Vietnamese food truck makes Sioux Falls debut

May 2, 2018

A Vietnamese food truck will make its Sioux Falls debut today.

Phan Food will be serving egg rolls, spring rolls, crab rangoon and fried rice with pork or chicken from the parking lot at SDN Communications, 2900 W. 10th St., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Van Nguyen started the food truck with her mother, Oanh Phan, in April. They made a test run and served their food April 21 at a fundraiser for Baltic schools.

Nguyen, who moved to the U.S. from Vietnam 13 years ago, said she didn’t know what food trucks were until she started going to events with her husband, Luan Phan.

“I thought, ‘I would like to do that,’” Nguyen said, but she didn’t have anyone to cook with her. When Oanh Phan moved here from Vietnam three years ago, she joined Nguyen in the kitchen at the Good Samaritan Society’s Sioux Falls Center. Nguyen, who also works full time in the kitchen at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, told her about the dream of having a food truck, and they decided to start one. Nguyen’s husband found the former Curbside Delights truck for sale, which was perfect because it had all the equipment they needed.

The recipes they use are those of Luan Phan’s mother, Lieu Nguyen. “She is the best cook ever,” Nguyen said, adding that working on the truck, though, would be too strenuous for her.

Nguyen and Phan cook everything on the menu from scratch. Once they perfect a bread recipe, Nguyen said, they will add banh mi sandwiches to the menu. They also provide catering and can create more elaborate dishes for clients.

Phan Food will be at community events, and the women also are accepting invitations to serve lunch outside businesses. St. Joseph’s Indian School Donor Care Center on South Westport Avenue has asked them to come twice a month. They’ll be there May 10 and 25.

Nguyen plans to keep the food truck’s location updated on its Facebook page.

Love food trucks? Here’s your complete guide to the 2018 season

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Vietnamese food truck makes Sioux Falls debut

Van Nguyen started the food truck with her mother, Oanh Phan, in April.

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