Andrew Fraser, owner of a YouTube channel with more than 190,000 followers, specializes in posting videos about unique culinary, cultural and travel experiences in many places around the world. In Vietnam, Andrew spends a lot of time searching for and enjoying horrifying dishes that not all Westerners dare to try, from nam pia, Omphisa fuscidentalis, fried grasshoppers to dui (also known as bamboo rats).
To learn about bamboo rat farming, Andrew traveled to Van Chan district, Yen Bai province, to Hai and his wife's farm. The family raised bamboo rats and porcupines in very neat and clean cages. The Australian tourist saw with his own eyes the baby bamboo rats being raised until they were fat. Andrew personally cut bamboo with Hai to feed each bamboo rat. In addition to bamboo, the bamboo rats also ate sugarcane pulp and corn.
According to Mr. Hai, the farm owner, after 6-8 months, a bamboo rat will weigh 1-1.5kg and can be sold for meat. After more than 1 year, the rat will weigh about 5kg. Andrew was told that the price of bamboo rat meat is about 75 USD (1.9 million VND) per kg, equal to the price of lobster and wagyu beef.
Returning to Hanoi, he and his friends went to a restaurant specializing in Northwest specialties to enjoy this expensive bamboo rat meat dish. Andrew went into the kitchen to watch the chef meticulously prepare these giant rats into different dishes.
First, the bamboo rat is blanched in boiling water to clean the fur, then wrapped in newspaper to burn the outer skin. Next, the bamboo rat is cut open to clean the internal organs and remove the bones.
Onions, lemongrass, and crushed ginger are added to the pot of seasoned water and finally the bamboo rat meat is added to the stew. When the bamboo rat is soft, it is sliced into thin pieces and served with herbs and hot sticky rice. The bamboo rat bones and taro are cooked separately to make soup.
Andrew excitedly said: "For the price of lobster and wagyu beef, we choose to eat bamboo rats. I have eaten field rats, wild rats... and then let's see what's different about bamboo rats."
Fatty pieces of bamboo rat meat with thick skin are rolled with herbs such as basil, apricot, coriander... and dipped in shrimp paste to enjoy. Australian tourists realize that this way of eating is very similar to eating dog meat, using only simple ingredients but with a lot of flavor in this dish. Especially the herbs served with it and the way of processing and seasoning when cooking enhance the flavor of the meat.
Taking a sip of taro and bamboo rat bone soup, the Youtuber was surprised, "Who would have thought bamboo rat soup could be this delicious?" Both the Australian guy and his friend exclaimed that the bamboo rat meat was so delicious, even the bones cooked in soup were very "warming".
