Hu Tieu is actually only about 30 percent tapioca and the rest rice flour. At least that is what they said at the factory tour in Can Tho, Vietnam in the Mekong Delta.
@Rudra: Thanks for sharing. The noodle used in hu tieu depends on specific regions in Vietnam. As mentioned in my article, it can use egg noodle with Chinese influence, or banh pho noodle in many Southern areas. Obviously the factory you mentioned uses tapioca and rice flour, which is are both common ingredients to make banh pho and other "rice" noodle like "bún" and "bánh hỏi". So it's good to know this factory makes the noodle with 30/70 mix (unfortunately no name or brand was given), but I'm sure other manufacturer may have a different mix, depending on how they want their texture and taste to be.
I have a question. There are two unrelated Hủ Tiếu restaurants where I live and both have "Ky (or Kee) Mì Gia" in their names. Thanks to this article I know what the "Mi" means but does anyone know what the rest of it or the phrase refers to?
@C: Mì Gia literally translates to “noodle house”. It’s a part of many Chinese and Viet noodle restaurants’ names. Ky or various properly written forms of it (Ký or Kỳ) is a Vietnamese name, Kee is a Chinese name written in English, as there is no words in Viet language with a double ‘e’ (ee).
Not sure about the specific places you mentioned, but normally Ky or Kee should be part of a 2- or 3- word names. Hope this helps.
Uhh, I read it is of Chinese influence. Specifically Teochew or for Vietnamese reference “Triều Châu.” They has a huge diaspora, especially throughout Southeast Asia. This is a reason why a lot of mixed Chinese , especially in Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia are mixed with Triều Châu. Also why there’s “Hủ tiếu Triều Châu.”
@Orlando Dao: Fair comment. I think if we go back far enough, we'd find that most everything would point back to some Chinese influence or Chinese origin. China as a country and a people had the most advanced and developed culture, technology and way of life in the whole Asia region. They even call themselves the center of the world even to this day. Compared to the Chinese civilization, most of the surrounding areas (in all directions: north, east, south, west) are considered less civilized peoples in small tribes with less organization, no technology, cultures, etc. Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia would fall into this group. I'm sure China would love to incorporate all these "little" countries as part of China as they have at times in the past. Chinese influence across Asia and the world was and is so extensive that any type of noodle as a food would have originated from China ultimately. No argument there.
