5 most 'smelly' specialties in Vietnam

The following 5 dishes are indispensable on the Vietnamese culinary map, but their flavors can haunt visitors who try them for the first time.

1. Shrimp paste

Shrimp paste has a very impressive smell.

Shrimp paste is a specialty of the North, with a very distinctive flavor. The paste is made from shrimp or crab and salt, through a fermentation process that creates a deep purple color and a strong, distinctive smell, to the point that "smell of shrimp paste" has become a common word in everyday life. Many people love shrimp paste, but there are also many who "run away" just by smelling the smell of shrimp paste.

2. Fish sauce

Fish sauce is very popular in Vietnamese cuisine.

Fish sauce can be made from raw or dried fish. Some fish sauces are made from whole fish, while others are made from only blood or fish viscera. Some fish sauces contain only fish and salt, while others may contain herbs and spices. Short-term fermented fish sauces have a characteristic fishy smell. Long-term fermentation reduces the fishy smell and creates a richer, more aromatic flavor.

3. Nam Pia

Nam pia is being cooked on the stove.

Nam pia is a traditional dish of the Thai ethnic group, only available from Moc Chau to Son La. In Thai, "nam" means soup, "pia" means the viscous substance in the small intestine of a cow or feces. This dish has a strange name and strange ingredients, but it is a special favorite of the people here. In addition to "pia", the dish also has congealed blood, cartilage, tail, meat, silver music, internal organs such as stomach, liver...

4. Rotten meat of Muong La

Rotten meat is one of the four great specialties of Muong La land.

Choose the best part of pork or beef right after cutting it, then dry it in the sun for a day, continue to marinate it with herbs, then put it in a jar and sprinkle with salt.

The meat is kept sealed, because it is not marinated with much salt, the meat will decompose, the good meat will be cooked by the sunlight and will not dissolve but will clump. After about 10 days of keeping the meat, people open it and put in some herbs. The rotten meat really has the... rotten smell of decomposing meat, but for the Muong La people, this is a specialty with a special flavor.

5. Durian

Durian originates from Southeast Asia and is very popular with Vietnamese people.

Durian has a rough outer shell with many sharp thorns, inside there are about 3 grooves. Durian segments are sweet, soft and fatty when ripe and give off a very strong aroma. Because of its "horrible" smell, durian is banned on many public transport and some hotels.

Although there are many durian addicts, most of them think that the smell of durian is extremely "horrible". There are many unbelievable comparisons to the smell of the fruit such as rotten onions, turpentine or sewage.

According to vietnamnet