Offal news
Following on from The Offal Quiz which is slowly finding its own answers in a kind of wiki-logic-Flickr-freestyle-style I read this morning that in a bid to stem any future bird flu outbreaks, the Vietnamese governement are on the trail of offal producers,
"Vietnam is considering banning the sale of raw blood pudding following the detection of two new outbreaks of the killer virus in poultry earlier this month, local media said on Tuesday October 24. The state anti-bird flu committee discussed rules on poultry raising, slaughtering and trading on Monday, including a proposed ban on the sale of the traditional dish, made from the raw blood of ducks or geese, the army's Quan Doi Nhan Dan newspaper said." via Intellasia daily newsletter.
Tiet canh is the dish they're referring to. It's a pretty gross tub of conjealed blood sprinkled with chopped peanuts. Rather metallic tasting if I remember correctly. I only ever had this once in Hanoi many years ago. It's not great, but it is supposed to make your knob really big, revolutionize your sex drive and generally put the mother of all tigers in your tank. Grrr.... We talked about Tiet canh in the comments way back
Tiet canh is congealed duck blood with various offal parts minced up with peanuts and topped with coriander and basil. Definitely drinking food. Goes great with ruoi de (rice wine). Observing how it is prepared may kill your appetite, however.
There's also a goat variation which suppose to be even more potent in the viagral sense.
Posted by: anchoi | October 27, 2005 at 06:47 PM
an choi, you mean 'Ruou de'? Anyway, I have never dared to try tiet canh b4, looks scary
Posted by: vunguyen | October 27, 2005 at 08:09 PM
tiet canh is tricky to prepare, in a way. I have tried it before from different people, and i got really disgusted, not because of the look or preparation, but the way it tasted. Then one person (true southern drinker type, kind of guy who can sit on the floor and drink from lunch through supper into breakfast) this guy made it 2,3 times at home for me - sooo good. Thai basil and lime juice are two things (among others) that you must have with this dish. And alcohol.
Posted by: idlehouse | October 27, 2005 at 11:58 PM
You're not really selling it guys - with or without the booze.
In other (related) news, chicken farming is now banned in Saigon:
HCM City to completely ban poultry farming
26/Oct/2005 Thanh Nien
HCM City will completely ban the breeding of fowls from mid-November, the department of agriculture and rural development said Wednesday October 26.
The city also plans to carry out a campaign to clean up the environment and spray decontaminants to protect residents from the epidemic that is now spreading in Asia, Europe, and other parts in the world.
Posted by: pieman | October 28, 2005 at 05:29 AM