Ants are used to process specialties in many cities and provinces of Vietnam. In Mai Chau in Hoa Binh, people use ants to make nom kien chua (sour ant salad). In Tam Dao in Vinh Phuc, ants are used to make thit bo kien dot (ant beef). In Gia Lai, people make salt with yellow ants. 

Meanwhile, in Tri Ton, An Giang, ants are used in the dish called ‘bo xao kien vang’ (stirred-fried beef with yellow ants and chha ca dao leaves.

Nguyen Phung Truc Giang, the owner of an eatery which specializes in serving popular dishes, said yellow ants are collected from Khmer ethnic minority people. After leaves and barks are removed, the ants are packaged and vacuum-sealed. This preservation method allows use all year round. Ant eggs must be washed with diluted salt water before processing. All the steps must be followed meticulously and thoroughly.

In An Giang, yellow ants are used for many dishes. People buy ants to make lau kien vang (hot pot of yellow ants), bo xao kien vang la chha ca dao (stirred-fried beef with yellow ants and chha ca dao leaves), and vit xiem nau kien vang (Siamese duck cooked with yellow ants).

People go to the forest to look for yellow ants to sell to petty merchants and restaurants. Yellow ants are selling at VND350,000-450,000 per kilogram.

The beef used to make bo xao kien vang la chha ca dao must be the most delicious parts of a cow. It must be fresh and processed within the day. Chha ca dao is a popular leaf in the locality, but it remains unheard to travelers from other localities. Many people, when seeing eateries’ signboards, think the word ‘chha ca dao’ is misspelled. 

"Chha ca dao is the name Khmer people use to call a type of plant grown in home gardens or fields. The leaf has a very unique flavor, which is similar to lemongrass, with a pleasant aroma," said Duong Viet Anh, a tour guide in An Giang.

To make bo xao kien vang la chha ca dao, chefs put a pan on big fire and fry onions in cooking oil. The beef is stir-fried with yellow ants until it is done. After that, chefs will add the ants with spices and seasoning powder to make the beef tasty. Also, they need to add some chha ca dao leaves and chili.

The beef is delicious and soft, mixed with the mild sour taste of ants and the aroma of chha ca dao leaves.

In An Giang, ant hotpot is also a specialty that attracts many diners. A hot pot includes yellow ants, chicken/beef or duck meat, and mam bo hoc (a kind of sauce), also called prahok, or pro hoc, a traditional cooking ingredient of Khmer people, la giang (giang leaves, or Aganonerion polymorphum) and la mac mat (mac mat leaves, or Clausena indica).

An Giang is the home of many delicious popular dishes. Burnt banana is one of An Giang’s dishes famous on social networks. Chuoi cau (Areca bananas) are burnt brightly in a clay pot, which produces a fragrant scent.

This variety of small banana is commonly grown in Mekong Delta provinces such as Ben Tre, An Giang and Long An. When it ripens, it has a yellow skin and is fragrant.

Chuoi cau is very cheap in high season. Tang Cam Mai, the chef of a hotel in Chau Doc Hotel in An Giang, tries to use local farm produce by creating a new dish from chuoi cau. Processed bananas can be used to orange juice fruit, chocolate and vodka. It is called ‘chuoi dot’ (burnt bananas). 

The sauce is made of orange juice and a little sugar. Bananas are peeled, gently rolled in butter and cinnamon powder until golden brown. Then the chef puts bananas in thick orange juice, cooks them in a pot. After that, she pours strong vodka into the banana pot and sets it on fire.

Linh Trang