Vietnamese food is one of the most popular cuisines in the world but there are some dishes you need a bit of courage to eat. You may call it weird food; strange food; unique or challenging food but nevertheless delicious compare with some of the signature dishes such as Pho, Banh Mi, Bun Bo….This post covers the top ten weird foods you must try when you’re in Vietnam, they’re from eggs, blood, worms, intestines to dog meat. Let take a look for more detail as below.
1. Balut egg – trứng vịt lộn
Balut egg is a developing duck embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell.
It usually served with laksa leaves and a small saucer of salt mixed pepper. boiled balut is a popular dish, which is mainly sold by street vendors or served in common food stalls.
2. Blood pudding – Tiết Canh
Blood pudding is a fresh dish that contains the raw blood of an animal such as ducks, geese, pigs, goats… To prevent the coagulation, the blood pudding will be mixed with fish sauce or dilute salt water. After that, the boiled organs of animals, cartilage or meat will be added to the dish. Once the blood pudding is set, it looks like a jelly cake.
When trying the dish, the dinner will add some roasted peanuts and cutting herb as lemon, mints, coriander along with spicy chili.
3. Coconut Worm – Đuông dừa
The larvae of coconut worms can be made into butter- or flour-fried dishes, or, infamously, eaten alive after being dipped in chili fish sauce. These dishes are quite popular in the Mekong Delta River.
4. Rat meat
Not every type of rat can be turned into food. Only the rat that eats the rice in the field is good for cooking. The local farmer will skin it and cut off the tail then grill, steam with lemon leaves or fry with garlic and onions.…
5. Shrimp sauce – mắm tôm
Shrimp sauce is made from shrimp and salt. After fermentation, the sauce creates flavor characteristics. it is mixed with some additional ingredients such as fresh crushed garlic, water, and lemon juice … to create a special taste. shrimp sauce is indispensable in many dishes such as dog meat, pig organs, Thai brinjal…
6. Snake meat
Snake is another food that makes its home in the fields of the Vietnamese country. With one snake, a chef can make more than 10 dishes. Nevertheless, it’s blood mix with rice vodka is preferred by many Vietnamese. Some guys even eat the still-beating heart of the snake, especially of the copra. The snake meat, skin, and bones can be cooked in many ways: fried, curries, etc. All are tasty , fresh with herbs found in all Vietnamese cuisine.
7. Animal organs
Citizens of many countries around the world do not eat the organs of animals. But you will be surprised with dishes made from intestines, lungs, kidney, heart, stomach, etc. It seems there are no parts to throw away especially with the pig, chicken, duck… However, they are not too hard to eat.
8. Rươi
Another name is “rồng đất”, meaning “land dragon”, they are family of polychaete worms. Rươi is living brackish waters in the North, usually, only appear from September to October. Rươi is considered valuable food that rich protein.
From Rươi, the skillful homemaker prepares a lot of delicious food, distinct flavor characteristics such as Rươi ball, Rươi sauce, Rươi boil, Rươi rolls, Rươi soup…
9. Dog and cat meat
In Vietnam dogs and cats are eaten. The name “cầy tơ 7 món” means 7 dishes from a dog become one of the most favorite dishes and popular in Vietnam. Although the mentality is changing, there are still many people who eat dog or cat meat. It is often accompanied by shrimp sauce, galangal, lemongrass, savory leaves…
10. Chicken feet
Another “classic” dishes are chicken feet. They are usually boiled, fried, steam with scallion or simply grilled. No part of the chicken feet get wasted, you should enjoy from the skin to bone…
Not just these 10 dishes above, there are still more dishes sold throughout Vietnam. All you need is just get out of your place, stroll around and dare to try it. You can also join street food tour with our local guide or follow Viet Dream Travel’s guide for more fun information on what to do, see and eat while in Viet Nam.
