- 2 days ago
Andrew Zimmern tries snake, pig ears, silk worms & cat coffee in Vietnam.
Category
🏖
TravelTranscript
00:01If it looks good, eat it.
00:03And it all looks good to me.
00:05I'm a chef, a food critic, and dining columnist
00:08who believes the best way to experience a culture
00:11is by digging a little deeper for your dinner,
00:13no matter how strange or where you find it.
00:16I tend to stray far from the predictable culinary path,
00:20sampling tidbits that might seem a little bizarre
00:23to the average set of taste buds.
00:25Tonight, dining on snake, and not just any snake.
00:29He wants a piece of me.
00:31I also sample more street foods than I can pronounce,
00:34make my way through plates of sizzling sparrows
00:37and crunchy scorpions,
00:39enjoy a home-cooked meal of worms and snails,
00:42and to top it all off, fermented fish sauce.
00:45Mmm!
00:46See what else crawls onto my plate here in Northern Vietnam.
00:50I'm Andrew Zimmern, and this is Bizarre Foods.
00:59Viet Nam is a vibrant Asian country
01:08that's ripe for growth and change.
01:10Vietnam is a vibrant Asian country that's ripe for growth and change.
01:23While agriculture is an important contributor to the Vietnamese economic engine,
01:27the country is quickly gaining status as an industrialized nation.
01:32Nowhere else is that more apparent than here in the capital city of Hanoi in northern Vietnam.
01:37For many of us, this city conjures up images of what the Vietnamese call
01:41the American War of the 1960s and 1970s.
01:45But the truth is that today, the majority of the population was born after 1974.
01:52This is a country of young, independent thinkers who have emerged from the shadows of a thousand years of Chinese rule
01:58and a century of occupation by the French.
02:01A national cuisine is oftentimes an unintended casualty of war.
02:06And here in northern Vietnam, food has always been more than just a source of nourishment.
02:11Thanks to their French and Chinese cultural heritage, this is a daring and food-obsessed society.
02:17From fiery hot pots to simple sauces, the cuisine of northern Vietnam is fresh, complex, and packed with attitude.
02:25I'm focusing my culinary visit on northern Vietnam, mainly the Hanoi area.
02:30I also travel up the coast to check out the city of Haiphong, along with a side trip to one of the world's great natural wonders, Ha Long Bay.
02:39Vietnamese cuisine is exciting because it's so fresh, intensely flavored, and born of so many diverse cultures.
02:46From unique seafood dishes along the coastline to Chinese-inspired one-pot meals in the city,
02:51the Vietnamese eat what's available to them.
02:55And for thousands of years in this lush tropical country, that meant wild game, bugs, and snakes.
03:02From food source to revered reptile, the snake continues to have a prominent place in the Vietnamese culture.
03:09Just across the Red River from Hanoi is Lamont Village, also known as Snake Village.
03:16You get the feeling that you're walking through a movie set here with the winding alleyways,
03:20this small little shantytown feel, and this incredible courtyard where the snake festival happens every year.
03:28My friend, Vu Minh Tho, grew up in Hanoi and is joining me for this historical event.
03:33Dozens of native Vietnamese tribes gather here every year for the famous snake festival.
03:39It is a real honor to take part in the formal procession as participants bring offerings of food and money to the temple.
03:47This ritual is followed by the traditional snake dance.
03:51Snake dance is about the heroes of the snake village who defeat the monster of snake to save the daughter of the flea king in 11th century.
04:02According to legend, the main snake slayer was a guy by the name of Hong Duk Trung.
04:09The king at that time was so happy that his daughter was rescued from the snake,
04:13he granted the hero his wish to establish 13 rural villages around what is now Hanoi.
04:20Those villages still exist today.
04:23The festival has evolved through centuries and now offers a little something for everyone.
04:27Snake festival has made me pretty hungry, and oddly, here in the food tent, there's none of the reptiles served.
04:34You have to head up the road to one of the restaurants that specializes in the ritualistic preparation and serving of this exotic edible.
04:42Lamotte and its restaurants have become a tourist destination for locals and traveling gourmands,
04:48because here, in Snake Village, they don't just talk about the snake, they eat it.
04:53So what's all this stuff?
04:55It's a snake and gecko and traditional herb to make in medicine.
05:02And then we struck inside the strong alcohol.
05:08Woo!
05:09But it got it.
05:10Oh!
05:11It smells good.
05:13It smells good, though.
05:14For centuries, snake wine has been thought to have medicinal properties.
05:19And while snake is still a common food in this country, city dwellers, like Toe, consider it a delicacy.
05:26Here, at the Tan Doe restaurant, the menu is limited.
05:29Snake, snake, and oh yeah, more snake.
05:33Prices range from about $25 for your garden variety snake to $125 for a rare and feisty breed like the cobra.
05:42Wow!
05:44How old is that snake?
05:45How old is that snake?
05:46How old is that snake?
05:46How old is that snake?
05:46How old is that snake?
05:47How old is that snake?
05:48How old is that snake?
05:48Three years old.
05:49I'm not sure I really care how old this snake is, because about the time I think I'm ready to pick my lunch, my lunch picks me.
05:58All right, let's just cut to the chase. I'll eat that one.
06:00The killing of the snake is the first step of the meal's ritual, and it's done quickly. The blood from the snake is drained into a glass of alcohol for a special cocktail. But since I'm the honored guest, I'm offered the most revered part of all, the heart.
06:17Make that the beating heart.
06:19Beating cobra heart? Delicious.
06:24That's kind of milky.
06:28Oh.
06:30It's really brave.
06:33Dude, I've got the other end of it for you.
06:36Nothing like peer pressure to get Toe to try a little snake gallbladder. Now, because the gallbladder contains so much bile and so much bacteria, it's put into an alcohol drink as a means of purifying it. Stir it with a chopstick and, whoops, the contents break loose.
06:53Ooh.
06:55Sounds good stuff.
06:56Yeah, you're a snake bile drinker from way back when.
07:00I just have a little sip.
07:02What do you mean a little sip? Did I take a little bite of the heart?
07:06No.
07:08Wow.
07:09It's good?
07:10Very good.
07:11Does it, does it...
07:11A little bit, um, a bit bitter?
07:14Yeah, I would imagine.
07:16Then it's a little bit sweet.
07:17Yeah.
07:19It's now coming up to my head.
07:21Yeah, but no more backache. Your backache is gone.
07:23It's gone.
07:24Yeah.
07:25I hope so.
07:26These guys sure know how to cook up a snake. Nothing goes to waste.
07:30There's sautéed snake, fried snake skin, grilled snake, and even fried ground snake bones served with crackers.
07:41Very tasty.
07:42Mm-hmm.
07:43I liked it.
07:44It was one of the most unusual foods I've ever eaten.
07:48Isn't it?
07:48Well, because it's, it's just so crunchy and hard.
07:52Exactly.
07:52Very fragrant.
07:53Yeah.
07:54Then, sautéed snake with lemongrass, a citrusy Asian seasoning.
08:00Looks like there's some little fried shallots in there.
08:06Mm.
08:08Very good, isn't it?
08:10Excellent.
08:11How's it?
08:11Reminds me of a cross between eel and chicken.
08:15Mm.
08:16Ready to try some?
08:16Try some?
08:17It's very good. Very garlicky also.
08:20Really?
08:20Ooh.
08:23Wow.
08:24What's next?
08:26These are snake spring rolls.
08:28It is.
08:28Snake spring roll.
08:29Mm.
08:30Wow.
08:32Actually, snake meat works perfectly in a fried spring roll.
08:36Yeah.
08:37The snake is a lot more resilient than I thought it would be.
08:41Isn't it?
08:42Yeah, it's not as fatty as eel, you know?
08:45Yeah, it's right.
08:45So it gets very, very chilly sometimes.
08:47It's quite lean.
08:48What's that?
08:49Crispy snake skin.
08:53Oh.
08:54The snake skin.
08:55It's deep fried in oil to make it crispy.
08:58Oh, look at the striped one.
09:02That's awesome.
09:04Yeah, it's like deep fried pork cracklins or chicken cracklins.
09:08Mm.
09:08Only better.
09:11Wow.
09:14Look at that.
09:15Overall, the snake was tasty and pretty low-cal to boot.
09:20That makes it a health food in my book.
09:22The city of Hanoi is one bustling place.
09:37Wherever you turn, there's action.
09:39And sometimes it feels like rules and order are not priorities here at all.
09:43From young people zipping around on their mopeds to women carrying their wares in traditional
09:49dangan, the Vietnamese are constantly on the move.
09:53Fueling them is something that is as much about the social aspect as it is about the taste.
09:58They call it simply street food.
10:0070% of the country's population was born after 1974.
10:05So who you eat with, what you eat, and where you eat it is very important.
10:09It's a young person's city.
10:11And street food defines the local cuisine.
10:14Street food is not fast food in the Western sense, but rather good food fast.
10:20It's found in markets on sidewalks and street corners.
10:23Who better to show me around than Sarah Clark?
10:25She's a chef from Australia who started a company called Hanoi Street Food.
10:30She takes locals and tourists on guided tours of this city's vibrant food scene.
10:36Okay, well, this is the entrance to Chut Hom, which is quite a big local market.
10:41It's a market that I know quite well because I used to live around here.
10:44What are these?
10:45These are little patty crabs.
10:47She's pulling the backs off the crabs.
10:49She'll then take the flesh and the legs and pound them in her fabulous pestle and mortar beneath.
10:56And that will end up making the paste.
11:00Since many homes in Vietnam don't have refrigeration, people come to the market on a daily basis.
11:06Dinner becomes whatever is available that day.
11:08Rabbits, chickens, pigeons.
11:16What happened to all the live poultry that used to be here?
11:19When avian influenza hit Vietnam quite hard a couple of years ago, they banned the slaughter of any live birds within the city limits.
11:27So it's actually a really big cultural hurdle for people to get over.
11:30Vietnamese love their fish, but this isn't your average seafood section in the local supermarket.
11:37So much of the food that we're seeing here are animals that are taken out of the lakes and river systems around Hanoi.
11:42Eels, turtles, frogs.
11:44Well, Hanoi is a pretty watery place.
11:46There's thousands of lakes, thousands of rivers.
11:49And, you know, people have a pretty broad definition of what is food here in Vietnam.
11:53You know, as one friend of mine once said to me, if you can catch it, you can eat it.
11:57I'm getting kind of hungry.
11:59Should we stop and have a snack?
12:01Oh, I'm starving.
12:01But then, again, I'm always starving.
12:04Okay, take a seat.
12:05This is very typical Vietnamese-style dining.
12:08You just bring in a few stools and set up shop.
12:11This is green papaya salad with dried beef.
12:14So the beef is dried and finely shredded.
12:17It's kind of like a beef jerky almost.
12:19Oh, I love it.
12:20A little bit of chili sauce, ubiquitous kohlrabi.
12:23I've never seen a nation so crazy for kohlrabi.
12:25Yeah, you see them on stands everywhere, just sort of hanging out.
12:29Yeah, so we give it a good mix to get all the flavors melded together.
12:33And it's a taste sensation.
12:36You know, one of the things that I love about the food in Vietnam is there's 6,000 flavors all in one bite.
12:43The flavors are just so vibrant and fresh.
12:46And it's so refreshing when it's like 1,000 degrees and 100% humidity outside.
12:50That dried beef is so good.
12:54It's got such a strong, clean, beefy flavor.
12:56But it has a very clean, grassy flavor.
12:59You know, Vietnamese food is all about finding the balance between the crunchy and slippery, salty and sweet.
13:06You know, all these different flavors and textures that all work together.
13:09Mmm.
13:10I'm ready for something a bit more exotic.
13:13These are just beautiful.
13:15Aren't they gorgeous?
13:16They're rice flour dumplings that are filled with minced pork, dried prawn, and it's flavored with cloud's ear fungus, the black, woody ear fungus.
13:26You dip it in the sauce and pop it in your mouth.
13:30It's like a tapioca skin.
13:39You bite down on it and it pushes back against the top of your mouth.
13:43And that crunchy shrimp on the inside is just amazing.
13:47The textures here are just out of control.
13:51Thank you very much.
14:00Our tour of Hanoi street food has to include the one dish synonymous with northern Vietnamese cuisine, pho.
14:10So is this the restaurant?
14:13Well, this is the kitchen.
14:14Yeah.
14:14And just down the alley, you'll find the dining hall.
14:17How does this happen on a street where you have all of these sort of soup restaurants that are overloaded with chairs and sort of like big popular dining rooms?
14:26Because here we have a kitchen that's the size of half a card table.
14:29Well, it's kind of old school, you know.
14:30She's just got what she needs.
14:32On a day with better weather, we'd likely be sitting on the street or perhaps in this alleyway.
14:37But since it's raining, we get the living room.
14:40This is someone's house.
14:41Yeah, a lot of people will actually run a business out of their house, which is why street frontage is so important to Vietnamese people when they're looking for property.
14:50Pho originated in this part of the country, but its origins are Chinese.
14:54It's a noodle soup dish that features beef and beef broth with thin strips of meat, fresh rice noodles, and spices such as cinnamon, star anise, ginger, and cloves.
15:06Pho is considered the quintessential Vietnamese food, mainly because it provides an entire meal in one bowl.
15:12You've got to smell it.
15:15You can smell the cinnamon and the star anise.
15:19It's quite beefy.
15:20The pho here is typically rustic, with several cuts of beef in the bowl.
15:26Short rib, beef tendon, and beef meatballs, garnished with a French flourish, small little pastry batons for dipping.
15:34Mmm.
15:35Well, that's good.
15:36What do you say we go get a cup of coffee?
15:38Sounds like a good idea.
15:39You know a good place?
15:40I do.
15:41No Starbucks here.
15:44The attraction at this place is something called civet coffee.
15:48Table number two, a fitting number, considering the type of coffee that we're having.
15:52Indeed it is.
15:53Yes, believe it or not, this coffee comes from the back end of a furry little mammal.
15:58Now, this has to be high on the list of all-time bizarre foods.
16:03A civet cat is a small mongoose-like animal, and the coffee is made from the undigested coffee beans that have been eaten by the civet.
16:12While the beans are still in berry form, they're digested by the civet and then deposited onto the jungle floor.
16:19The beans are gathered, roasted, and served like any other coffee.
16:23I mean, just the normal coffee process is bizarre enough in itself, but then picking it out of a pile of poop, kind of surprisingly good.
16:32It's fabulous, and you know something?
16:34I can't tell that it was expelled from some wild animal's derriere, but you can tell this coffee is different.
16:42It has a really long, finishing note, and it's a little smoky and peaty tasting almost.
16:49Just what I needed, a little coffee boost to get me back to my hotel.
16:53Vietnam may be fiercely independent today, but the influences of 10 centuries of Chinese rule are everywhere, especially when it comes to the food.
17:10Chopsticks, noodles, and stir-fry are key components of Vietnamese food.
17:15Blend in curries and spices from Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand, as well as the flair for sautéing brought by the French, and you've got quite a melting pot of styles.
17:25Chaka.
17:26Chaka.
17:26Chaka.
17:26Chaka.
17:26Chaka.
17:26Chaka.
17:26Chaka.
17:26Chaka.
17:27Chaka.
17:27We're headed to Chaka Lavang, one of the most famous restaurants in Hanoi, a restaurant that's famous for only one dish.
17:38In fact, it's the only thing on the menu, and of course, it's called Chaka, and it's a dish that's so highly regarded in this country, the whole street is named after the restaurant.
17:47Located in the heart of Hanoi, Chaka Lavang is an unparalleled experience in dining history.
17:54The restaurant is decorated with photos of the family that's owned it since it opened in 1899, and the name refers to a fried fish dish called Chaka that's made with the common snakehead fish.
18:06Not to be confused with the voracious northern snakehead, the common snakehead is prevalent in Southeast Asia and has been a part of the diet here for centuries.
18:15I wasn't kidding about them being famous just for one dish.
18:19They don't even have a menu here.
18:20They just do one item, and they do it very, very well.
18:25Chaka Lavang's fish dish is the culmination of all of the cultures represented in northern Vietnam.
18:30One of the main reasons why people keep coming back here is the opportunity the diner has to customize your own meal.
18:39Anyone who thinks that fusion food is something that's a 21st century phenomenon doesn't understand food culture or food history.
18:47Here you have thousand-year-old Chinese elements to this dish competing with a modern French technique.
18:54I like things spicy, so I pile on the chilies, toss in some scallions, cilantro, and dill.
19:01And now a little shrimp paste.
19:05And once those have wilted for about another 10 seconds, a squeeze of lime juice.
19:20Put my noodles in my bowl, and I'm ready to go.
19:24Wow.
19:35Typical Asian-style setup of sour, salty, bitter, and sweet.
19:41Everything happening at one time.
19:43The fish is fantastic.
19:46Super fresh.
19:48Wow.
19:49And all those juices dripping down on my rice noodles.
19:52Yummy.
19:56The fish has a very sweet, mild, and delicate taste.
20:00And when prepared with all the fresh ingredients, I can see why people keep coming back for more.
20:05The city of Hanoi is a foodie mecca, offering everything from one-dish restaurants to something more on the wild side.
20:15Every city has that one iconic restaurant that all the newcomers just have to come visit.
20:20In Hanoi, that restaurant is Highway 4, named for the road that runs along the Chinese and Vietnamese border.
20:28At Highway 4, three expats put their own spin on some of the more exotic Vietnamese fare, making it popular with the locals and tourists alike.
20:37Since it opened in 2000, Highway 4 has become known for three things.
20:47Rare liquors infused with all sorts of flavorful creatures, unusual Vietnamese foods, and a very social atmosphere.
20:54Hi, I'm Andrew.
20:56I'm Abz. Nice to meet you.
20:57Abz.
20:58Nice to meet you.
20:58Tuan, nice to meet you.
21:01Tuan is one of Highway 4's managers, and Abz is a regular here.
21:05Eating Vietnamese style in this restaurant means chowing on whatever is local and fresh, be it critters or crawlers.
21:12Little birds. Always good.
21:14Small birds are common dining fare in this country, and tonight's offering is roasted sparrows.
21:20Andrew, would you like a star?
21:22I would love one, Abz. Thank you.
21:24Tuan, would you like a star?
21:26Head first?
21:27Head first.
21:28Cheers.
21:29Cheers.
21:29Cheers.
21:32Oh.
21:34It's good.
21:36This is beautiful. It tastes like roasted squab or duck.
21:40It's just wonderful.
21:42The whole roasted sparrows are delicious, but when it comes to the scorpions, not everyone is so sure.
21:48Scorpions are a pretty great, popular dish in Vietnam. So, if you'd like to jump in, there's no poison left in there.
21:58You seem skeptical.
22:00Mmm, I don't know. I think it's the whole looking like an insect thing. We can't really hide from that.
22:07Oh yeah, there's that. Well, I'm going to trust you and start with the stinger first.
22:12You good?
22:20Yeah, that's some good scorpion.
22:22So, that's one of the great things you've got with scorpions is you've got the crunch of the pincers, then you've got a nice, more marshmallow-y taste from the abdomen.
22:33You've got a fair bit of texture within one creature as well.
22:36I'm worried about the eyes. I can see the eyes.
22:39Oh, don't be worried. They can't see you. They're dead.
22:42Okay, one, two, three.
22:44Oh, he's done, probably.
22:48Not bad, right?
22:52That's a very tasty scorpion.
22:53It's good.
22:53Our next course is something a bit more formidable. Bull's penis and testicles. In this country, where no part of the animal goes to waste, these parts are prime eating.
23:04Oh, I like it when they're served as a set.
23:06I would be missing out otherwise, yes.
23:08Exactly.
23:09This bull's penis, when we brought it in, was about 70, 80 centimeters in length and about 1.2 kilos of weight.
23:16Wow, that's pretty impressive.
23:19By anyone's standards.
23:20Oh, yeah. Bull's penis.
23:25Well, here goes.
23:28Oh.
23:30It is good.
23:31It's really slippery.
23:32It's a lot. It is.
23:34I'll get it away.
23:34But it's not as tough as I thought it would be.
23:37It's very tender, and it has a very mild flavor.
23:40Tastes like lamb.
23:41It's a texture issue.
23:43It's very, very much like lamb shank.
23:45It's like lamb shank.
23:46I've eaten a lot of these things, a lot of different parts of the world.
23:48And this is as good as I've ever had them.
23:51It's superb.
23:52Give the chef my compliments.
23:54Really, really excellent.
23:56The city of Hanoi is divided into nine inner districts, and one of the most well-known is the Old Quarter.
24:11In existence for nearly 2,000 years, the narrow streets and classic Asian architecture set this area apart from the rest of the city.
24:19Today, it's a popular place to shop and, of course, eat.
24:24Markets are everywhere here in Hanoi, and that's because the Vietnamese are obsessed with fresh food.
24:30They'll shop for it once, twice, sometimes three times a day, because it's the foundation of their cuisine.
24:36Today, I'm here in this neighborhood market to meet my friend, Tho, who's invited me to have lunch with a local family.
24:41And that's an opportunity I'll never pass up.
24:45Hey, Tho.
24:46Hey, how are you doing?
24:48I'm good, I'm good.
24:49I'm Andrew.
24:50Nice to meet you.
24:51Mrs. Nguyen is buying the last few items for the traditional Vietnamese dishes she'll be preparing for us.
24:58She's anxious to get first choice from her favorite vendors.
25:02What is she looking for when she's buying them?
25:04She was picking out certain ones.
25:06It's a big snail and it's a fat snail, so it's good.
25:10Oh, yeah.
25:11The vendor clips the snail shells and cleans them with amazing precision.
25:15From here, we grab some fresh herbs and check out this unusual vegetable.
25:20What's that?
25:21And this banana flower, it's tasty, we just slide them down.
25:26Oh, yeah.
25:27I didn't recognize it without the tip.
25:30It is raw, yeah.
25:32Rice is a Vietnamese diet staple and is grown in local rice patties.
25:36I notice in Vietnam that all the rice I'm served is long grain, not short grain.
25:42Is there a reason for that?
25:43The fragrant rice is longer than ordinary rice.
25:47And Vietnamese like fragrant rice.
25:49Right.
25:49It tastes better.
25:50Gotcha.
25:50It tastes better.
25:50Gotcha.
25:51Like many typical Vietnamese families, Mrs. Nguyen lives with her son, his wife, and their
26:02two kids, as well as another granddaughter.
26:05And because the parents work outside the home, she prepares most of the meals.
26:09It's the way I like it.
26:11Now you're seeing how I roll.
26:13Lots of food.
26:15Lots of food.
26:16Lots of food.
26:17Mrs. Nguyen has been cooking off and on all day long, so the least I can do is try to help.
26:23Oh, I'd love to.
26:26Clearly, I'm going to have to establish some trust issues here in the kitchen, because I'm
26:31relegated to herb washing duty.
26:33On the menu today are some dishes Mrs. Nguyen has been making for decades, eels, fried silkworms,
26:40and the snails that we got at the market.
26:43Oh, wow.
26:44She seasons the snails with turmeric and a variety of different salts.
26:49The salts help to draw out moisture and kill off any bacteria.
26:53You have to remember the other reason to be cutting it is to disperse the protein, even
26:58if it's snails, amongst all the family members.
27:01Keep the pieces small enough to eat on chopsticks.
27:03Only in America does 16 ounces of animal protein provide the centerpiece for each person's plate.
27:09Here in Vietnam, as in most other countries, protein is eaten in smaller amounts, and lots
27:15of fruits and grains and vegetables make up the bulk of the diet.
27:19And over here in the crock pot, roasted pork with eggs and coconut milk.
27:24Slowly cooked pork with sweet spices is Chinese influence.
27:30The smell is amazing.
27:32These are the chicken eggs, and this is the coconut.
27:36I'm much less helped than I thought I would be.
27:41They've called in the reserves.
27:44The granddaughter has arrived.
27:47It's absolutely fascinating how grandmother is teaching granddaughter the recipes in this
27:51environment, and this activity repeats itself every day, several times a day, in houses
27:56all over the city.
28:00I'd say this qualifies as a feast.
28:03I love it.
28:03A little bit of eel.
28:04Eel is one of those underappreciated foods in America.
28:11A lot of times, eel sort of tastes of the water that it's been slithering around in.
28:15With the cooking technique, salting it and soaking it in the rice wine, spectacular.
28:21Cleans up the meat.
28:22Oh, delicious.
28:27That's some good eel.
28:29Mmm.
28:31I'm savoring the pork and egg dish with its rich, sweet broth.
28:35Mmm.
28:36It melts in your mouth, and it has those traditional North Vietnamese flavors, the cinnamon and star
28:43anise, the sweet spices.
28:45Mmm.
28:46And when it comes to the silkworms, you know how I love my bugs.
28:50Oh, wow.
28:57What's it seasoned with?
28:59Fresh bean shallot, and some lemon.
29:01Lemon leaf.
29:03Oh.
29:04The lemon, the lemon leaf.
29:06All right.
29:07That's what I taste.
29:08Delicious.
29:09Very citrusy.
29:10Yep.
29:11Grown-ups love these foods.
29:13But the kids?
29:14You don't like silkworms?
29:16No.
29:17No?
29:18No.
29:19Would you like to try one?
29:21No, thank you.
29:24Well, let's try snails and tofu and a piece of green banana.
29:31What herbs are in the dish?
29:33Temeric.
29:34Pepper.
29:37Dry chili.
29:38Spicy chili.
29:40And fermented rice.
29:43Ah, I love that.
29:46Once again, one of the greatest joys of traveling is the time spent with new friends in their home sharing a meal.
29:53This food is so spectacular. Your hospitality is great.
29:58Thank you so much.
29:59Vietnam has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with new factories and businesses springing up around the country.
30:18And with more than 2,000 miles of coastline, it's also a top exporter of seafood.
30:22Located on the southern edge of beautiful Ha Long Bay is the city of Ha Phong.
30:28It's considered an economic hub of industry and tourism for the north and has been the center of Vietnam's fishing industry.
30:34When you hear the word fish, most people think of something that looks like this.
30:41But in Vietnam, they're actually talking about fish sauce, also known as nook mam.
30:48It's the most favorite condiment in the country.
30:50And some of the best fish sauce in the world is made on an island not far from here called Cat Hai.
30:55Fish sauce is to the Vietnamese as ketchup is to the Americans.
31:01I'm a huge fan of the Cat Hai version that, unfortunately, is available only in Asia because of trade agreements.
31:08So I'm thrilled to have been invited to tour the factory itself.
31:12I hop on the ferry for the short jaunt from Ha Phong to the island of Cat Hai.
31:17It's a small island devoted to one big business, the making of fish sauce.
31:30Much of the land on the island is now used for shrimp and fish farming, whose sole purpose is to provide the goods for the sauce-making process.
31:38The Vietnamese love salty and fermented flavors in their cooking, and they'll make fish sauce out of squid, out of little shrimp, and most famously, out of anchovies.
31:51And they make all three types here at the Cat Hai fish sauce factory.
31:55How you doing? Good to see you.
31:58Factory director Vu Van Cao is going to take me through the process, which is pretty simple.
32:04Fish sauce is made from just three ingredients.
32:06I can smell it.
32:08Seafood, salt, and water.
32:10So the process is really about the fermentation.
32:13Ah.
32:16Each of these clay barrels contains the seafood, salt, water, and the mixture sits in the sun to ferment.
32:23Barrel after barrel, courtyard after courtyard, there are hundreds of them in various stages of fermentation.
32:29After nearly a year of baking in the clay barrels in the hot sun, the fish sauce is transferred to low aluminum Quonset huts for storage.
32:38When the vintners determine that the fish sauce is ready to be strained, it gets placed in these 20-gallon barrels, it then gets dumped into these big clay pits where it strains.
32:49That process takes 20 days.
32:52It drips slowly through the filters down into these vats here, where it's then siphoned away for bottling.
32:59From mixing to bottling, the entire process is all done by hand to the tune of 5,000 bottles a day.
33:13The kathai sauce is renowned for its taste because of the quality of the ingredients and those who make the sauce.
33:21This fish sauce is one of those foods where you can taste the experience of the maker, and you can also taste the world in the bottle.
33:33It's amazing how fermented fish can become something so tasty.
33:44To sample the kathai sauce, I head back to Hai Phong and the Harborview Hotel, an elegantly restored hotel known for its indigenous Vietnamese cuisine.
33:57Chef Vu Cac Diep uses loads of fish sauce in his cooking.
34:03Now, the quality of the sauce is determined mainly by the type of seafood used, kind of like drinking wine.
34:10The smoother the taste, the higher the quality.
34:13Even though there are different qualities of fish sauce, personal preference usually dictates.
34:17I asked hotel assistant manager Ta-Min Duke to see if he could blindly tell which one is considered top of the line.
34:25Here, taste that one.
34:33Alright, you got that one.
34:34Now, this one.
34:42Okay.
34:43And there's the third one.
34:45Okay.
34:49Alright.
34:50You just tasted three of them.
34:52Yeah.
34:53Number one, number two, and number three.
34:55Which one do you think is the most highly prized fish sauce from the region?
35:02This one is the most strong taste.
35:04It is the strongest.
35:06This one is middle.
35:08Yeah.
35:08And this one is lighter.
35:10It's more suitable for the taste.
35:14You know your fish sauce.
35:15This one, they tell me at the factory on kathai, is the most highly prized because it's got the most red color.
35:22It's got the most floral taste, and it's made with squid, so it's the most nutritious.
35:28It's almost twice as nutritious as this other one, which is still a very good fish sauce.
35:34Yeah, that's why the taste is good.
35:35You know your stuff.
35:36Want a spring roll?
35:38Alright.
35:39Let me get this.
35:40No reason why we shouldn't have the best.
35:42Right.
35:43Go ahead.
35:45Cheers.
35:46Oh.
35:47Mmm.
35:52Vietnam has become a popular destination for tourists, with nearly 4 million international visitors annually.
36:06And as incredible as the interior regions are to explore, Vietnam's 2,000 miles of coastline is even more stunning.
36:13Above all, there's one place you have to visit, Ha Long Bay.
36:18This is Vietnam's greatest natural wonder.
36:21It's an archipelago of limestone islands scattered across the Gulf of Tonkin.
36:26They're covered with green vegetation, so no wonder they're called the Emerald Islands.
36:31This area is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
36:35For centuries, writers, artists, and travelers have been inspired by these images of the traditional Chinese junk boats floating amongst the rock structures.
36:44There are over 3,000 of these amazing formations in varying shapes and sizes.
36:49And by looking at the steepness of the peaks on many of the islands, it's easy to understand why the Vietnamese call the islands Ha Long, which means descending dragon.
36:59The formations are riddled with caves and hidden grottoes.
37:03While most of the islands are not inhabited, some Vietnamese do live in floating villages here and make their living from the water, selling their catch to restaurants back on shore.
37:15There are over 200 species of fish and 450 types of mollusks in Ha Long Bay, and almost all of them are served in the seafood eateries that line the entrance to the harbor, the most famous of which is the Jumbo Floating Restaurant.
37:29This huge restaurant is known for its fresh fish straight from the bay and into the tanks.
37:35My advice in restaurants like this, skip the menu, order your dinner straight from the tanks.
37:41Of course, the problem here is there's a lot of stuff even I don't recognize.
37:46These tanks are crawling with all sorts of creatures.
37:51Well, I'll definitely try some snails and mantis prawns and horseshoe crab.
37:57And if there's anything else that you think I should taste, I'll definitely taste it.
38:01I think there's one thing you have to try.
38:03What's that?
38:04Whoa.
38:06Very nice.
38:07What's this?
38:08It's called kasei.
38:10Oh, yeah.
38:10Bring me one of those.
38:12Yes.
38:12Yeah.
38:13That kasei has me intrigued, and I can't wait to see what they do with the horseshoe crab and the mantis prawns.
38:20When the food arrives, I have even more than I ordered.
38:24The chef has tossed in another Vietnamese delicacy for me to try, shipworms.
38:30This is called the what-am-I-going-to-eat-first wheel.
38:32I'm hoping it's horseshoe crabs.
38:37Eh, it's snails.
38:39Snails and lemongrass could be a winning combination.
38:43This is pretty darn cool.
38:45They serve it with a little bit of fish sauce seasoned with chilies and garlic and safety pins studded into a hunk of ginger.
38:55It's a nice touch.
38:56I've never seen this done before in a restaurant, but I have seen it at night on the couch watching television when my wife is doing her sewing.
39:02All right.
39:04Ah.
39:09That's a big snail.
39:13A little dunk in the seasoned fish sauce.
39:19Mmm.
39:21Those are tasty.
39:23And there's the horseshoe crab in sweet chili.
39:28Mmm.
39:29I've had horseshoe crabs in a lot of places.
39:33They taste like mud that's been sprinkled with rotten fish eggs.
39:36That's usually what they taste like.
39:38This is sweet.
39:40This tastes like king crab.
39:43Wow.
39:46Another spin of the wheel, and, well, I knew it was coming.
39:50All right.
39:51Here's a little sliced breast of cassé served over greens.
39:56Very, very French.
39:57Boy, I'll tell you, it's a good thing there's a sturdy vinaigrette on that, because that's one of the gamiest birds I've eaten in a long time.
40:08Whoa.
40:09That's ripe.
40:11Mmm.
40:12I wonder what this thing eats, because it tastes like it's lived on a diet of those worms.
40:21Let's try those worms.
40:22You know something tastes pretty rank, when you'd much rather eat a plate of this, having never even sampled it before, then go back for a second bite of that.
40:33Nothing like a little worm to get the taste of cassé out of one's mouth.
40:37Mmm.
40:37Chewy.
40:41Tastes like a worm.
40:43See how flat those are now?
40:45They were all brown and fat when they were raw.
40:48But no amount of squeezing of this worm is going to get all of that wood pulp taste out of them.
40:53It's pretty gross.
40:54The green papaya helps.
41:00Not much.
41:01I have nowhere to go but up on the taste scale, so here goes.
41:06Mantis prawns.
41:08Let's see how we're going to do this.
41:10Grab some of that chili and garlic that it's cooked in.
41:14Mmm.
41:14This is like super sweet lobster with the texture of crab.
41:23Very delicate, very flaky.
41:27Hard to eat, but worth it.
41:31And this is one of the strangest looking animals that I've ever eaten.
41:34That's got to account for something.
41:35It's time now to spin my wheels in a different direction
41:40and head back to the islands and enjoy the scenery of beautiful Ha Long Bay.
41:56Vietnam, especially northern Vietnam, is the ultimate study in contrast.
42:01From the frantic and chaotic city streets of Hanoi
42:04to the serenity and tranquility of Ha Long Bay.
42:07From humble soup stalls to wildly popular restaurants,
42:11Vietnam defies categorization.
42:14It's essentially defining itself, perhaps for the umpteenth time right now.
42:19What's next for me?
42:20Who knows?
42:21Smoked puffin in Iceland?
42:23Grilled warthog in Kenya?
42:24Just remember, like I always say, if it looks good, eat it.
42:29It's so bizarre.
42:34It's so bizarre.
42:37It's the하면서 to the donuts.
42:37It's so bizarre.
42:37When texting is PC, it needs it.
42:40It's so bizarre.
42:41To block you of all the different 我Set up Cancer,
42:43it's so bizarre.
42:48It's so bizarre.
42:50Are there stars no matter what you say?
42:50Until the sun at Earth...
42:52It seems very rare.
42:53Like I also say, I feel better when you fall in the mixing phase of theich
42:55where you go to theasia,
42:56or something like that.
42:57Do a little bit toward the world about you?
42:58It's as-
42:59For a musical Monet in España.
43:00I have never idea what you look into unless you want.
43:01It's really known before you're a salah-
Comments