Andrew Fraser is an Australian content creator who lives and works in Vietnam. He has a YouTube channel with 190,000 followers where he posts videos about travel and culinary experiences. 

Andrew revealed that he does not hesitate to try strange and original dishes, which to many are seen as ‘creepy’. He once tried ‘nam pia’, the specialty of Thai ethnic minority living in the northwest of the country.

‘Nam’, in the language of the Thai people, means ‘soup’, while ‘pia’ is the viscous substance in the small intestine located between the stomach and large intestine of cows, goats, and buffaloes.

The main ingredients of the dish are the internal organs of herbivores, including stomach, blood, intestines, heart and liver, and the viscous liquid from small intestine of cows, goats, buffaloes and horses.

Though the dish is favored by the Thai ethnic minority, it is not suited to all people. So, nam pia is considered ‘a dish for the brave’.

Andrew also tried sau tre and chau chau rang (roasted bamboo worms and grasshoppers).

"Most recently, I had a trip to Ben Tre to learn about duong dua (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus). It is a kind of harmful creature, not favored by farmers, but favored by diners as it can create a delicious dish."

Coconut worms are abundant in Mekong Delta, especially Ben Tre. Every year, during the rainy season, bo ray (Holotrichia sauteri) begin boring into the tops of coconut trees to lay eggs.

When the larvae hatch, they begin to eat the young core located at the top of coconut tree trunks, and turn into large and fat coconut worms. 

Since coconut worms can bore into coconut trees, they cannot continue to grow, but  wither gradually and die. If so, farmers have to chop down coconut trees and catch coconut worms in tree trunks and turn them into food.

In Ben Tre, Andrew not only learned about the special dish and listened to locals’ stories about duong dua, but was also taught how to catch them.

He was surprised when cutting a coconut tree trunk to discover a nest of wriggling coconut worms inside. They were as big as a fingertip, soft and plump. 

Roasted coconut worms have become increasingly popular recently. They have even appeared on the menu of a restaurant with one Michelin star, located on Ton That Dam street in district 2, HCM City.

Trying to find out why coconut worms are favored though they are a kind of harmful creature, the expat came to the restaurant where he was introduced to coconut worm cocktail.

He said he came to see how the chef can elevate one of the most challenging ingredients in Vietnamese cuisine and attract so many foreign tourists to experience it.

At the bar counter, the Australian YouTuber could see how the coconut worm cocktail was prepared. Only after the cocktail was created did the chef begin the final step - processing coconut worms.

The coconut worms had their heads removed, then were sprinkled with a little sugar and heated. Then, the coconut worms were skewered on sticks and placed on the brim of the cocktail glass.

According to Andrew, after the worms were coated with sugar and torched, they looked  to br coated with a caramel layer which gave an attractive aroma.

The chef suggested trying coconut worms first and then drinking a cocktail to enjoy the special flavor.

Andrew commented that the coconut worms were surprisingly crispy and delicious, and looked very appealing. He could feel the aroma of coconut and found the worms delicious, as if they were sugared candies.

However, the chef told Andrew that the coconut worm cocktail is just a simple dish, and if he wanted to have more experiences with coconut worms, he should try fresh worms.

So, he decided to move to another restaurant to order the popular and easily found dish – fresh coconut worms soaked in fish sauce with chili.

Andrew admitted that at first he felt a bit wary of the worms wriggling in the bowl of fish sauce, but after he gathered courage and tried it, he found it really wonderful.

Thao Trinh