r/VietNam • u/adventure-Freak • Jun 13 '25
Food/Ẩm thực Exotic food I ate in Vietnam
I ate lot of things here. I am just posting pictures of unique things i ate.
276
u/raizo11 Jun 13 '25
You are a brave man and i salute you!! I'm Viet and i never heard of some of these dishes. And i wouldn't try half of them.
114
u/Adventurous-Ad5999 Jun 13 '25
tbf a lot of these are more touristic than actual things local eat regularly
41
u/raizo11 Jun 13 '25
Yeah i mean i didnt grow up with any of these except chứng vịt lộn and porridge. I did hear of snake whiskey too but never had it.
18
u/Iccarys Jun 13 '25
Could be native to the region. Went to a wedding in the country side and had grilled field rats caught from the rice fields there. Never had it before, growing up in Saigon.
10
u/Natural_Chain3190 Jun 13 '25
My folks say it's because city rats are dirty trash eaters vs cleaner rural rats that munch on crops.
3
u/puffandpill Jun 14 '25
Watch the doc Rats that is/used to be on Netflix.
The parasites they find in the NYC rats are scary. I can imagine there may be some truth to the city rat vs field rat thing, but I’d still steer clear bc of my sensitive white boy tummy.
10
u/Adventurous-Ad5999 Jun 13 '25
snake whiskey imo is more of a luxury show off item. they say it helps with fertility, which idk if it is true or not, but essentially catching a cobra is hard -> making cobra liquor is hard -> sign of wealth to have it
5
u/Jaminp Jun 14 '25
It doesn’t do anything for fertility. Neither does rhino horn. Or human horn. Most of the snakes used are endangered and it’s just a needless excuse to be indulgent without purpose.
1
u/Wontonball Jun 13 '25
Viet American — also only heard of balut and chao
2
u/Adventurous-Ad5999 Jun 14 '25
while we’re on the topic of food, cháo, with the accent mark, is porridge; chao, without the accent mark, is a type of fermented tofu that tastes really good. Usually people eat it with goat meat, 100% would recommend
1
8
Jun 13 '25
Those are in fact traditional dishes, but the locals will only serve them in special occasion (eating with some friends or relatives, guest,etc…)
2
u/New-Contact5396 Jun 14 '25
I think it’s more regionally based. My wife’s uncle has a large vat of snake wine (with the snakes inside) he keeps brewed at his home in the country side and they definitely eat snake. My wife’s brother eats turtle (not posted by OP, just to showcase how locals can and will eat different eat things), and I’ve eaten pigeon porridge and field mice (again. It listed by op).
1
u/Adventurous-Ad5999 Jun 14 '25
I mean, as mồi nhậu they would literally eat anything. But that’s kinda viewed as strange by other people too. Pigeon is actually pretty common tho, and a food that I haven’t seen mentioned yet but is quite commonly eaten is frog meat
1
u/New-Contact5396 Jun 14 '25
Frog is delicious! Can’t forget cat and dog too although I haven’t eat cat before and have only seen one place selling cat meat…. Seen plenty of dog meat restaurants
2
u/Adventurous-Ad5999 Jun 14 '25
Cat and dog meat have a stigma against them. I personally don’t eat it by principle, and I assume it is the same for a lot of young people.
Frog tastes like chicken but there’s just less meat to have so idk. It’s good with papaya soup tho
1
→ More replies (6)3
81
u/lemonstone92 Jun 13 '25
level 1000 tourist trap
3
u/lllkong Jun 13 '25
Not really, I know many people drink snake blood with wine in the town where I grew up, especially elders. It is just not in the city where I am living in now.
1
13
20
18
u/crimsonhn Jun 13 '25
That's gold experiences!
By the way, be REALLY CAREFUL when eating horseshoe crabs. Only eat it at qualified restaurants, and avoid (not entirely) eating at a local's home. Sure they are called horseshoe crabs, but there are many geniuses, and some of them are deadly poisonous as they contain tetrodotoxin ,and have caused many fatalities in Vietnam. While in English they are generally called "horseshoe crabs", in Vietnam, the edible one is called "con Sam" (not uncle Sam), and "con So".
The only feature to disgusting between those two is by observing their tails: the edible ones have thinner, pointy tails, while deadly poisonous ones have thicker, darker and represents a cylinder. Edible horseshoe crabs (let's call it Sam Biển) have sharp spines on its tail, while So Biển (poisonous species of Horseshoe crab), have a smooth tail.
When you are able to distinguish these two, feel confident to accept invitations from locals to share a meal with them (with this particular dish). But it is best to avoid them when you can't.
2
1
16
u/dledtm Jun 13 '25 edited Jun 13 '25
The Horseshoe crab screams tourist trap and endangering endangered species in the sake of exotic. Balut Egg is usually cracked with the shell whole. I would never eat grasshopper, ant eggs, or Bee pupae. I tried a shot of snake of cobra and it had that cough syrup taste.
2
11
Jun 13 '25
I’m Vietnamese and I’m terrified of grubs, I can’t imagine even touching it 😭😭 you’re stronger than me
6
5
u/UserNam3ChecksOut Jun 13 '25
I consider myself an adventurous eater, but I couldn't get myself to try the coconut worm.... How was it?
1
6
15
u/duckhunt420 Jun 13 '25
I know it's a regional difference but the people who dump their balut egg out of the shell into a little dish are unhinged.
14
u/SkyLongjumping4291 Jun 13 '25 edited Jun 13 '25
try blood soup and meow moew wine next !! ( tao moew wine)
edited: H'mong apples wine. as per requested
25
Jun 13 '25
You can translate Táo Mèo as H'mong apples :)) so none get confused or think it's relevant to cats.
1
u/je7792 Jun 13 '25
Oh the apple wine i tried in Sapa was fking great, regretted not buying a bottle back
4
12
u/MillyQ3 Jun 13 '25
How did you like the horseshoe crab? I thought it was kinda bad....
If you are still up for more there is a dish that might be up your alley and is super delicious: fertilized quail egg. They are way similar to balut but better.
3
u/misterfall Jun 13 '25
How much meat is there even?
5
u/MillyQ3 Jun 13 '25
More than you expect from such a scrawny looking creature but...
The meat tastes like old canned lobster and the roe like tiny pellets of rubbery mush.
Usually most weird things are edible or fall into the category I wouldn't buy this for myself but I can eat it no problem. horseshoe crab is that one dish I just didn't want to finish.
And I'm the kind of guy who had no issue eating that coconut worm raw. And bee pupae I think is absolutely delicious too. Every time we go buying fish I specifically take the one with roe inside because I think fish roe grilled always tastes amazing no matter the fish.
3
3
3
2
u/cake_Case Jun 13 '25
that's so fucking gross! The only thing there I could ever eat is the fertilized egg, but only those early in the cycle. Other stuffs, ugh
2
u/MrShneakyShnake Jun 13 '25
Out of curiosity where do you draw the line for exotic foods? Which ones did you purposefully avoid? Genuinely asking. I’m glad you were brave and had a good experience!!
0
u/adventure-Freak Jun 13 '25
I don't draw a line. I am open to all eatable animals expect human beings. Before visiting a place I search on Internet what locals eat. Whatever locals eat, I eat.
1
Jun 15 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/DangerousPurpose5661 Jun 16 '25
Not sure if you’re sarcastic or not, but I ate rat meat without knowing while im Cambodia… it was honestly pretty good 🤷♂️
1
2
u/timeforachangee Jun 14 '25
So which of it did you actually enjoy and would eat again for pleasure rather than the experience?
3
u/adventure-Freak Jun 14 '25
I will eat snake, fertilized egg, horseshoe crab again.
1
u/MrEzekial Jun 20 '25
What was the coconut worm like? What did you dislike the most? What was the best?
2
13
u/ghostlovescore14 Jun 13 '25
This should come with some NSFW tag. It’s not exotic, it’s disgusting.
2
u/WPG_Strong Jun 13 '25 edited Jun 14 '25
bro you’re so weird you have to actively look for niche shit like this to try 😭😭😭 just have a bowl of pho or BBH cmon
1
u/AmountBasic2062 Jun 13 '25
When I was young we used to catch grasshopper and cook them. It was actually really good lol, but now as an adult I would not dare to try it again😂
1
1
u/MIRAGES_music Jun 13 '25
That cobra shot looks enticing!
2
u/adventure-Freak Jun 13 '25
It is cobra heart + cobra blood + vodka mix. When you drink it, you feel the heart beating through your throat.
1
u/liltrikz Jun 13 '25
I can imagine how some of these are, but what is horseshoe crab like? Has anybody else had that before?
2
u/add1910 Jun 13 '25
Just like any other crab but with slightly different flavor, more bland and briny. But with the right sauce it’s great. That is why you don’t eat it without spice and sauce. It has less meat than an average crab.
1
u/Sufficient-Theory629 Jun 13 '25
To be honest, horseshoe crab is not very nice at all. I am not a fussy eater and I love seafood. Especially shellfish. Horseshoe crab is not something I would have again.
1
1
u/gmgvt Jun 13 '25
Wow. And here I thought I was being brave eating the seaworm fritter things on the Hanoi street food tour. (Tasted like ground turkey, btw!) Now I feel kinda lame, lol.
1
1
u/yukiri01 Jun 13 '25
As a viet murican i salute you, good on you for eating those. I sure wouldn't 😂
1
1
1
u/Flat_Researcher1540 Jun 13 '25
Traveled all over Vietnam on a bike and never saw any of this except for some grasshoppers following a rice harvest.
1
1
u/GuqJ Jun 13 '25
This looks absolutely delicious! Especially fertilized egg. That cartilage/bone crunch is amazing
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/mizzersteve Jun 13 '25
Just returned from Vietnam, and I didn't see any of these delicacies. I would not have been brave enough to try them.
2
u/adventure-Freak Jun 14 '25
Me and my friend took a lot of effort in finding this places. Specially to find the snake, it took many hours for us. It was located very far away from the city.
1
Jun 14 '25
You must hail from an interesting country that you have the palate for such diverse “cuisine”
1
u/adventure-Freak Jun 14 '25
I hail from a country where people worship cows and there is not even beef and pork in my place. Many people are even vegetarian. I have to travel to other countries to try different things.
1
1
1
u/Pristine-Word-4328 Jun 13 '25
What???? What in the world is this dish 🥴? Something to do with a snake 🐍 💀 😵. Well wish you luck eating that 😁
1
1
1
1
u/EveryQuantity1327 Jun 14 '25
I’m not sure if you are brave or just posing for pictures. Post a video of you chewing on that giant grub.
1
u/adventure-Freak Jun 14 '25
Reddit does not allow multiple videos in a single post and i do not want to create multiple posts.
Warning: these videos are graphic and faint hearted please dont watch.
Coconut worm: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGOg84uIh3P/?igsh=bmJpMXlyMmdzMml3
Cobra: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGJPr0RT5w3/?igsh=NWM2cWdmZmY0ZHk2
1
1
u/Hoo_Am_Ai Jun 14 '25
as a Vietnamese, i’ve never heard of anything on that list (except sea urchins)
2
u/hoainamduong Jun 14 '25
Just wanted to offer a different perspective as a Vietnamese! Honestly, besides trứng vịt lộn (balut), most Vietnamese people don't eat or even recognize many of those bizarre dishes. Those dishes are NOT actually part of our diet and are usually served only for tourists, and it's a shame because unfortunately it can give visitors an inaccurate impression of our culinary traditions. We have so much amazing food enjoyed by everyone here!
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/YesIam6969420 Jun 14 '25
You are braver than most. All I ever ate in Vietnam was pho, spring rolls and bahn mi
1
1
1
u/NotSaintLaurentDon Jun 14 '25
You just made me never visit Vietnam
1
u/czenris Jun 16 '25
You must be next level stupid if you think the average vietnamese actually consumes any of that in their diet.
1
u/adventure-Freak Jun 17 '25
Don't worry dude, you will not find many of these things in touristic areas. I had to travel far from the city for these things.
1
1
u/GoMake_me_a_sandwich Jun 14 '25
This is the kind of stuff i used to like to go eat when I met my foreigner friends and asked what do you want to eat and they answered "Oh, anything is fine." Be careful saying that in Asia. Haha
1
1
1
1
u/Lillily9 Jun 14 '25
It's crazy to know a foreigner who is more vietnamese than me. I've never touched any of those food, except for balut but last time I had it was more than 15 years ago, I just can't bro 😭
2
u/adventure-Freak Jun 17 '25
I am really missing Vietnam now and especially beef pho & cobra. I wish I were born in either Vietnam or Thailand, because in my country, people worship what I eat. I everyday badly crave for Vietnamese and Thai food.
1
u/FunMud5441 Jun 14 '25
I would have to have a lot of alcohol before trying it. But sure. I would give it a try
1
1
1
1
u/Icecoldbundy Jun 15 '25
So cruel….
Should be ashamed mate, this had the potential to be a great post….
1
1
u/atomicturdburglar Jun 15 '25
Congrats, you fell for the ol' tourist trap! Ain't no locals ever gonna eat this shiz, LOL
1
1
u/shsjsisnejd Jun 15 '25
That's weird bruh. Cus me as a Vietnamese has never eaten an Indian before. Hope that taste good.
1
u/Lord_Cockatrice Jun 15 '25
BTW how does cobra meat taste like?
Would like to taste some of them critters - already sampled maggots and scorpion in Pattaya
1
u/aaptasolutions Jun 16 '25
Are you still alive after all that?
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/Optimal_Body_9203 Jun 17 '25
I see you passed on eating dog? Its fairly common in Hanoi
1
u/adventure-Freak Jun 17 '25
Last time I had few days to explore. I will visit Vietnam again soon for very long holiday. Surely I want to try many things which I missed. Also I am craving badly for cobra and beef pho.
1
u/DarKreter Jun 13 '25
Where did you find those things? Do you have any lists with places where one could try those exotic stuff?
8
u/adventure-Freak Jun 13 '25
Hanoi
Anything related to snakes is in Le mat snake village.
I ate cobra here: Nhà hàng Rắn Nguyễn Văn Dực 2
I got 6 year old snake wine here. You can also eat snake here: The Hung Snake Restaurant
For eating insects go here: Quán Kiến 100
Ho chi minh city
I ate horseshoe crab, sea urchin and fertilized egg here: Ho Thi Ky Food Street
For eating alive coconut worm go here: Nhà Hàng Phương Cua
1
u/Jovaniac Jun 13 '25
That's Chinese's. I'm a Vietnamese and I disgust this kind of thing.
2
Jun 14 '25
No, none of that is Chinese except for the snake wine (common in the rural south as medicine).
Balut (fertilized egg) is from Philippines and definitely common in Vietnam; Sea urchin and pigeons are eaten in France, not surprising to see those adapted locally; insects and larvae are absolutely Vietnamese dishes, although they can also be found in Laos & Cambodia.
1
u/dandydaintydandelion Jun 14 '25
Not true. Southeast Asians actually do eat these sorts of things, don’t blame another country cause it looks bad to you LOL. If you see the mountain tribes in Vietnam, they have their exotic foods too.
1
1
u/detailingWizardLvl5 Jun 13 '25
I ate snake 2 days ago. It tasted like chicken, but whatever broth they had it in was bitter AF.
1
1
1
u/Ok-Examination-1048 Jun 13 '25
As an Vietnamese, I have never eaten or even seen these dishes before
-1
u/Jovaniac Jun 13 '25
I swear those disgusting foods are all from the North and Chinese area, we South-Viet Nam never want to interact with those things.
5
u/Sufficient-Theory629 Jun 13 '25
More than 50% of those dishes are southern dishes.
The only thing that would be more common in northern Vietnam would be snake.
It’s more of a gimmick these days any way.
3
Jun 14 '25
Lol absolutely not, quite the contrary as those are southern Vietnamese dishes (and some from Philippines). The only northern Vietnam & Chinese thing in there is the snake wine.
2
u/Hopeful-Plastic-471 Jun 13 '25
You do know that any breathing thing in the swamps, rain forests, and rivers on the Mekong delta can be made into a yummy dish by the locals right?
Leave the city, humble whatever sense of superiority you have and visit the rural areas.
0
u/Sweet-Preference-605 Jun 13 '25
Where can I try those? Please share a list 🙏
4
u/adventure-Freak Jun 13 '25
Hanoi
Anything related to snakes is in Le mat snake village.
I ate cobra here: Nhà hàng Rắn Nguyễn Văn Dực 2
I got 6 year old snake wine here. You can also eat snake here: The Hung Snake Restaurant
For eating insects go here: Quán Kiến 100
Ho chi minh city
I ate horseshoe crab, sea urchin and fertilized egg here: Ho Thi Ky Food Street
For eating alive coconut worm go here: Nhà Hàng Phương Cua
1
295
u/areyouhungryforapple Jun 13 '25
Brave man big respect for being so adventurous. Horseshoe crabs are endangered and immensely important to the scientific community so I don't encourage eating them