Diverse in both ingredients and tastes, the traditional cuisine of Vietnam has won the hearts of many foreigners for its novelty and elegance. But you will definitely miss out on one of the best things about Vietnamese cuisine: adventure if you only try the eye catching, attractive looking dishes! When talking about the creepiest dishes in Vietnam, many people may immediately think of dog meat, shrimp paste or duck embryos. But there are some specialties taking the horror factor to a much higher level. Indochina travel services
Coconut worms (Duong Dua) in Vietnam
Being a famous specialty the land of coconuts of the Mekong Delta, this dish has made many-a-traveler afraid of the fat worms wriggling on the plate. Being a form of beetle larvae living in coconut trees, the delicious worm which is free from pesticides and rich in protein, is nutritious and safe to eat. Eating the worms is also widely believed to be able to enhance the sexual abilities of males.
Boiling them in coconut water, making a salad dish, frying, steaming or simply pouring some special sauce on them and eating them alive, are some of at least 10 ways of cooking the worms. Being about three to five centimeters long, the meaty fat worms are about the size of an adult’s finger or toe.
Not only in the Mekong Delta provinces, but also at both food stalls and restaurants in Saigon and Hanoi can tourists try the creepy dish. In restaurants, each worm costs from USD$0.6 to USD$1.
Internal organs with excrement soup (Nam Pia)
You may have to rethink after tasting this traditional delicacy from the Thai ethnic minority group in the Northwest area of Vietnam if you think that excrement of animals is not for eating. The internal organs of cows or goats and excrement in the small intestine are the main elements of the dish. South Vietnam travel packages
Before mixing the small intestine with the excrement inside with minced herbs (especially mac ken, a popular unique forest herb), they have to boil the internal organs. In some areas, cow’s bile is also added. They will boil the mixture for about an hour.
The foul-smelling brown soup may bring you a weird, bitter flavor at the first taste. It will be better though, and at the end, you may fall in love with that delicious bitterness that is long lasting in your mouth even when you have finished a portion of the dish.
Boiled pork, banana flower and some mint are the best side dishes of the delicacy. If you dare to try it, the dish will make a lasting impression on you. This Thai ethnic people’s delicacy is considered as “the truly taste of the forest”.
Uncooked blood soup or pudding
For the faint-hearted, the sight of fresh blood from pigs, chickens, goats or ducks is a nightmare. Not only happening in horror films, slaughtering animals for their fresh blood is a real specialty here in Vietnam, with the most popular of pig’s blood.
It is not complicated to do the process of making the dish. After getting the freshly drawn blood, the cook will add some salt water of fish sauce and then stir it well with chopsticks. Before letting the blood coagulate, they will mix it with some cooked innards or minced meat, herbs and roasted groundnut. To make it tastier, you can also add some lime juice. Although many like it boiled, the raw version of the dish is often ranked as the most delicious.
- See more:
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- Stunning dishes in Lang Son
- 4 suggestions for Banh mi Vietnam
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