American tourists try grilled field mice in Dong Thap and the ending is 'unbelievable'

"Too fresh, too delicious. If you tear the meat and eat it with rice, I bet you can't tell the difference between rat meat and chicken! There's nothing to complain about this dish. If you travel to the West of Vietnam, remember to try field rats, you won't regret it," Brandon Hurley - an American man living in Vietnam shared about Cao Lanh field rats (Dong Thap).

Brandon Hurley (35 years old) is also known by many people as "Fat Phuc". The American guy owns a Youtube channel sharing about cuisine , travel, and life experiences in Vietnam with nearly 500,000 followers.

Brandon was born in Florida (USA). In the US, he had a stable job with a good income. However, around 2014, Brandon was no longer interested in work. He began his journey to Asia to find opportunities to teach English to Asians. After traveling to countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia... this man decided to choose Vietnam as his destination. "Cuisine is one of the reasons why I love Vietnam. For the past 8 years, there has not been a day that I have not eaten Vietnamese food. It is so delicious, so wonderful," Brandon shared with VietNamNet.

Brandon Hurley is known to many as "Fat Phuc"

During his time living and teaching English in Vietnam, Phuc Map has traveled to many provinces and cities such as Hanoi , Phu Quoc (Kien Giang), Ben Tre, Vung Tau, Hoi An (Quang Nam), Da Nang, Da Lat (Lam Dong)... He has tasted many traditional dishes in the regions such as pho, bun cha, banh khot, Quang noodles, grilled chicken with bamboo rice, spring rolls... even dishes that "terrify many tourists" such as coconut worms, crickets, durian, shrimp paste, snakes, duck eggs... Recently, he surprised many viewers when he ate delicious field mouse meat.

Phuc Map said he tried rat meat in 2017, when he participated in a program in Vietnam. "That time, I was quite confused, but because we were filming, of course I couldn't refuse, so I bit my tongue and tried it. Oh, but when I ate it, I found it quite interesting, it seemed like chicken or quail meat," Phuc Map said.

After that time, Phuc Map thought many times about buying rat meat to enjoy again. "In Ho Chi Minh City, there are many restaurants advertising selling field rats, but I didn't dare eat them because I was afraid they were sewer rats," he said.

Not long ago, Phuc Map traveled to Cao Lanh - the place with the famous field mouse meat dish of the Western region. He wanted to spend time to fully enjoy this rustic dish. The rat meat restaurant that this American man visited had a diverse menu including grilled rats, fried rats, stir-fried rats with pickled onions, braised rats... The average price is from 30,000-60,000 VND/portion.

American tourists are excited to enjoy grilled field mice.

Phuc Map chose two grilled rats for 30,000 VND each. The waiter brought out two processed rats, heads and tails removed, cut into bite-sized pieces. Accompanied by salad and herbs.

"The meat dish looks quite eye-catching. I can't wait to enjoy it. Its flavor is somewhat similar to chicken. When dipped in fish sauce, it's even more like roasted chicken: soft, chewy, and salty. Very delicious. Or it's also a bit like quail meat, both in size and flavor," Phuc Map described.

He also affirmed: "If there is a restaurant serving quality field mouse meat in Ho Chi Minh City, I will definitely come here often to eat."

According to Phuc Map, rats are a dish that makes many people, even Vietnamese people, "fearful". They do not dare to eat them because they think they are dirty, or eat garbage... Therefore, he was determined to go to Cao Lanh to try field rats, a type of rat that lives in the fields in the countryside.

Phuc Map said that in America, people eat many types of animals but do not have rat meat. Therefore, this dish "challenges" many Americans when traveling to Asia. Previously, during a visit to a village in Cambodia, he tasted a dish made from spiders. According to him, this dish is quite delicious and similar to French fries. However, not many Americans dare to try it.

"When coming to any country or culture, we should boldly put aside our initial fear or negative impressions of certain animals to embrace and appreciate the culture and specialties of the land we visit. The reason is that each country and culture in the world has its own unique culinary features," Phuc Map expressed his personal opinion.

Phuc Map also shared that to avoid a "shock" to his stomach when trying strange dishes, he often takes digestive enzymes for a few days in a row or sips wine. When enjoying grilled rats, he also drinks a sip of banana wine.