The Cà Mèn snakehead fish rice porridge has officially been granted FDA certification (Food and Drug Administration) by the United States Food and Drug Administration. This milestone marks the tireless 8-year journey of sweat and tears of its young founder, Nguyễn Đức Nhật Thuận.
Cà Mèn – Bringing the Soul of the Homeland to the City
Cà Mèn was founded 8 years ago by Nguyễn Đức Nhật Thuận, a native son of Hải Hưng, Hải Lăng District, Quảng Trị Province. Born in 1990, Thuận left behind a stable job with a salary of nearly USD 1,000 to pursue his dream of bringing his hometown’s specialties to the world—a mission he has devoted his life to.
In 2009, Thuận moved to Ho Chi Minh City to attend university. With only a backpack, a few sets of clothes, his favorite books, and big dreams, the 18-year-old began his journey. After graduation, he worked at an import-export company in Ho Chi Minh City with a salary of USD 1,000—an enviable income at the time.
During his years away from home, what Thuận longed for most was a meal cooked by his mother—one with the salty, spicy flavors of Quảng Trị. “Back then, you could easily find specialties from Hanoi, Huế, Hội An, and other regions, but hardly any restaurants served dishes from Quảng Trị. I craved the taste of home desperately,” he recalled.
Every time he returned home, neighbors encouraged him to find ways to introduce Quảng Trị’s cuisine to a wider audience. That encouragement planted the seed for his dream of doing something meaningful for his homeland.
At the end of 2015, Thuận quit his job and embarked on his entrepreneurial journey by opening a humble eatery called “Cà Mèn.” The “restaurant” was nothing more than a few plastic tables and chairs in the front yard of his rented house in a dead-end alley on Gò Dầu Street, Tân Phú District. From then on, people began calling him “Thuận Cà Mèn.” Later, the eatery relocated to Phú Nhuận District, where it became a frequent destination for those craving Quảng Trị flavors.
The first dish that made a name for Cà Mèn was Phương Lang steamed rice rolls, followed by other dishes such as snakehead fish porridge, duck porridge, chicken salad with Vietnamese coriander, stir-fried eel vermicelli, and more. Each day, Thuận’s parents in Quảng Trị prepared and sent 30–40 kilograms of fresh ingredients to Ho Chi Minh City to supply Cà Mèn. With limited capital, Thuận himself also acted as the delivery man to build trust with customers.
By 2017, business was booming, and Cà Mèn opened a second branch in Thủ Đức District. Within 3 years, it had expanded to 3 locations. However, Thuận soon discovered significant management gaps. Despite being busy with customers, the business suffered losses.
By late 2018, Thuận and his wife had only 500,000 VND (about USD 20) left, and their last asset—a used laptop—had to be pawned to repay debts. But the daily image of his parents preparing fresh Quảng Trị ingredients and the unwavering support of his wife gave him the strength to keep going. “Without my family, friends, and especially my wife always standing by me, I could not have started over,” Thuận shared.
Taking Quảng Trị Flavors to the World
When the business began to recover, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, forcing all operations to stop. During the lockdown, Thuận received many messages from customers saying how much they missed the flavors of their hometown meals. From this longing, the idea of “packaging snakehead fish porridge” was born.
In December 2021, the first packaged version of snakehead fish porridge was introduced. However, it was bulky, heavy, and made for multiple servings, making it impractical for travel. Thuận continued to refine the product, and by June 2022—just as Vietnam reopened—he launched a new single-serving 230g version, compact and convenient.
The product includes vacuum-sealed rice flour noodles, dried scallions, concentrated broth, and cooked, seasoned pieces of wild-caught snakehead fish. With just 5 minutes of preparation, customers could enjoy a delicious, authentic bowl of porridge.
The warm reception and positive feedback helped the product reach even the most demanding markets. “One night around 1 a.m., I received a call from the U.S. It was an elderly Vietnamese woman, nearly 80, who had lived abroad for decades. With tears in her voice, she told me how emotional she was to finally taste the porridge her mother once cooked, after so many years away from home,” Thuận recalled.
With the product’s growing recognition, Thuận changed Cà Mèn’s slogan from “Bringing Quảng Trị into the city” to “Bringing Quảng Trị to the world.” Now, Cà Mèn’s mission was not just to serve Quảng Trị cuisine in Ho Chi Minh City but also to introduce it internationally.
Unexpectedly… Cà Mèn Arrives in America
Despite never visiting the U.S. or formally researching the market, Thuận’s packaged snakehead fish porridge suddenly became a sensation among the Vietnamese community there.
Initially, Thuận himself researched the process of exporting food and directly contacted U.S. food authorities. Unexpectedly, an American distributor discovered his product through hand-carried shipments and reached out.
By June 2023, just one year after launching the single-serving version, LNS International Corporation, a company distributing Vietnamese agricultural and food products to around 1,000 supermarkets and stores in the U.S., had taken notice.
Nguyễn Thị Kim Huyền (Jolie Nguyễn), President of LNS International, said the porridge became “hot” in early 2023, especially in Houston. Curious, she tried it herself and was impressed: “It tasted just like home-cooked porridge, with large, flavorful pieces of snakehead fish. It was unlike any other packaged food I had tried.” She quickly sought out the source and began negotiations.
As a result, Cà Mèn signed an exclusive distribution contract worth USD 5–6 million with LNS International Corporation for snakehead fish porridge and other packaged products in the U.S. To date, Cà Mèn has officially exported over 150,000 packs (three containers) of snakehead fish porridge to the U.S.
“Seeing our hometown’s specialty displayed on supermarket shelves in America, embraced by so many overseas Vietnamese, fills me with pride and happiness. I hope this will serve as a foundation for expanding into Asia, Australia, and Europe,” Thuận expressed.
A Landmark for Quảng Trị Cuisine
Snakehead fish porridge is the first specialty from Quảng Trị to be packaged and exported to major markets such as the U.S., Australia, Germany, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Domestically, Cà Mèn also has 10 distributors across Vietnam.
Currently, Cà Mèn operates a production facility in Ho Chi Minh City equipped with modern machinery capable of producing 400,000–500,000 packs per month. This is a stepping stone toward building a larger factory in Quảng Trị Province itself.
Beyond its flagship snakehead fish porridge, Cà Mèn has recently introduced two new packaged products: eel vermicelli and stir-fried eel noodles with turmeric.
