VI
EN
In the late days of winter, the sidewalk corner of Nguyen Truong To Street in Hoi An City is covered with red Terminalia catappa leaves. In the chilly breeze, Ms. Ngo Thi Thi's stall selling candied fruit is steaming, emitting a fragrant aroma. A humble stall on the sidewalk with an old stove and pot stained black with soot. At first glance, it's nothing special compared to the many street vendors passing through the old town. It stands quietly amidst the bustling street.
In the pot, a sweet soup made from black sesame seeds was bubbling and simmering. The soup had the richness of sesame, the subtle sweetness of sugar, and a slightly pungent aroma reminiscent of traditional Chinese medicine. Ms. Thi skillfully scooped out bowls of the thick soup, smiling as she recounted the unique flavors of Hoi An.
Ms. Ngo Thi Thi, daughter of Mr. Ngo Thieu, is the one who took over the family's traditional soy sauce stall, which is over 70 years old.
Ms. Ngo Thi Thi is the daughter of Mr. Ngo Thieu (born in 1915). Mr. Thieu is affectionately known by the people of Hoi An as "the old man who makes black sesame candy." He is over 100 years old and has spent 70 years making and selling black sesame candy. Throughout that time, carrying the aroma of this black sesame candy on his shoulders, he has brought it to the streets of Hoi An's old town, and even to neighboring areas like Cam Nam and Cam Chau…
Xí mà is black sesame sweet soup, which is cooling and good for digestion.
Xí mà originally came from China, but thanks to Mr. Thiểu, it gradually became a dish of the people of Hoi An. The craft of making xí mà was introduced to Hoi An during the formation and development of the Hoi An trading port city.
From the 17th to the 19th centuries, cultural exchange, including culinary exchange, flourished between the Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, and some Western countries. At that time, Mr. Ngo Thieu worked for a Chinese family in the Old Quarter. Among the dishes he learned from his employer was the "xi ma" dish. When the family left Hoi An, he took with him the secrets and techniques he had acquired, and continued to make his daily stalls of hot "xi ma" as a means of earning a living.
For over 70 years, every morning, the streets and alleys of Hoi An's old town echoed with the cries of Mr. Ngo Thieu: "Who wants hot sticky rice here? Hot sticky rice here!" The yellow-painted walls, adorned with pink bougainvillea and red Terminalia leaves, were everywhere, bearing the image of Mr. Thieu's unsteady carrying pole.
When her legs grew too tired to sell her wares anymore, she settled down in a corner of the sidewalk on Nguyen Truong To Street, her stall always bustling with customers. For the past 10 years or so, due to health reasons, she has retired. Fortunately, her children have inherited the trade and continue to carry on her legacy.
Every day, Ms. Thi cooks about 15 cans of sesame seeds.
Over the past few decades, Hoi An has changed a lot, but the traditional soy sauce oven of Mr. Thieu's family has never stopped burning. The humble soy sauce vendor's cart daily emits smoke along the familiar street, quietly, preserving its original flavor as it was in the beginning.
Many people who ate Mrs. Thieu's sesame candy when they were children still visit her daughter's stall every day even in their seventies. As children, they eagerly awaited each morning to hear Mrs. Thieu's call so they could enjoy a hot bowl of black sesame candy. As adults, they haven't given up the habit of buying sesame candy to eat before going to work or the market.
Although many other soy sauce stalls have appeared in Hoi An, none are as delicious as Mr. Thieu's soy sauce. What's special is that Mr. Ngo Thieu's house is located right next to the thousand-year-old Ba Le well. Ms. Thi said that his soy sauce is made with water from the ancient well, giving it a uniquely sweet and delicate flavor unlike any other. The thousand-year-old Ba Le well never dries up; its water is naturally pure and unpolluted. Today, it is only used to cook special Hoi An dishes such as Cao Lau noodles and to brew various types of tea…
To make a basket of xí mà (a type of sweet soup), Mr. and Mrs. Ngô Thiểu, and later their children, had to prepare the ingredients the night before. The main ingredients of xí mà are black sesame seeds, sweet potato flour, water spinach, centella asiatica, traditional sugar, and some cooling Chinese medicinal herbs. The black sesame seeds are soaked and ground into a fine powder, then cooked at 4 am for two hours. By around 6 am, when the xí mà is cooked, Ms. Thị takes it to the street to sell.
Made from cooling ingredients, xí mà (a type of Vietnamese sweet soup) is very good for digestion and bowel movements, especially for the elderly, children, and pregnant women. Each day, using about 15 cans of black sesame seeds, Ms. Thi makes several dozen bowls, and almost all of them sell out. A bowl of xí mà currently costs only 10,000 VND.
Most of the customers eating xí mà are people from Hoi An.
Xí mà is not a popular dish because its flavor is quite selective. Originally, it was just a snack for laborers in Hoi An, not intended for tourists. But after many years of being present at a street corner, the aroma of xí mà has attracted many curious tourists from near and far to come and try it. At Mr. Thieu's house, there is also an exhibition space for tourists to visit and learn about the traditional xí mà making craft. From a means of livelihood and hard work to raise their children, xí mà has become a spiritual heritage of the people of Hoi An.
Holding a warm bowl of black sesame sweet soup in your hands is like cherishing a heritage and the dedication of a family who painstakingly brought this rustic treat made from black sesame to the people of Hoi An. Enjoying food is sometimes not just about appreciating the sensory elements like smell and color, but also about savoring the unique atmosphere where the dish is served. With black sesame sweet soup, in each bowl, one can also see the length of the past.
