Scared of famous Western specialties, in the past no one dared to eat

Termite snakes are reptiles similar to geckos, with the following characteristics: the whole body is covered with a layer of iridescent black scales, often left on the ground, in the garden or on the leaves of the house. They have very sharp noses and tongues to hunt for prey, and can “sacrifice” their tails to escape when in danger.

This species of snake appears a lot in the western provinces, especially in November-December every year. Their name comes from the fact that they love to eat termites in the dry leaves or rotting stumps. Mr. No Long (35 years old, Ben Tre) – who specializes in hunting termites said: “Even though they are snakes, termites are not poisonous and do not have fangs, so hunting is quite easy, without fear of being bitten by poison. Even today, many households in the West see that termites bring high economic benefits to them. breed and raise them in cages”.

This species of snake appears a lot in the western provinces, especially in November-December every year.

According to Mr. No Long, if in the past many people saw termites, they would be scared to eat, but now they have become a specialty that attracts tourists every time they come to the Western region. Therefore, the price of termites has also increased quite a lot. “Meat snakes are sold in the western and southern provinces for up to 280,000 VND/kg, while the northern provinces are a bit more expensive because of the labor involved in transportation, about 350,000 VND/kg.”Mr. No Long said.

Regarding how to process termites, the Western man said, after catching termites, they are shaved off their scales, cut off their heads, legs and guts. In particular, people will keep the tail because it is the most tonic. When finished, they will process it into a series of delicious dishes such as:

Deep fried termite snake

This is the fastest and most popular dish, making the name of this reptile. Accordingly, the chef will cut them in half, marinate them with spices and fry them in a fat pan until golden. When eating, visitors will use it with herbs or cucumbers, very suitable as a drink for men.

Grilled termite snakes

The termite snakes are brought back, beaten to death, put in the fire, the coals are still red, until the snake scales are scorched and the fat is golden. Then the snake is shaved off the burnt scale, broken into hot pieces with salt. Visitors will feel the sweetness of snake meat, both delicious and exciting.

This dish will be eaten with a little sour mango, sliced ​​​​toad and then mixed with salad, add a few slices of red chili, lemon pepper and herbs and then eaten with crispy rice paper..

Grilled termite snake

After being cleaned, the snakes are minced finely with a little pork fat, seasoned with pepper, garlic, onions, monosodium glutamate, salt, … to taste.

The leaves are picked, washed, drained, wrapped with the minced termite snake meat, about to be on the griddle, and grilled on charcoal. When the leaves are scorched, the meat is cooked, dipped with indescribably delicious spicy fish sauce.

Stir-fried termite snake with turmeric, lemongrass and chili

Clean the termites, mince them, and then take fresh turmeric, peeled, pounded, and marinated with snake meat. Wait for the meat to absorb, put the pan on and fry the garlic until fragrant, then add the snake meat and stir-fry evenly, let it simmer until the snake meat is dry and dry. Season to taste, add a few slices of chili and chopped young turmeric leaves, both beautiful and add flavor to the dish. The same way, but people do not marinate turmeric but instead lemongrass, minced chili. Minced snake meat marinated with fish sauce, stir-fried, then add lemongrass and chili. Stir-fry until the water dries up, season to taste, sprinkle some roasted peanuts, green onions, parsley, coriander leaves on top.