‘Hu tieu pizza’ – multicultural dish grabs tourists’ attractions in Southwest Vietnam

Hai’s rice noodles factory is an interesting destination for tourists visiting Can Tho, where they can try a strange multicultural dish - hu tieu pizza (rice noodles pizza)

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Photo: Zing News

Hai’s family, addressing at Le Binh ward, Cai Rang District, Can Tho, has been making rice noodles in the traditional way for about 45 years. A few years ago, his family, and some locals as well, tried to develop a strange new version of rice noodle, a mixed culture one, given an unpopular name: Hu Tieu pizza (rice noodle pizza).

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Photo: Zing News

Hu Tieu pizza is made by deep-frying a traditional noodle cake shaped like a pizza in a wok until it turns golden brown and crunchy. Finished hu tieu pizza is commonly served with pork floss, coriander, and some roasted peanuts.

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Photo: Zing News

Although called “pizza”, but fried noodles have a completely different taste from Western pizza. It is crunchy, fatty, and has its own Southwest’s typical flavor.

Hai’s family continues to sell their traditional noodles apart from hu tieu pizza.

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Coating rice flour to make hu tieu (rice noodles). Photo: Zing News

Rice noodles are usually cooked for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on the temperature of the steamer.

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Photo: Zing News

It is then placed on a bamboo rack to get it ready for drying.

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Photo: Zing News

Dried rice noodles are cut into yarn with a specialized cutting machine.

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Photo: Zing News

Hu tieu pizza is finally packaged, at the price of VND 50,000 each (about $2). It is also the best seller in Hai’s rice noodles store.