Surely, what to eat in Ben Tre is one of your concerns while you are due to visit this water province for your coming Mekong Delta tour. It is revealed that there are some specialties which you have had no idea about before, and their flavor may be strange but amazingly fragrant without expectation. Even you can wish to bring the world of Ben Tre cuisine to your home. How fantastic!
Snail Pancake (Banh xeo oc gao)
Snail Pancake in Ben Tre
Oc gao is known as a kind of small edible snail and especially fragrant when cooked with some specific ingredients. Banh xeo oc gao also called snail pancake in English is a specialty of Ben Tre, Mekong Delta, which is partially made from this snail; you will easily find the dish in Phu Da Island, Lach Market when Parasite-Killing Festival (tet Doan Ngo) is coming soon. The pancake’s most important ingredients are obviously snails and rice flour for making crispy round pancakes. Make sure snails must be cleaned with water and their slime is removed before they are boiled on the heat. Remove the snails from their shells and then fry them with other ingredients. This mixture is used as the filling of pancakes. It is actually mouth-watering, and you find it so hard to resist it. Then, let’s give it a try when you experience a Mekong Delta tour.
Coconut Rice (Com dua)
Coconut rice is the best food you must try if don’t know what to eat in Ben Tre
For many people have ever set foot in Mekong Delta, Vietnam, coconut is a kind of fruit too familiar with them because it is a symbol of Ben Tre – a province of this water area. As a result, there are lots of specialties made from coconut here, such as coconut leave cake, steamed fished in coconut water, coconut fudge, coconut sweet soup, and so forth. However, what will impress you so much is surely coconut rice which is enjoyed with fried shrimp and coconut water. This dish is created by the manager of a famous restaurant of Ben Tre; based on “sticky rice cooked in bamboo tube of mountainous provinces of Vietnam, she creates a new specialty for the water region. It is well worth trying it!
Book now: My Tho – Ben Tre – The Upper Mekong River (full day trip) price from $19
Snakehead Porridge (Chao ca loc)
Snakehead porridge lies in the list of what to eat in Ben Tre if you are joining a Mekong Delta tour because it is a unique specialty with the fantastic flavor created by the sweetness of snakehead and rice, and the buttery taste of coconut extract. To make this fish is the art of cooking. Snakehead will be cleaned; make sure its organs are removed. Boil the fish and take off its bones. Use the bones to make the broth for the porridge. As for rice, pour rice down into the pot with the broth and coconut extract and heat it until it is well cooked. The fish marinated with fish sauce, pepper, and other spices will be put into the pot afterwards. When enjoying the dish, add more some herbs and vegetable. It’s too tangy to try a bowl of snakehead porridge!
Shredded pork rolls (Bi cuon)
Shredded pork rolls
Mekong Delta is the land of various spring rolls, and shredded pork rolls is one of them. Now it has become a unique specialty, anyone should try when making a trip to explore the beauty of the water area. Besides basic ingredients, consisting of vegetables, herbs, and noodle, each roll has a mixture of shredded pork and pork skin, and powdered grilled rice (this rice contributes to the uniqueness of the dish). Of course, the shredded pork rolls must be served with a type of special sauce whose tantalizing aroma will waft over your mouth. A recommendation for you is a traditional food stall specializing in this roll kind, situated at the side of Ben Tre Market; it is owned by Ms. Hai. Don’t miss this fantastic culinary delight.
Paddy Crab Hotpot
If you make a trip to the countryside with vast paddy fields without enjoying any paddy-crab dish, it is supposed that you have not still arrived here. Mekong Delta is the land of enormous paddy fields inhabited by paddy crabs – a specialty the nature gifts rural people. Here, the locals consider the paddy crab hotpot as a special dish carrying the flavor of their rustic land. The hotpot is amazing and scrumptious because of how to cook it. It is cooked in a clay pot, helping keep the intact taste of all ingredients inside it. Taking a look at the dish, you will easily see that there are shrimps, meat, fish, mushroom, and balut. You will enjoy while it is still heated, and it is better to savor it with some vegetables.
Snail in Coconut Milk
Snail in Coconut Milk
Dishes with coconut milk are actually culinary delights of Ben Tre – the world of coconut. Then, don’t miss snail in coconut milk – a highlight in the list of what to eat in Ben Tre since it will overwhelm you thanks to its non-resisting taste. The more you eat, the more stunning it is in your mouth. Enjoying each of the snails cooked with the coconut extract is a way to slowly perceive the Vietnamese cuisine. One interesting thing about the dish is that you will never get choked as there is no way to each all of the snails at the same.
Fattened Banana
Fattened Banana
Fattened Banana may be strange to international travelers for their Mekong Delta tour, but it deserves what to eat in Ben Tre. It’s amazing to know that the dish is not merely a snack, but also a great memory of Ben Tre people as well as migrant workers in large cities. It is difficult to find where fattened bananas are sold; just a few vendors offer this kind of street food. To make the dish is very simple; you just need bananas and a hot grill. Cut each of the bananas into two pieces in the vertical direction, and then grill those pieces within five minutes. Next, get them out of the grill and smash them with some hard item like a pestle so that they get flattened. Continue grilling them until they are golden-brown and crispy. It is true to say that the dish will bring you an unforgettable memory in Vietnam.
Book now: Ben Tre Deluxe Homestay 2 Days 1 Night price from $75
