Located at the corner of Dien Hong market in Nam Dinh city, Hien's vermicelli soup stall has existed for nearly 40 years and is a familiar destination for many Nam Dinh people.

From morning to night, the stall is always crowded, but the busiest time is at noon and in the evening.

Duong Thi Hien, 67, the owner of the stall, said she learned how to make the dish from her mother at a young age. Since 1985, after getting married, she has run a private shop. At first, she sold only bun rieu cua, but later, she added cracklings and salted sliced figs, which created a special flavor and helped attract more customers.

Nowadays, her customers call the dish ‘bun sung’ (vermicelli with fig) or ‘bun top mo’ (vermicelli with cracklings). Thanks to the special recipe, the woman has retained customers for 40 years.

Hien told VietNamNet that the ‘soul’ of bun sung is its broth is created entirely from field crabs, so it has a slightly sweet taste. The broth, combined with sour vinegar, can create a harmonious flavor. On average, she uses about 20 kilograms of field crabs to make broth every day.

As the shop opens from 6am to 8pm, Hien has to get up at 3am to prepare crabs and grind them to make broth. Other ingredients, including spices and herbs, are prepared the night before.

“About 50 kilograms of fig and 100 kilograms of vermicelli are used every day. On weekend, when there are more customers, I need 200 kilograms of vermicelli,” Hien said.

“Figs, after being washed, will be sliced ​​thinly and soaked in diluted saltwater to reduce acrid flavor and prevent it from turning black. When eating, customers can mix spices to their taste,” Hien explained.

Every serving of bun sung consists of fresh vermicelli, bean sprouts blanched in boiling water, and crispy cracklings seasoned with spices and herbs sprinkled on top, together with hot broth.

Each serving is priced at just VND10,000. If customers order additional toppings, such as cha ca (grilled fish), ca ran (fried fish), moc vien (pork and mushroom) and cha la lot (grilled meat wrapped in betel leaves), a serving costs VND15,000-30,000.

Six years ago, Hien ‘invented’ new kinds of toppings to give more choices to customers. Now, 70 percent of diners order servings with toppings, while the other 30 percent still want the traditional dish.

Trong Tung - Nguyen Thao