Rice Vermicelli

The essence of an entire broth pot in one small seasoning packet

If there were a competition to compare the versatility in preparation methods of various rice-based noodles, bún would undoubtedly surpass all other contenders. Dubbed the noodle that "cools the lips and soothes the throat" countless bún dishes have become cultural representatives across this S-shaped land.

Northern bún embodies sophisticated standards in ingredient selection, preparation, and enjoyment, with a light and delicate flavor profile. Savory-spicy-sweet and sour are the prominent flavors when speaking of Central bún, a harmonious blend of the elaborate, courtly culinary tradition and the simple, rustic style of street food. Southern bún, on the other hand, is appealing for its rustic simplicity, blended with a touch of folk and generous flavors: aromatic, sweet, and rich.

Although varied, the most important part, considered the "soul" of every bún dish, is the broth. And the secret to creating the distinctiveness of each type of broth lies in its ingredients, typically certain seasoning components. Vietnamese people are accustomed to seasoning with various types of fermented fish paste like *mắm ruốc* and *mắm cá* in dishes such as *bún bò Huế* and Southern *bún mắm* in the West, so once it's missing, the bowl of bún cannot have its complete flavor. If it were a skill passed "from person to person", with enough ingredients and a bit of skill, one could cook a perfect pot of bún broth. However, the process of transferring from homemade kitchens to industrial production lines is not simple. How could fish paste (*mắm cá*) and fermented shrimp paste (*mắm ruốc*) be packaged along with the product? Yet, Acecook Vietnam has managed to do it!
With Acecook's Hằng Nga *bún mắm* flavored product, simply wait a few minutes for the water to boil, add the seasoning packet, and anyone can recreate a deliciously irresistible bowl of *bún mắm* with its rich sweetness and fragrant aroma of *mắm cá linh* (fermented linh fish paste). When that aroma and sweetness cling to the smooth rice vermicelli, accompanied by some fresh greens, and you add a piece of roasted pork, or a shrimp, or a squid… oh my, everything blends together perfectly, ready to "conquer" any food lover enjoying it. Sometimes you might even think that delicious taste and aroma are "fake" because it's an industrial product! But then you read the packaging and see that it really does contain *mắm cá linh*! It makes you suddenly think, how ingenious Acecook Vietnam is! The essence of an entire pot of broth condensed into just one tiny seasoning packet!

Only those in the industry truly understand the difficulty and arduousness of achieving this! From continuous business trips, traveling any distance just to experience and taste Western region Bún Mắm at all kinds of eateries, big and small, to months of diligent research finding a method to transfer the traditional flavor to an industrial product using suitable ingredients, followed by weighing, measuring, and adjusting the recipe hundreds of times... "Forgetting meals and tapping pillows at midnight" was all due to constantly pondering how to "instantize" linh fish fermented paste! The immense effort was finally rewarded, and Bún Hằng Nga was born, completely preserving its unique character while being remarkably modern!
For those dedicated to product research and development, what result could be sweeter!

Pho Noodles

Elevating the value of Vietnamese rice

It can be said that paddy rice is the main food crop, playing a crucial role in Vietnam's economy. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam's average rice export volume is about 6 million tons, equivalent to 2.81 billion USD annually, consistently placing it among the top rice-exporting countries globally. However, the commercial value of Vietnamese rice grains has not yet reached its full potential. Therefore, in addition to programs aimed at building the brand for Vietnamese rice, introducing advanced processing technology and diversifying products from rice are also important directions. Acecook Vietnam's instant pho products and instant rice noodle products in general are among those effective solutions. Sales began in 2007, and revenue from Acecook Vietnam's instant rice noodle products in the domestic market, including instant pho, has continuously grown, reaching over 1.5 trillion VND (approximately 65 million USD) in 2019 and accounting for about 18% of total revenue. Furthermore, with an export market covering over 35 countries worldwide, revenue from Acecook Vietnam's exported instant rice noodle products in general has surpassed 10 million USD (~225 billion VND) and is growing at an average of 10% per year.

Notably, the company has also successfully exported pho noodle nests to Japan – a country with very strict food hygiene and safety standards. There, these pho noodle nests, packaged with complete seasonings, have become a Vietnamese pho product sold in the Japanese market under the name: Pho-ccori Kibun instant pho. Within 3 years, this product had become available throughout Japan and achieved outstanding growth, with sales increasing 12-fold compared to its initial launch, reaching over 17 million products in 2017.

Besides instant pho products, Acecook Vietnam also offers dried product lines for Vietnamese and Asian restaurants and eateries. For example, in 2017, the famous Pho Lan restaurant in the Czech Republic used Acecook Vietnam's dried pho as the main ingredient for its Vietnamese pho dish on the menu. Not only targeting the restaurant and eatery channel, Acecook Vietnam anticipates that these rice-based products will experience explosive growth in the future. It's estimated that Acecook Vietnam uses about 20,000 tons of raw rice annually to produce these rice noodle products. The company believes that to maximize the potential of rice grains, investing in technology to transform raw rice into processed products is the fastest way to enhance rice value and develop agriculture. This is evidenced by the value of Vietnamese rice having increased 3-5 times compared to its original value through Acecook Vietnam's products.

Since 2017, Acecook Vietnam has also collaborated with Tuoi Tre newspaper to initiate and establish "Pho Day" in Vietnam, celebrated annually on December 12th. This event aims to honor the value of rice grains and contribute to promoting and bringing Vietnamese Pho to global renown, just like Japan's Sushi or Italy's Pizza.
"Oh, my homeland, what could be more beautiful than this? Rice fields waiting for harvest seasons. Love begins with a look, and tomorrow starts today…" Acecook Vietnam's success today truly began with such passion and love for Vietnamese rice!

Vermicelli Strands

An "unrivaled" position in consumers' hearts

Unlike bún, phở, and hủ tiếu, which can be eaten daily, miến is often associated with special occasions like Tet (Lunar New Year) or death anniversaries. This is because the traditional technique for making miến requires many intricate and meticulous steps, heavily dependent on the weather, making it almost impossible to consistently supply large quantities.

The common ingredient for making traditional miến is canna starch. The starch is mixed with warm water, spread into thin sheets like bánh đa (rice crackers), steamed, and then sun-dried for a day. Afterwards, the miến sheets are cut into long strips, dipped in water to soften them, and then fed into a machine to be pressed into fine strands. Next comes the manual kneading step, where the kneading force must be just right – neither too strong nor too gentle. Kneading too hard would break the strands, while too soft would prevent them from becoming chewy. The miến is then sun-dried one more time to achieve its desired crispness and chewiness. During drying, the miến must be straightened carefully to prevent any strands from tangling. Finally, in the packaging stage, the miến is cut into medium-length segments and tied into even bundles. After making each “silk thread of the earth” – a poetic way people in the Northern region refer to miến – artisans in the craft village labor from dawn to dusk for several days, typically 2-3 days if the sun is good.

It was initially thought that transitioning from traditional manual production to modern manufacturing would simply involve replacing people with machines. However, after a long period of thorough research and understanding, Acecook Vietnam realized that to preserve the original characteristics of miến strands, a combination of both technology and traditional craftsmanship is essential. If noodle production is difficult, phở production is twice as difficult as noodles, then miến production is twice as difficult as phở. Even now, Acecook Vietnam's miến production process still requires a significant amount of time to create the most perfect and highest-quality bundles of miến. Furthermore, to create a product that is both traditional and represents a breakthrough improvement, Acecook Vietnam chose mung bean starch and potato starch to replace canna starch. Thanks to this, the company not only creates smooth miến strands and straight, transparent, crispy, and chewy, but also makes them more refreshing, healthier, and, importantly, ensures food hygiene and safety.

Most surprisingly, the first miến product Acecook Vietnam released was not miến for cooking. Instead, the company chose a completely different and novel path: instant miến. With this pioneering move, Acecook Vietnam created a new concept of eating miến for Vietnamese people, while simultaneously turning the Phú Hương miến brand into a market sensation. Distributors had to visit the factory, wait in line, and even "compete" to get each carton of miến.

From production partnerships for market testing, Acecook Vietnam eventually had to build its own factory to meet the demand. Then, from one factory in the South, another factory was added in the North. Phú Hương miến is almost always the first name on the order list for distributors and retailers dealing with Acecook Vietnam. The sales volume of Phú Hương miến from 2005 until now is an enviable figure for many businesses: nearly 600 million products, averaging close to 40 million products per year. If you ask consumers, "Which brand of instant miến do you use at home?", the answer is almost certainly Phú Hương.
16 years have passed, but that position remains "unrivaled" and irreplaceable.

Hủ Tiếu Noodles

A Perfect "Distinctive Touch"

Vietnamese culinary culture would not be truly complete without "hủ tiếu". Hủ Tiếu emerges as a distinctive highlight in the "noodle" culinary scene, offering a diverse range of aromas and rich flavors.

In Saigon, hủ tiếu is an incredibly familiar dish that you can easily find on any street. And a fondly remembered Saigon specialty is "gõ" hủ tiếu. Here, "gõ" isn't the name of the dish, but rather refers to a very special vending method. From late afternoon, through midnight until dawn, hủ tiếu vendors wander through small alleys, holding a set of tools that create a cheerful "coc coc" sound. Hearing this tapping sound, you just need to peek out your window, place an order, and in a moment, a steaming hot bowl of hủ tiếu will be delivered right to your home.

Saigon also boasts countless other hủ tiếu dishes, all called hủ tiếu even if their noodles or broth preparations are completely different! Such as Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang, Hủ Tiếu Sa Đéc, beef stew hủ tiếu, squid hủ tiếu, fish hủ tiếu, and beef ball hủ tiếu… With a spirit that cherishes local culinary culture, Acecook Vietnam’s product "treasure trove" wouldn't be complete without hủ tiếu. Thus, the initiative for instant hủ tiếu was born. Unlike pho or bún noodles, hủ tiếu noodles are often chewier and more resilient because they are made from filtered rice flour. The distinctive character of a bowl of hủ tiếu also comes from the slightly pungent taste of chives, the clear sweetness of broth simmered with white radish, dried squid, pork bones, and the irresistible aroma of stir-fried minced meat and fried garlic... Acecook Vietnam has dedicated time to contemplate, research, and faithfully recreate all these essences into our Nhịp Sống Hủ Tiếu packs. From the South, Acecook Vietnam has brought the culinary taste of Saigon across all regions of the country. Now, Northerners craving beef stew hủ tiếu can easily prepare this dish at home with all the authentic color, aroma, and taste. Or Central Vietnamese who enjoy Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang no longer need to travel far to the South, but can enjoy a delicious bowl of hủ tiếu at home, just like at a restaurant. And for Saigonese, on a rainy, windy day when the sound of "gõ" hủ tiếu is absent, they can still feel warm knowing an instant hủ tiếu pack is ready in their kitchen. According to data from Kantar Worldpanel's consumer behavior research program in 2019, Acecook Vietnam's Nhịp Sống Hủ Tiếu is the most purchased instant hủ tiếu brand in 4 major cities and rural areas of Vietnam.

Someone once charmingly compared it, saying if pho is a radiant, prestigious beauty queen you instantly fall for, then hủ tiếu is like a simple, graceful schoolgirl, the more you admire her, the more you love her. The deliciousness of hủ tiếu is like a gentle rain that slowly permeates, growing on you over time. At first, it might seem quite ordinary, but the more you eat it, the more unique and captivating it becomes.

You can eat hủ tiếu forever and never get bored
The broth remains delicious, no matter how many sips you take.
Even when the bowl is empty, your lips still smack with delight
Promising yourself: just one more bowl, then your waist will be slim.