In the old candy shops around Chợ Rồng market, blocks of peanut candy sit lined up neatly, and the shopkeeper can rattle off the name "Sìu Châu" without a second thought -- a name that sounds like a place but is actually a mispronunciation passed down through generations. This candy has come down from the Đỗ family's shop over two hundred years ago, and it's still the treat Nam Định locals give as gifts and keep for themselves.
Cross-confirmed by mainstream media and a semi-official magazine as a signature Nam Định treat
Semi-official media outlet Khoa Học và Phát Triển, run under the Ministry of Science and Technology, records that master candy-maker Đỗ Phúc Nhật created this candy roughly 200 years ago, and the Đỗ family's shop was already known across the city by the 1860s. Two independent VnExpress reports cross-confirm that it's made by mixing peanuts (or peanuts and sesame) with sugar and sticky rice flour or malt syrup -- non-sticky and resistant to going soft even when kept a long time, making it a fixture of Nam Định holiday gift-giving with no rival by the same name nationwide.
Honest clarification: "Sìu Châu" comes from a mispronunciation, and the exact address of the "Chaozhou temple" couldn't be verified
It has to be said honestly that this place-sounding name actually comes from a mispronunciation: the shop originally stood in front of a "Chaozhou temple" (đền/hội quán Triều Châu), and locals would direct people to "that candy shop in front of the Chaozhou temple," which was gradually shortened and mispronounced as "Sìu Châu." The name was only formally adopted in 1880. This round of research could not locate the exact street address of the "Chaozhou temple" -- only that it stood somewhere within Nam Định City -- so this entry's coordinates use the old-quarter candy-shop cluster (near Chợ Rồng market and Hàng Sắt street) as an approximate representative point, not precise geocoding. Fortunately, both the origin and the point of sale sit within Nam Định City's own territory rather than being transplanted from a surrounding district, giving it one of the strongest in-city roots on this list.
How to Buy It Like a Local
- Candy shops cluster around Chợ Rồng market and Hàng Sắt street in Nam Định City's old quarter -- a good place to pick a fresh batch in person.
- It stays fresh a long time without going soft, making it a good souvenir for a long trip.
- Both peanut and peanut-sesame versions are available at most shops -- choose based on your own preference.
An Honest Look at This Candy's Origins
- "Sìu Châu" comes from a mispronunciation of "in front of the Chaozhou temple," not a direct translation of a place name.
- The exact street address of the "Chaozhou temple" couldn't be verified this round -- this entry's coordinates represent the old-quarter cluster approximately, not precise geocoding.
- Both the origin and the point of sale sit within Nam Định City's own territory, giving it one of the strongest in-city roots on this list.
Bite into a piece of peanut candy and the sweetness of the malt mingles with the peanut aroma on the tongue. The candy's name might trace back to a two-hundred-year-old case of word-of-mouth mistaken identity, but the craft passed down from the Đỗ family's shop has never once been diminished by how the name came to be.