“One of the great joys of life is riding a scooter through Vietnam; to be part of this mysterious, thrilling, beautiful choreography, thousands upon thousands of people: families, friends, lovers; each an individual story glimpsed for a second or two in passing sliding alongside, pouring like a torrent through the city. A flowing, gorgeous thing; as you ride you not only see, you hear, a hundred intimate moments in miniature. You smell wonderful unnameable things cooking issuing from storefronts and food-stalls; you hear the sounds of beeping, laughing, announcements from speakers, the put-put and roar of a million tiny engines.”

Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown: Season 4, Episode 5, Zero Point Production Inc., 2014

There you have it, from the words of the great Anthony Bourdain himself. There’s always been a draw, a certain energy in Vietnam. Millions of people each year travel to Vietnam to experience its thrill and mysterious allure, whether it be the dazzling sights or renowned foods like a comforting bowl of pho or a fresh spring roll.

We visitors enjoy these staple dishes and encounter odder and odder dishes the longer one stays in Vietnam. Fish sauce (nước mắm) becomes a common topping. Congealed pig’s blood in a bowl of bún bò huế is a welcome delight. What was once odd becomes part of the essential traveling experience to truly get a taste of Vietnam.

But then from the lips of those who’ve traveled before us, come rumors of odder and even more exotic foods, just daring for us to delve deeper into this foreign world. And these rumors aren’t about the standard items like fish sauce, durian or the common internal organs present in many dishes like liver or intestines. No, they’re true oddities that even boggle the imagination.

I’ve mentioned a couple of these dishes like shrimp paste (mắm tôm) before. These dishes are odd to the western eye and yet they are fairly common here in Vietnam. These can be found in many storefronts and are well known to most of the local populace.

Of course there are a myriad of odd foods that I haven’t had the pleasure (or courage) to try and I’m aware that there are some truly strange oddities in Vietnam. Rats, spiders, scorpions, or an unholy assortment of chitinous bugs can definitely grace a Vietnamese dinner table. Sure you may stumble upon a plate of refrigerated worms in a supermarket or find a storefront peddling horsemeat, but I wouldn’t call that common (I recognize the irony and oddity that dog and cat meat are more common than those aforementioned dishes).

Life is an adventure and food is a quintessential part of that trip so why not try something crazy along the way?

But in true eating like a local fashion, I have some insight to give.

A Quick Side Note:

Eat the lunch rice dishes (cơm trưa)

Before I imperil your appetite, I need to stress on you the importance of trying the lunch rice in Vietnam. These stores are primarily open for lunch workers as well as for dinner but to a slightly lesser degree. These places are scattered throughout the country from the small villages to the city proper. You’ll find these restaurants centered around major workplaces, down side alleys, beside schools or hospitals.

They cater to the average joe looking for a cheap and filling meal. Dishes can range from an amazing 12k – 25k ($0.52 – $1.08) for an entrée, portion of rice and a side of vegetables and soup. But that’s not what makes this rice standout. These rice places have a shockingly consistent quality and the home-styled taste for almost all the vendors. I can walk into almost any of those stores and experience tastes straight out of my childhood around every corner. With that low price and the traditional tastes, what’s not to love?

Well there are two holdups. One catch is that if you’re in the tourist quarters in the major cities, these venues are scarcer and the vendors there will tend to be overpriced. You’ll have to make a quick jaunt from those centers and into the more local areas.

And while the quality is mostly consistent, the sanitation… well that can vary greatly. More expensive and nicer storefronts will be fairly clean. Rice food carts may be situated on a dusty intersection and might not clean their utensils well. Then there are other restaurants that would bring the wrath of the entire FDA down on the store if they were located in America. If you do choose to visit, just remember that the World Health Organization estimates that a mere 600 million people get some form of food borne illness each year…

But seriously, whether you’re here for a week or for a month, these lunch rice places are a cheap and true spotlight into a typical Vietnamese meal. It’s an economical and delicious meal that can’t be missed. I only recommend that you find the place that has the qualities that meet your sensibilities.

So now that we’re done with a hearty, standard meal, let’s start talking about the oddities from the most pedestrian to the most mind boggling. And yes, I’m aware that a gauge of normal to mind boggling is a subjective quality.

Eel (lươn)

This was once a staple in countries like Great Britain, but it’s fallen a bit out of style in the modern era. It’s also no surprise that people in Vietnam enjoy a nice, plump eel along with all manner of seafood. You can find eel at most seafood restaurants, but I would recommend starting with the fried eel. It’s simple and easier to eat since everything is tastier after being bathed in oil.

Jellyfish (sứa)

Another fairly common seafood item that many westerners deem odd. I’ll be candid in that it’s not my favorite meat(?) either. It has the texture of hardened jello with almost no flavor. The lack of flavor means jellyfish is rarely served solo. It’s commonly served in a Vietnamese papaya salad (gỏi sứa) or in seafood soups (bánh canh). Once you get over what you’re actually eating, it’s quite a plain item.

Pork Nipple (vú heo)

Let’s be honest, eating this dish is just an excuse to yell out “PORK TITTIES”!!!!!!!

Or if you’re an adult you can calmly receive the plate of raw pork nipple (titties), a side of raw vegetables, a container of butter and mini stove and pan. Simply melt the butter, and add the raw vegetables and nipples (titties) and enjoy! In other places, the pork nipples are simply marinated and grilled.

I know that when you slather 99% of food in butter, everything automatically becomes delicious, but this was the 1% outlier. It’s an extremely acquired taste as pork nipples (titties) are high in fat and have an extremely gamey flavor. Anyone at our table who wasn’t native Vietnamese wasn’t able to stomach more than a piece.

Century Egg (trứng bách thảo)

Originally from China, this is probably the hardest to find dish in the whole list. It’s easiest found in larger cities and wherever you might find an ethnically Chinese population. The century egg got its name from its long aging process where a duck or chicken egg is preserved in a combination of clay, ash, salt, quicklime and rice husks for a period of several weeks to several months. Fortunately modern techniques have greatly shortened the process and made the century egg more affordable.

What do you get from this long period of fermentation? A black, gelatinous, translucent, salty and a ridiculously pungent flavor that takes some getting used to. It’s served with a side of pickled garlic and dried shrimp on some occasions and added to rice congee in others. I never got used to this flavor but those who did can’t seem to get enough of it.

Snake wine (rượu rắn)

A fairly different version of this was featured on top gear where the weary trio rested for a night and drank snake blood vodka. This common variant is the equally famous snake wine. Rice wine or grain alcohol is simply infused with snakes. There are different methods to produce this wine but the essence is leaving the snake in the jar for a lengthy amount of time.

Interestingly, people believe that snake wine contains numerous medicinal properties. It’s an often touted tonic for things like hair loss or general health and vigor improvement. In fact, the most repeated claim is always the supposed virility boost.

I can’t speak for the improvement in my little (large) snake, but I can vouch for its strong biting flavor and my subsequently more pungent piss.

Balut (trứng vịt lộn)

To my surprise, balut was one of the most talked about dishes in Vietnam. Backpackers making their way through Vietnam all talked about Balut as the daring dish that one had to try. For the uninitiated, balut is a developing duck embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell. You get a side of salt and pepper with some herbs and a little spoon.

Balut is a fairly common sight through most of Vietnam and even in the tourist quarters. I’m guessing because tipsy locals get peckish and drunk foreigners feel a bout of bravery. It’s certainly an interesting take on eggs and is worth the experience. Just try not to look too closely at what you’re eating.

Undeveloped Chicken Eggs and Chicken Organs (lòng gà)

So there’s a funny story on how I ended up trying this dish. For those who don’t know, I am a first generation Vietnamese-American. I was born in the States and was given the lucky opportunity to be bilingual due my upbringing. Well, kind of. My Vietnamese reading and writing capabilities rival that of an underachieving first grader. It also doesn’t help that my accent is diluted with a healthy dose of good old American-English.

On a hungry lunch day, I stopped by a chicken and rice restaurant known as cơm gà or simply, chicken rice. These restaurants specialize in a local breed of chicken that’s (supposedly) free range for a more chewy texture. The chicken is seasoned and boiled. The stock with some additional seasoning is then used to cook the rice. The rice soaks in the stock’s fatty goodness and then both dishes are served together. This dish is a particular specialty in the central region around the Da Nang and Hoi An area.

It was a packed lunch period and the waiter was in a rush. I didn’t want to be a bother so I panicked and ordered the cơm gà long. My illiterate ass couldn’t differentiate between the Vietnamese word for large (lớn) and the word for internal organs (lòng).

Five minutes later I was staring at a plate full of internal organs without a shred of typical chicken meat in sight. I had unwittingly ordered a plate of chicken intestines, liver, and heart. Most interesting were these yellow balls that turned out to be undeveloped chicken eggs still inside the womb.

I was hungry so I ate everything. If you enjoy organs like the powdery and stronger flavor of liver, then you’ll enjoy this dish. I am not one of those people. But what I was truly surprised about was the undeveloped chicken eggs. They were absolutely delicious! Just a creamier more flavorful boiled egg taste. As weird as it looks, I highly recommend trying it.

“Food, for me, has always been an adventure.”

Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential

I have a few more items on my bucket list for another post, but who knows when I’ll get the courage to try them. Remember, life is an adventure and food is the spice that makes life great or whatever…

Until next time.