ARE YOU DARE TO TRY 10 WEIRDEST FOODS IN VIETNAM?

   Want to challenge your palate? There is an entire world of pungent, bizarre or just plain scary foods out there to sample.

1. Bugs
   Vietnam’s ethnic Khmer in the Mekong Delta are among the country’s most adventurous eaters of insects and arachnids, though some hill tribes also enjoy snacking on giant water bugs, tarantulas and scorpions. The most commonly eaten include crickets, bee halves and silkworms. Most bugs are fried and take on the flavour of their seasonings. They have very little flavour of their own.

2.Pha Lau
   I have to say that the Vietnamese do not want to waste any part of the animal. Pha Lau stands display piles of beef and pork intestines, lungs, kidney, heart and stomach. This dish is a combination of the Vietnamese and the Chinese. The tasty innards are chopped up and loaded into baguette sandwiches or sold by the plate to accompany rounds of beer or rice wine.

In order to be ready to cook, all the organs must be washed many times with salt, lemon and wine. And then they will cook it with coconut milk to make soup.

3.Blood soup
   The Vietnamese Tiet Canh is a soup prepared with goose, duck, pig blood and meat. The fresh flood is collected in a bowl and mixed with fish sauce to avoid premature coagulation. Meat such as duck innards is cooked with peanuts and herbs like coriander and mint. The blood mixture is diluted with watery broth from the previously cooked meat and it is served so the blood can set.

   In Vietnam, blood soup is considered to be a delicacy, but scientists are warning consumers to avoid it after an increase in the number of people contracting a serious form of meningitis.

4.Fetal Duck Egg
   Fertilized duck eggs are a very popular snack, appetizer or beer food. The contents are much harder than a conventional boiled egg, with a partially formed duck fetus inside. There may be visible signs of feathers but they dissolve in the mouth. The top is cracked, juices slurped, and then the contents are eaten with a spoon. Popular condiments include lemon and black pepper, fresh herbs, pickled veggies, raw garlic and green chilli.

5.Living Grubs- Duong Dua
   Duong Dua is also called the coconut worm because it usually lives in the coconut stem and eats coconut tubers. It is normal if you see these things cooked or grilled, but Vietnamese want to eat them when they are still alive. This is by far the worst thing that people here like to eat, you can see the hideous things squirming and moving around and then pick them up, dip into fish sauce and pop them in your mouth.

6.Rat Meat
   When it comes to Mekong Delta or any food from the fields of the Vietnamese countryside, you may figure out rat meat. The very same filthy animals you see running all over the street every day, but only the rat that eats rice on the rice paddles are good for cooking. After harvesting, farmers usually trap and catch mice.

7.Frogs
   Vietnamese do not just eat frog’s legs. After gutting and skinning these tubbies, cartoonish bullfrogs, they then fry, steam or grill the whole animal. In comparison with other weird foods, the frog may be a ‘less scary’ food that the Vietnamese put in their menu. I have to say that although its appearance is not attractive, the flavour is delicious like chicken. It is also considered a healthy food helping malnourished children gaining weight.

8.Squid teeth
Squid teeth are another example of Vietnamese resourcefulness. The mouth part of squid forms a white, marble-sized ball with a tiny black beak protruding at the end. Steamed with ginger, grilled on a kebab or friend in batter, they are popular after- school or market food for moms on the go. Squid teeth are popular in the coastal town and always served in the vicinity of a fisherman’s wharf or fresh seafood market.

9.Durian
   Durian is a funny looking, large, spikey, green fruit that is popular throughout in South East Asia. It is loved by many while others cannot stand to be within 100 feet of it. The fruit has a strong potent smell that many describes as being similar to petrol or rotten onions. The smell is considered revolting to many and since it is so strong the fruit is often banned in many places like on public transportation, in hotels, and other public places.

   Once you think you can handle it, move up to durian desserts that are close to the real thing in terms of both the smell and texture like durian custard, durian ice cream, sweet sticky rice in durian coconut cream.

10.Special sauces
   Shrimp paste sauce is the speciality of the North. It is made from shrimp and salt. After the fermentation process, the sauce is dark purple and so strong. Many people love shrimp paste but there are also people who run away because of its smell.
   Mam Cai is also made from fish like fish sauce, but the process is totally different. Common fish sauce is the juice of fish and salt after fermentation, Mam Cai uses whole fish bodies. After fish is salted and fermented, it is mixed with few additional ingredients such as a powder made from toasted rice, pineapple, sugar … to create a special taste.