TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Snakes on a plate: Vietnam's coiled cuisine

News Desk (Agence France-Presse)
Yên Bái, Vietnam
Wed, September 12, 2018

Share This Article

Change Size

Snakes on a plate: Vietnam's coiled cuisine This photo taken on August 24, 2018 shows a customer consuming a snake sausage dish served at a specialty restaurant in Yen Bai province. With their meat served up in a wide array of dishes and blood imbibed in rice wine, snakes make a satisfying -- and nourishing -- meal in Vietnam. (AFP/Nhac Nguyen)

W

ith their meat served up in a wide array of dishes and blood added to rice wine, snakes make a reputedly satisfying -- and nourishing -- meal in Vietnam.

Caught in the jungles of the north of the country, snake flesh is traditionally believed to help with cooling overheated body temperatures, relieving headaches and easing digestion. 

Restaurants will cook it steamed or fried with lemongrass and chilli and serve it with a rice wine mixed with snake blood, said chef Dinh Tien Dung, who works at a restaurant in Yen Bai province three hours northwest of the capital Hanoi.

Holding a snake's head with one hand, Dinh Tien Dung slit its body near the head with a knife and squeezed blood out of it, dripping it into a cup of rice wine. 

"We make use of every part of the snake except its head and its scales," said the 32-year-old. 

Read also: Bikes out, trees in: Hanoi tackles air pollution woes

Locals believe that only men over 50 should drink snake wine, as younger males are likely to experience "backache or impotence," said restaurant owner Duong Duc Doc. 

As for its flesh, the benefits to eating it are numerous, said snake-catcher Dang Quoc Khanh, a 35-year-old who has been trapping serpents in the jungle since he was a young boy. 

"Snake meat is a very good food," he said, "It's delicious, good for your health and good for your bones." 

But wildlife expert Ioana Dungler from Four Paws International said killing wild snakes and disturbing the jungles' ecosystem is unnecessary as global meat production should be sufficient. 

"The whole process of these animals ending on a plate or in a drink is very painful... and it's done for purposes that are not justified," Dungler told AFP. 

{

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.