cambodian-Vietnamese stay and trade, but it is also a meeting place for the Cambodian community in HCM City when they miss the atmosphere of their hometown.