Every country has its own national cultural identity and its own gastronomy. Vietnam offers its adorable and delicious street food but for so many tourists, many dishes may seem unusual and strange. Here are the 13 unusual dishes of Vietnam!
1. Tiêt canh : fresh coagulated blood soup
This unusual Vietnamese dish uses fresh blood of pig, duck, goat, mixed with nuoc mam (fish sauce) or salt water diluted with cooked minced meat to coagulate the blood.
It is very popular in Vietnam, especially in the north of the country. According to doctors, the blood of animals and poultry contains many bacteria, viruses and parasites harmful to humans. Therefore, medical experts advise people not to eat fresh clotted blood soups.
After taking from this dish, the guests also eat the meat of animals and poultry. For example, pig’s blood soup is served with boiled organs of this animal, duck’s blood soup is served with boiled meat and bamboo shoot soup, etc.
Fresh blood of animals and poultry do not undergo any sterilization process, it is eaten directly with roasted peanuts and herbs. Many foreign tourists are scared when they look at this dish.
Blood soup is also on the list of the most unusual dishes in the world.
2. Trung vit lôn : fertilized duck egg
It is a popular street food and a choice dish for the Vietnamese, it is rooted in their culture, a bit like foie gras is in the French culture.
A fertilized duck egg is an egg that contains a small partially formed duck fetus, after being incubated for 9 to 11 days. They can be eaten with basil leaves (rau ram in Vietnamese) and a sauce sometimes mixed with chilies, lemon juice and sea salt. It is appreciated as a rich source of protein and Vietnamese children used to take them for breakfast. Vietnamese people used to eat this dish in the street, prepared by street vendors.
3. Mam tôm : the shrimp sauce
Mam tom is a fermented shrimp sauce that is frequently used in Vietnamese cuisine. With a very strong smell, many foreign tourists are not used to this kind of condiment. Mam tom” is a surprising food in itself: it is so strong, salty and pungent that Vietnamese people say that if you can eat it, it makes you Vietnamese.
Dishes prepared with the fermented shrimp paste are very popular: bún đậu mắm tôm (rice vermicelli and fried tofu with shrimp sauce), bun thang (vermicelli with chicken broth)…
4. Dog meat
In September 2018, Vietnamese authorities asked Hanoi residents to stop eating dog meat, noting that the popular dish tarnished the country’s image among foreigners and carried risks of spreading rabies.
But for many Vietnamese, eating dog at the end of the lunar month reverses bad luck. Dog meat is sold in markets and food shops especially in the North. Currently, the consumption of dog meat is less and less popular in Vietnam, especially in Hanoi.
To know, other peoples eat dog: Chinese, Koreans, Indians, Indonesians, Filipinos…
5. Snake meat
According to Vietnamese medicine, eating snake meat can cure a number of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes or kidney infections. That’s why, despite its high price, snake meat is known as one of the dishes enjoyed by many Vietnamese. According to enthusiasts, the bile of the snake plays an important role for the immune system. Eating snake meat makes you stronger and more virile, better in bed, and cures some diseases. Snake bile is swallowed with a small glass of strong alcohol. People also drink rice alcohol mixed with snake blood.
In the suburbs of Hanoi, there is a famous place for specialized snake meat restaurants. It is the village of Lê Mât. Here, you can choose a snake in a vivarium and the snake meat can be transformed into different dishes, at least 5.
6. Rat meat
Field rat is considered as a culinary specialty in some localities from North to South of Vietnam. Eating rat meat is excellent for health. Rat meat is processed into different dishes, and for foodies, boiled rat with lemon leaves is the most popular dish. This meat is white and delicious, like chicken. It is taken with a glass of rice alcohol. The villagers hunt rats after the rice harvesting season with the help of white hunting dogs.
7. Animal organs
In many countries of the world, animal organs are not eaten. In Vietnam, all animal parts such as intestines, heart, stomach, brain, tail, head, neck … can become a dish. The nutritional ingredients in internal organs are quite abundant. They are particularly rich in vitamins B (especially B12), A, D, E and K, folic acid and minerals including iron, magnesium, selenium and zinc. In addition, they are an excellent source of protein.
8. Cha ruoi: fried Nereid hash (worms)
Cha ruoi, fried minced meat of Nereid, is another tasty dish of North Vietnam. Cha ruoi is prepared with eggs, pork, mandarin peel, chili pepper and spring onion. Cha ruoi is always served hot with sweet and sour fish sauce, herbs and rice vermicelli. Nereids are excellent for health because they contain protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, zinc, etc.
9. Roasted insects
Worms, crickets, bee larvae, scorpions… are the insects selected in Vietnam to be transformed into food with high nutritional value.
In Vietnam, insects are a “poor man’s dish”, consumed in the countryside or in mountainous regions. But they are beginning to make their way onto the tables of the elite in the capital city of Hanoi. There are insect dishes including roasted bugs in lemon leaves or dishes of crickets, cicadas …
10. Chicken feet
Chicken feet are one of the most popular dishes in Vietnam. Chicken feet can be grilled with a chili and honey sauce, or boiled and served with ginger and lemongrass in a traditional seasoning.
Roasted chicken feet should be flavored with five spices, lemongrass and chili and is served with nuoc mam (fish brine) or soy sauce.
11. The durian
Durian is a very popular fruit for many Vietnamese and its price is also higher than other fruits.
Nevertheless, even for some Vietnamese, durian is a difficult fruit to eat because its smell is very strong and very often disturbs the nostrils of unaccustomed foreign travelers. Eating durian is a big challenge for novices. But once you fall in love with it, you will never stop enjoying this fruit. In Southeast Asian countries, durian is called “the king of fruits” because of its rich sweet aroma and softness. It is forbidden in hotels, on tourist buses and on airplanes because of its powerful smell.
12. Silkworms
Vietnamese cuisine has a reputation for being quite amazing at times. Silkworms are protein-rich insects, commonly used as a popular food in Vietnam. Grilled silkworms with lemon leaves are well appreciated by Vietnamese people. However, this specialty scares many foreign tourists, especially those who come to Vietnam for the first time.
13. Nem chua : a kind of Asian “delicatessen” made of fermented pork
When we mention the central province of Thanh Hoa, we immediately think of Nem chua. It is a favorite specialty of many domestic tourists.
Nem chua is made from raw pork mixed with spices and additives. After 3 to 4 days, the good bacteria naturally cook the Nem chua, then it can be eaten.
Vietnamese people often take Nem chua with beer. But for foreign visitors, this raw meat dish is not very easy to eat.
