Most of the Vietnamese markets in Orange County are open seven days a week, offering many kinds of stuff, from food, fresh vegetables, home appliances, to gold, incense, betel nut, spices, etc. which are particular to Vietnamese cuisine and culture.
Vegetables of all sorts popular in Vietnam are grown by the Vietnamese owned farms in the region, and supplied to the markets everyday.
Nguoi Viet (Vietnamese people) is a well-known market, located at the corner of Westminster and Euclid streets.
Hoa Tran, who has owned the market for over 10 years, said it was named so because its aim is to serve the Vietnamese community in the US. Her market features things like fish, dried items, spices, vegetables, and fruits.
Another market, Hoa Binh in Garden Grove, sells a wide variety of nuoc mam (fish sauce) made from different kinds of fish.
Markets like this, most of which boast purely Vietnamese names, were set up a long time ago by the Vietnamese community living in the US. There are tens of Vietnamese markets in Orange County, hundreds in California, and thousands across the US.
“From 1979 to 1985 I craved for Vietnamese-style dishes but American markets only sold US or western food. Sometimes I wanted to have just a bottle of nuoc mam,” said Phuoc Truong, a 62-year-old Vietnamese living in Los Angeles.
“Now things are much easier. The Vietnamese community has grown stronger. Nearly all kinds of food in Vietnam are found here,” Truong said. “At weekends, most of the families of Vietnamese descent in southern California come to Bolsa avenue to eat at restaurants, attend parties or meetings, and go shopping at Vietnamese markets.”
Truong added that during these occasions, Bolsa avenue becomes especially bustling with both cars and people, which he considers a cultural feature that helps preserve the soul of Vietnamese people on the US soil.
Source: VOV