Crabs and something alive

Vietnam has incredible seafood.   It has approximately the same amount of coastline as California so you know the seafood is good especially the crabs.  I remember on my one and only visit to Washington D.C going to Maryland eating crabs.  Grabbing the hammer and smashing the crabs and taking the necessary time needed to suck and pull out all the flesh of those wonderful sea creatures.  Vietnam is no different.  We ordered female ocean crabs and they were big.  Instead of going with the subtle Old Bay seasoning steaming method, these had been quickly boiled and then stir-fried with a combination of tamarind, garlic and ginger.  An addictive combination that I am going to put in the memory banks for future meals that I create.  In the states when we eat crab and we encounter a female we usually discard the yellowish egg sacks in the interior.  Don’t do this!   You are missing out on a world of umami.  

We ordered a nice beef salad with watercress and a heaping amount of fried shallots.  The beef was cooked and then placed on the plate to wilt the watercress.  It was served with boiled eggs and tomatoes.  The taste was all Vietnam but had some French elements.  All it was missing was a big glob of mayonnaise and it would have been totally French.

While we were eating the crabs Tai my guide and former student asked if I wanted to eat something alive. I thought that he might have been suggesting a baby octopus.  I let him order and this is what was placed before me.   

This was a Bizarre Foods moment.  I think that now I have eaten something that guy hasn’t.  What are these things?  They are bugs that live in the coconut tree.  They consume coconuts all day and sit in a tree getting fat.  If your primary diet is on one thing then you are likely to taste the same way.  I have never eaten a living thing in my life and was very hesitant to eat these when they were first put in front of me.  After seeing Tai eat his I had to take some deep breaths and man up.  Thankfully, I had the help of a nice waitress.  She caught the bugger and made sure that the pinchers were facing away from my lips.  They are the black parts of bug in the picture.  I closed my eyes and bit into them.  A gush of coconut oil flowed into my mouth and not much else.  The taste was mild but the skin of the bug was very tough.  Like chewing pig’s ear or a bit of rubber shoe.  I can now say that I have eaten this bug but I will not be trying it again.  Once is enough.