5 famous delicious specialties of Dong Thap, tourists can enjoy and buy as gifts

Lotus root salad

When mentioning Dong Thap specialties, we cannot fail to mention dishes made from lotus - a famous plant in this land, including delicious and attractive lotus root salad.

After picking, the lotus root is washed, cut into strips and mixed with spices such as lemon, sugar, fish sauce, chili and a little herbs. Wait for the lotus root to absorb the spices, then add shredded chicken and mix together.

Lotus root salad - a unique and attractive specialty in Dong Thap (Photo: Traveloka).

This salad has a sour, sweet, and spicy taste, with the chewy and sweet taste of chicken, and a bit of crunchiness and coolness from lotus root, so it has a quite effective "heat-clearing and anti-greasy" effect.

Sa Dec noodle soup

Hu tieu is one of the famous and popular dishes of Sa Dec, Dong Thap. The noodles here are soft, not mushy, not chewy, milky white in color and fragrant.

In particular, the broth is sweet, delicious but not too fatty, making diners definitely want to try Hu Tieu once.

Sa Dec noodle dish with characteristic small, chewy noodles (Photo: Le Pham Khanh).

When a customer orders, the chef will put the noodles in the bowl, add some minced lean meat, pork roll, heart, liver, etc., and sprinkle chopped green onions and cilantro on top, then pour in the broth.

Snails hung in the kitchen

Grilled snails are one of the strange and expensive specialties in Dong Thap in particular and the Western provinces in general. To make this dish, locals mainly use snails or apple snails. However, snails are more popular and preferred because the meat is clean and crispy, so when dried for several months, it still retains its freshness.

Snails are sorted and selected to be large, healthy and have unbroken shells, then washed, drained, and placed in a hanging basket on the kitchen shelf. Snails must be kept in a dry, airy place, away from sunlight and moisture, because snails instinctively crawl away when they encounter moisture.

For Dong Thap people, the most favorite dishes are still steamed lemongrass snails with fermented rice and grilled pepper snails (Photo: Nguyen Lien).

When the snails are old enough, people take them down from the rack and “fatten” them by soaking them in fresh milk and eggs. The snails have been hungry for a long time, so when they see water, they “squirm” their mouths and drink the mixture. Thanks to that, the snails become fatter and have a delicious flavor when cooked.

Wait for the snails to "rehydrate" for about 25-30 minutes, then take them out, wash them with cold water and process them into dishes according to your preference.

Nem Lai Vung

Nem Lai Vung is also one of the famous specialties of Dong Thap, enjoyed by many diners and bought as gifts.

Unlike spring rolls in other regions, Lai Vung spring rolls have the sweetness of fresh meat, the crunchiness of the skin, the light sourness of vông leaves, tamarind leaves and the spiciness of green chili.

Nem Lai Vung has a bright pink-red layer of meat dotted with the green of chili and vông leaves, looking very attractive (Photo: Van Nguyen, Nhat My).

According to locals, a delicious Lai Vung spring roll must have 8 parts meat, 2 parts skin, lined with vông leaves and tied with banana strings. Coming here, visitors can find and buy spring rolls at many shops and restaurants with prices ranging from 30,000 - 40,000 VND/10 pieces.

Field mouse spinning wheel

Field mice or Cao Lanh porcupine rats are the ingredients to make a series of famous delicious dishes in Dong Thap such as fake dog mice, sweet and sour stir-fried mice, vinegar-dipped mice, stir-fried mice, etc. but the most popular is still roasted mice.

To make delicious roasted rats, people must choose large, fat, live rats and dip them in boiling water to pluck the hair without tearing the skin. After being cleaned, the rats are marinated with spices and then attached to an iron hook, hung in the middle of the jar and tightly covered.

The quality of the roasted mouse dish is when the skin is puffed up, red, crispy and the meat is cooked evenly, plump, and beautiful (Photo: Gam Miko).

A hole is drilled at the bottom of the jar leading to the moist ground to put in charcoal to grill. The mouse will be rotated in the jar and the lid will be opened every 5 to 10 minutes to evenly cook the meat. When the mouse is cooked, people spread a layer of pure honey on the skin to enhance the aroma and make it more attractive.

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