Andrew Fraser (Australia) spent a long time traveling across Vietnam and shared his journey on his YouTube channel with more than 205,000 followers. He not only "hunted" for horrifying specialties, but also challenged himself by going to the place where the dish was created to learn how to prepare and enjoy it.
Coming to Hoang Su Phi district during the rice harvest season, Andrew joined the crowd at the district’s central market to find nam pia. He learned that the dish is a specialty of the Thai and Nung people in northern Vietnam, cooked from the young excrement of cows and goats.
However, after going around the market, the Australian guy still couldn’t find any stalls that made nam pia, so instead he tried drinking corn wine, rice wine of the indigenous people and eating thang co. Not wanting to stop his search there, he finally asked the owner of a thang co stall for the address of a nam pia stall. It was a stall specializing in goat dishes of a Nung family in Vinh Quang town.
At the restaurant, Andrew had the opportunity to directly observe the preparation of goat nam pia from the initial stages to the finished product. He was surprised because here, people do not waste anything, from skin, meat, bones to every internal organ is utilized for cooking.
Not only in Hoang Su Phi, but also in many areas in Ha Giang and other northern provinces such as Son La, Lao Cai... tourists can also find nam pia. Although the dish has a horrifying preparation method, it is very popular during holidays, entertaining friends and distinguished guests. Nam - also called nam - means soup, pia means viscous substance (young excrement) taken from the stomach and large intestine.
Andrew found that the stomach and intestines containing feces were washed several times with water and lemon juice. Then, they were chopped and fried in a pan with water until golden brown, then herbs and chopped banana flowers were added.
When the dish was served, sitting in front of the hot pan of nam pia, Andrew was hesitant because he had never eaten anything cooked from the dung of a herbivore and wondered if there was any difference between cow and goat nam pia. He admitted that nam pia was a difficult challenge for him and decided to start eating from the easiest part, a small piece of liver.
Only then did the Australian tourist muster the courage to taste the broth, which had dissolved spices, goat dung and the flavor of herbs. "This broth is definitely the most unappetizing thing I have ever known, not only the smell but also the color of it gives that feeling," he said.
After enjoying each ingredient one by one, Andrew grimaced and shared: "All the ingredients of nam pia have a very bitter taste that blends into the broth. A very strong bitter taste overwhelms everything else. Every time I chew it, it tastes more bitter."
In addition to nam pia, he also tried other goat dishes such as raw goat meat rolled with wild vegetables, goat meat with fermented bean curd... In Hoang Su Phi, Australian tourists do not miss the opportunity to explore indigenous life such as finding traditional silver jewelry makers.
