Despite mixed opinions, Mr. Phan Hong Son (41 years old, living in Hanoi) still asserts: “At first, it feels a bit scary, but when you try it calmly, it will be delicious”.
A dish that challenges all customers
Recently, Phan Hong Son’s article on how to cook snake hot pot on a food-loving community received thousands of mixed opinions, especially the detail that the owner left the snake skin intact when cooking to help the dish. Eat keep the original taste.
Many netizens are “terrified” when watching, even sharing that they “look scared” so they will never taste this dish. Regarding this story, Mr. Son said that this was not only the opinion of social networks but also his friends and family when he first witnessed it.
Explaining the cooking of a snake hot pot with the skin on, Mr. Son said that before diners have the feeling of biting their teeth, he wants to challenge everyone in terms of image, if they pass this “gate” then they can eat.
“ On the other hand, I know that few people make this dish with the skin on, but when you try it calmly, you will find it delicious, the snake is soft and sweet, not chewy, not fishy, you can feel the smell of lemongrass, lemon leaves, and sweetness. of coconut water, the fatty taste of chicken fat …”, Mr. Son said.
According to Mr. Son, his friends then praised the delicious taste of this unique dish. In particular, even his wife and children are not afraid but extremely excited to enjoy.
“People often think snakes are poisonous, the feeling of wet, soft skin crawling over their legs causes chills, let alone eating it. When they see hotpot with the skin on, people don’t dare to eat it, but it’s like that. The way Vietnamese people eat duck eggs, blood pudding makes Westerners panic… Depending on how you look at it, you can enjoy it differently,” added Mr. Son.
Passion for cooking exotic dishes
The first time Mr. Son ate snakes was when he visited Le Mat village – Gia Lam. This is a very famous place for snake farming and processing of this specialty.
However, in the past, Mr. Son only tasted snake cakes, snake bones scooped rice paper… Therefore, he wanted to create more dishes from this animal.
“I personally love to eat, so every time I have a strange dish, I’m curious to ask for ingredients and how to prepare it. This snake hot pot is the first time I make it, based on practical experience to marinate and reduce” , Mr. Son said.
Accordingly, the snake species Anh Son uses is a non-poisonous, non-venomous cobra. After being slaughtered and washed, snakes will be frozen and preserved. When needed, Mr. Son will defrost, wash vinegar and alcohol to limit the fishy smell and then marinate on 10 different spices for 30 minutes.
“Heat the pan, I will add lard, then dried onion, minced lemongrass and then put the snake on the island for hunting. Next is lemongrass smashed, fresh coconut water boiled for 5 minutes. Besides, hot pot pot also need a hen that lays 1 or 2 litters, and rattan seed eggs,” he shared.
According to Mr. Son, in order to increase the deliciousness of the hot pot, when using it, it is necessary to scoop out the snake and chicken in a 1:1 ratio. Snake hot pot cooked with hens is full of aftertaste, so just one bite will fill your teeth, creating a feeling of overcoming all fears.
“Every time I make a different dish from that ingredient so the whole family won’t get bored. Besides snakes, I’ve made grilled satay hamsters, fried hamsters with lemongrass and chili, and burnt garlic hamsters,” he said. Son laughed.
($1=24,000 VND)
Photo: Internet (Vinlove.net)