Western culture considers that eating a
dog is not good, but there will be no problem with other sorts of
animals, as long as they are not called pets. However, for the vast
majority of people on Earth, cultural values are very different. Some
strange foods are considered a delicacy in some Asian cultures including
China, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and
Myanmar. Indeed, these food are very tasty and protein rich. May be you
should try them some day if you are not vegetarian.
Dog meat
is consumed in Vietnam to varying degrees of acceptability, though it
predominantly exists in the North. It's a winter food which believed to
keep you extraordinarily warm on cold nights. Dog meat
is eaten in a variety of ways, from grilled, stuffed in spring rolls,
stir fried, to added to soups. There are multiple dishes featuring dog
meat, and they often include the head, feet as well as internal organs.
Dog meat restaurants can be found throughout the country. If you are in
Hanoi and you are eager to try this dish, please come to a restaurant on
Nhat Tan Street - Tay Ho District. Typically, a chef will choose one
of seven ways to cook dog, collectively known as "cầy tơ 7 món". You can choose steamed
dog meat, dog sausage, steamed dog in shrimp paste, ginger and rice
vinegar, grilled dog meat, bamboo shoots and dog bone marrow or fried
dog in lemon grass and chili. Here, you can see groups of customers who
seated on mats spending their evenings on sharing plates of dog meat and
drinking alcohol.
Dog meat is supposed to raise the libido and sometimes considered unsuitable for women. In other words, eating dog meat can serve as a male bonding
exercise. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for women to eat dog meat.
The consumption of dog meat can be part of a ritual life which usually
occurring in the end of the lunar month for reasons of astrology and luck. Restaurants which mainly exist to serve dog meat may only open for the last half of the lunar month.
Some kinds of snake dishes
Snakes are
a common novelty and relished food. You can drink the wine as well as
eat the flesh on several occasions. When I visit one of my Vietnamese
friends, he caught a cobra outside his front door and shared it with me
on evening. Actually, there is very little meat on a cobra, so the skin
is eaten as well. In the village of Le Mat, which famous for its snake
restaurants, I tried snake meat in a number of ways, including in soup
(both the taste and texture was like crab meat) and spring rolls (tastes
like chicken). Furthermore, snake blood is supposed to be healthy with many benefits as well as a natural form of Viagra. So what is its taste like? I was surprised that tasting a fried meat actually a bit like custard. There is no fat and extremely lean and tender. After trying snake, you will surely be back for more.
Lizards and frogs
(best grilled) are standard fare in Phan Thiet. Some of my friend said
that he had never tried frog until he came to Vietnam, but now he like
it a lot. If you ever order a frog dish in Vietnam, pay attention to the
bones! During rainy season, Vietnamese people catch toads and boil them
up. They merely cut out the stomach organ and eat the rest-skin, guts
and all.
frog porridge
frog dish
I watched my friends eating trung vit lon
for many months before trying it myself. These fertilized duck eggs are
allowed to partially develop and then, they are hard-boiled. Crack the
top off, suck out the juice and then spoon out the colorful morsels with
pinches of pickled carrots, garlic, radish, turnip, some mint leaves,
and a dash of salt and pepper.
Experience
had taught me that in Vietnam, food nearly always tastes better than it
looks. When traveling, you always want to experience the culinary
delights that you never see at home. Eating different and unusual food
is a big part of what makes your holiday memorable…
Vietnamese Culture!
