Unexpected reaction of Western guests when enjoying the specialty of stinky crab vermicelli in Gia Lai

Dustin Cheverier (from Southern California, USA) is one of the most well-known foreign travel bloggers with a personal Youtube channel with more than 790,000 followers. He has been living in Vietnam for 9 years and regularly shares videos of his experiences about life, travel and cuisine from the South to the North.

The American guy commented that Vietnam is a destination with many advantages to attract tourists, from cuisine , human culture to natural landscapes. Therefore, he always wants to be able to "contribute to promoting the image of the S-shaped strip of land" through the videos he posts on his personal page.

Most recently, Dustin traveled to Gia Lai and was surprised by the unique specialties there. In just one day in Pleiku City, he visited many popular eateries to enjoy famous dishes such as stinky crab noodles, pho hai to, banh xeo, nem lui, etc.

Dustin enjoyed many Gia Lai specialties during a recent culinary experience tour (Screenshot)

Among them, Dustin was very impressed with the stinky crab noodle soup at a small shop on Phung Hung Street. The American commented that stinky crab noodle soup is a familiar dish for locals but is quite picky and difficult for foreigners to eat because of its distinctive smell. However, he loves to experience new dishes so he did not hesitate to try this “smelly” specialty.

To make stinky crab vermicelli, Gia Lai people often process crabs caught in Phu Tho field (ie Dong Xanh, An Phu commune, Pleiku city) because only crabs living here have a more delicious and fragrant taste than other types of crabs.

A full bowl of stinky crab noodle soup includes vermicelli, thick broth, and depending on the diner's preference, there are accompanying ingredients such as fried pork skin, peanuts, rice paper, fermented pork rolls, spring rolls, etc. (Photo: Nguyen Tramtram, Thanh Ngan Tran, Hien My)

After being caught, the crabs are washed, the shells are removed, the bodies are pounded or ground, and the water is filtered. The crab water is fermented for about a day and night until it turns black and smells musty.

With many years of experience, local people will know how to balance to ensure the crab water is brewed enough and for the right amount of time, creating the right flavor. If the crab water has too strong or too little smell, it will not taste good when processed.

Next, people put the fermented crab broth on the stove, simmer it over low heat, then add thinly sliced fresh bamboo shoots. The longer it is boiled, the sweeter the bamboo shoots will be, making the broth more flavorful.

In addition to vermicelli, bamboo shoots, and eggs, stinky crab vermicelli is also served with crispy fried pork skin with fried onions, peanuts, fermented pork rolls, spring rolls, etc., then poured over a thick, black, smelly broth.

Stinky crab vermicelli served with raw vegetables. Diners can mix all the ingredients together and enjoy or pour the broth separately to eat dry (Photo: Nguyen Diem Ly, Le Van)

Because it was the first time eating stinky crab noodles, Dustin wanted to fully experience the flavor of the dish, so he asked the restaurant owner for instructions on how to season the dish to make it delicious. He watched attentively as the restaurant owner meticulously added spices such as fish sauce, chopped chili, lemon juice, etc. to the bowl of noodles, mixed them well, and enjoyed.

“The aroma is very special, but it will be a bit difficult for foreigners to eat. The fish sauce here is not as strong as other fish sauces, so I still feel fine eating a lot. It is difficult to describe this flavor, I feel like fresh shrimp and fish are ground and fermented,” Dustin commented.

Western guests excitedly enjoy the specialty of stinky crab vermicelli (Screenshot)

The Western guest also showed that he was a gourmet no less than the locals when he ate stinky crab vermicelli with raw vegetables, spring rolls, fermented pork rolls, pickled eggs, etc. Although the crab broth was pitch black and smelled bad, he kept praising it as delicious and was impressed with the unique flavor of this specialty vermicelli dish in the mountain town.

In addition to stinky crab noodles, Dustin also enjoyed the Gia Lai people's two-bowl pho (also known as dry pho) for 80,000 VND/2 bowls. He commented that the broth had a strong beef flavor and the pho was chewy and unique, unlike the Vietnamese pho he had eaten.

The American blogger enjoyed the beef pancake. He commented that this dish was delicious and suitable for his taste (Screenshot)

In addition, the American blogger also gave many compliments to the spring rolls wrapped in rice paper and the beef pancakes. In particular, the warm feelings and kindness of the local people when they continuously proactively gave free food to the foreign guest were also what made him feel warm and precious during this trip.

“The people here are really kind, friendly and helpful. I am very grateful,” Dustin said.

Phan Dau

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