A sticky rice shop passed down from mother to son, famous for nearly 50 years in Ho Chi Minh City thanks to its secret sauce

The 50-year-old sticky rice shop on the sidewalk in Ho Chi Minh City has a sauce made according to a secret recipe.

Mother-to-daughter sticky rice shop

Under the old apartment building on Nguyen Duy Duong Street (District 5, HCMC), the Hai Co spicy sticky rice shop is tiny but has existed for nearly 50 years. The space is narrow, the shop's counter is neatly arranged on a stainless steel table.

The sticky rice shop is run by Ms. Ly Quoc Huong (58 years old) and a number of female employees. Recently, Ms. Huong and her daughter went abroad to visit relatives, so the shop is managed by Mr. Ly Vi Thien (born in 1988, Ms. Huong's son-in-law).

The sticky rice shop is temporarily managed by Mr. Thien. Photo: Ha Nguyen

According to Mr. Thien, the sticky rice shop has been around since the time of Mrs. Huong's biological mother, commonly known as Mrs. Hai. Up to now, the sticky rice shop has existed for nearly 50 years.

In the early days, Mrs. Hai sold both spicy sticky rice and sticky rice with braised pork. However, spicy sticky rice was the most popular dish among customers. Seeing this, Mrs. Hai focused on selling this dish and established Mrs. Hai's sticky rice shop.

Later, the sticky rice shop was run by Mrs. Huong and her mother, so customers jokingly called it "Hai Co's sticky rice". Mrs. Huong found this name interesting and used it as the name for her small sticky rice shop.

While other sticky rice restaurants have many types of side dishes, for nearly 50 years, the sticky rice at Hai Co restaurant has only had pork roll, pork floss, ground roasted peanuts, pate and spicy satay sauce. However, the sticky rice here still makes diners remember it forever.

Mr. Thien shared: “Many diners wonder why for nearly 50 years, the restaurant has not added many types of side dishes to the sticky rice dish. However, we believe that delicious sticky rice does not necessarily need to have many types of side dishes.

Roasted peanuts and pork floss are made from delicious peanuts and high-quality fresh pork, then roasted and ground. Photo: Ha Nguyen

Because when eating, we mainly enjoy the flavor of sticky rice and the characteristic flavor of a certain spice of the dish.

The difference, creating the uniqueness of our sticky rice shop lies in the accompanying ingredients such as pate, peanuts, pork floss and especially spicy satay sauce.

These ingredients are all homemade according to family recipes.

After adding the toppings, the sticky rice package is drizzled with a traditional satay sauce. Photo: Ha Nguyen

Mr. Thien revealed that the roasted peanuts and pork floss are made from delicious peanuts and high-quality fresh pork. After preliminary processing, the ingredients are roasted to the right degree of doneness, then ground and seasoned to taste.

This helps the ingredients blend easily with the sticky rice, adding flavor to the dish. When eaten with sticky rice, these ingredients also have a characteristic aroma and almost melt in the mouth without being tough or hard.

Meanwhile, the restaurant's satay sauce is prepared using a traditional method, creating a unique flavor.

When eaten, the sauce blends with other ingredients to give the sticky rice a spicy, fatty, moderately sweet, delicious and rich flavor.

In addition to pork roll, other side dishes are all homemade. Photo: Ha Nguyen

The restaurant is selling well.

Every day, Hai Co sticky rice shop only sells for 4 hours, from 6-10am. After that, the shop takes a break and focuses on preparing side dishes for the next day.

Every morning, the sticky rice is cooked according to Mrs. Huong’s 50 years of experience. The sticky rice is then kept hot in a steamer at just the right temperature to avoid getting mushy.

When there are customers, the staff quickly scoop the sticky rice into prepared green banana leaves, add ham, pate, pork floss, peanuts and satay sauce with a little scallion oil.

Depending on the needs of diners, each portion of sticky rice here costs from 15,000 to 40,000 VND.

The restaurant only sells for 4 hours so customers must come early. Photo: Ha Nguyen

For decades, Hai Co sticky rice shop has served a large number of customers. In addition to students studying at the school across the street, the sticky rice shop is also a familiar address for the surrounding people.

This is also the breakfast place of many tourists when they come to explore District 5, Ho Chi Minh City. Some Chinese tourists also buy a large quantity of spicy sticky rice here as gifts when they come to Ho Chi Minh City to visit relatives and friends.

During peak hours, many customers have to stand in line to be served. Because the restaurant is small, many customers choose to order sticky rice online or buy it to take away. Every day, the restaurant sells about 40kg of sticky rice.

The elderly woman said she likes Hai Co sticky rice because it has a unique taste and is wrapped in banana leaves. Photo: Ha Nguyen

A woman over 60 years old who came to buy Hai Co spicy sticky rice for breakfast said she has been eating sticky rice here for many years. She likes sticky rice and has tried many types of sticky rice at different shops. However, she still likes the spicy sticky rice here because it has a very special flavor.

“The spicy satay and the side dishes are just pork roll, pork floss, roasted peanuts, and pate without much oil, making the sticky rice not greasy but having its own flavor. Moreover, I like the restaurant wrapping the sticky rice in banana leaves.

This not only reminds us of tradition but also makes the sticky rice more delicious and contributes to protecting the environment," she confided.

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/quan-xoi-me-truyen-con-noi-noi-tieng-gan-50-nam-o-tphcm-nho-nuoc-xot-bi-truyen-2412475.html