Vietnam’s specialties with odd smell

VietNamNet Bridge - Fish sauce, thang co, durian, sauce hot pot... are considered specialties of Vietnam but their smells are unbearable for many foreign tourists.

Thang co

Horse meat, called thang co, is a traditional dish of the Mong ethnic group in the mountainous north-western region of Vietnam. Thang co has been known for years as a speciality of the Mong culture. The technique of making it is quite simple. After the animal is killed and washed, its internal parts are removed, which are later cut up. These parts are put in a big pan and fried in their own grease. Minutes later, water is added to the pan and the meat is simmered for hours. To spice up the dish, salt and some spicy fruits including thao qua and dia dien can be added, giving to the dish an attractive aroma. However, this food has a very strange smell. 

Nam pia

This is a specialty of Thai people.

“Nam Pia”. In Thai, “nam” means the soup, “Pia” is a viscous substance in the small intestine between the stomach and large intestine sections of cow, goat, buffalo … simple dish is named Nam Pia. 

The main ingredients of this dish are offal including stomach, blood, heart, liver heart, guts … and viscous water from inside the intestines of cows, goats and buffalo, horse called “Pia”, which is simmered. 

The smell of this cuisine is even more weird than thang co.

Fish sauce 

Fish sauce is often made from anchovies, salt and water, and is often used in moderation because it is intensely flavoured. Anchovies and salt are arranged in wooden boxes to ferment and are slowly pressed, yielding the salty, fishy liquid. The variety from Vietnam is generally called nước mắm (well known by brand names including nước mắm Phú Quốc (Phu Quoc) and nước mắm Phan Thiết (Phan Thiet). 

Fish sauce has a long unwritten history for centuries in Vietnam. Many of the secrets of making of fish sauce are traditional family histories from parts of Vietnam in Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet, both of which are most notable for the quality. Although anyone who is Vietnamese knows how to produce fish sauce, the pungent odor of the fish, and the time given to produce it are not easy to withstand year around in hot and cold weather. Phu Quoc’s known records of fish sauce only date back 200 years. 

Mam tom (shrimp paste)

Shrimp paste or shrimp sauce is made from fermented ground shrimp mixed with salt. Some versions are in its wet form such as those in Vietnam and other versions are sun-dried and either cut into fist-sized rectangular blocks or sold in bulk. It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces.

Mam ca of the southwestern region

Fermented fish, or mam ca, is more popular in the Mekong Delta than elsewhere in Vietnam. Locals have invented a variety of fermented fish made from various species including climbing perch and ca linh, a small fish belonging to the same family as the carp. Because of its pungent smell, kiosks selling the fermented fish can be easily located even in large crowded markets. Unlike fish sauce, the smell refuses to go away even when cooked with food like hotpots.

Mam nem

Mam nem is a sauce made of fermented fish. Unlike the more familiar fish sauce, Mam nem is powerfully pungent, similar to bagoong. Many of the regions that produce fish sauce, for example Phú Quốc, also produce mắm nêm. It is commonly mixed with sugar, pineapple, and spices to make a prepared sauce called mắm nêm pha sẵn, the key ingredient in bún mắm.

Compiled by Pha  Le