School and Blood
Five seventh-grade schoolgirls in Ha Noi gorged sleeping pills for poor test results and disappointed their parents. This kind of educational pressure is still a huge problem not only in Viet Nam but Vietnamese oversea as well. Parents, please stop being so hard on your kids. Education is important, but don’t push them to the edge.
Tiet Canh (blood soup) is not the type of food to look at. Take a few shots of Tequila before give it a try if you’re a beginner. I have to admit, the bird flu really chickens me out now.
Off Topic: Thanks to the staffs at Ao Trang for the lovely calendar and voluptuous card. They look great in my office.
I wouldn’t called Tiet Canh as blood soup. It sounds misleading as Tiet (blood) is slowly developed into more like a cold paste. Not to mention you’re not really sipping on a spoon of watery blood :). But you know, just being nitpicky.
I haven’t had tiet canh in ages. Probably b/c my uncle stop making them. Some called it Vietnamese pizza :).
I used to love it.
Especially if you have it with all the side ingredients like crushed roasted peanut, chopped mint leave and you use the vietnamese roasted rice pancake for the spoon to scoop it up. It can go well with some beer.
I cannot enjoy it as much any more. The image of the slow dying chicken with its throat cut as it’s trying to inhale every last gulp of air and got choked in its blood really turns me off.
I saw on TV the nomadic Sami people of the Lapland (Norway or so) just take a sip of reindeer blood from a vat outside their home, they need the vitamins from it to keep healthy.
Tiet Canh used to be so good with some “ruou de”. After more than 30 years in US, I don’t think I can stomach it. I am too chicken now (no pun intended).
I used to love Tiet Canh, especially Tiet Canh Vit (TCV) As usual, I can’t get it here (the East coast). Every time I have a chance to come to Cali, my friends know that I like TCV, they always treat me with that first.
I then learned that at the TCV shops, the order come as random pace. Therefore, they can’t kill the duck to get the bl..d. One alternative method is when the first order of the day comes, they take the duck and stick a straw in the vein to extract the bl..d to fill the order. They then bend the straw and tie the poor duck in place waiting for the next order . The duck suffers through the day, sometime days .. Eventually, it dies .. they then cook the duck to serve in “Chao Vit”
I never eat “Tiet Canh” after that, and never eat any thing that related to ducks (vit).
i love eatin tiet canh on occasions, its not da kind of food to be consumed on a regular basis.just once in a while to be appreciated becos makin tiet canh is quite a challengin task.
my parents used to have a tiet canh delivery business called TICAVICO ( Tiet Canh Vit Co)they advetised on da vietnamese paper and lots of ppl called in to order. they even have meal deals eg: 2 tiet canh, 1 goi vit and 1 chao vit or bun mang vit, local delivery is also free if purchases are ova $50. gotta admit they have very good strategies. business was boomin thanks to all da “dan nhau” out there. my dad was havin a ball, he was makin money as the same time have weekend gatherin and drinks wid his friends. well, not for long til my grandmother ( a true buddhist) heard abt it and make him stop cos she said it was “sat sinh” so yeah…dat was da end of da tiet canh career.
since we’re talkin abt food, i recently watched a few documentary dvds abt vietnam ( saigon & hanoi) lifestyles and the food they eat…i was horrified and disgusted. ppl eat EVERYTHING, from turtle, snakes, rat, squirrels, croc, dog, cat…etc… i always heard abt dis kind of exotic cuisine in asia but watchin them slaughtered, skinned and cooked up is quite a shockin sight. i esp feel so angry when they cut off da hands of a baby bear, that really pushed my button.
i am NOT a vegetarian, im a food lover (meat, seafood, international cuisines) but this is kinda turnin me off. isnt there anythin can be done abt this situation? im afraid if ppl go on killin animals like this there wont be anythin left…
Yeah Mimi, the Vietnamese, especially the Northern Vietnamese (excuse me, this is not a political statement) sure are under heavy Chinese influence when it comes to food. The Chinese are known the world over for eating anything that moves. Once I saw a documentary about how they were eating monkey brains with the monkeys still alive (if you can call that alive, alive with searing pains, that is). How can human beings be so cruel?
Well, TIET CANH used to be my fav but the bird flu scares the shit out of me now. It’s so immoral when they still serve TIET CANH when the bird flu is still on goin. The government said that they succeeded in stopping the bird flu but who knows. I hope one day (don’t know when that day will come) i can have TIET CANH any anything with DUCKS again (like CHAO VIT, BUN VIT … )
One of the pictures shows a table with dozen of bowls full to the rims with red blood. I am almost certain that it was not duck blood since each duck would yield just a small amount of blood, not enough to fill half a bowl. It must be raw cow or pig blood. Even a self-proclaimed “Tiet Canh” expert, after looking at these pictures, declared that it is so gruesome! Since I do not eat TC, the “expert” explained that raw blood should be used sparingly to bind the chopped up duck meat, liver, herbs, peanuts, etc., not just red, running blood like that! The man in the picture might as well stick a straw in the bowl to suck the contents out. Sorry, call me wimp, but not for me!
dtran,
Running blood? That’s not how real tietcanh is. TC to me is a form of custard. The amount of “running blood” should be minimal. You should pay us a visit here in AZ. We buy live ducks from farms. I claim the nation’s best TC…fresh from the duck’s carotids.
Ha,
Political statesment? Regional discriminating is more like it. It still amazes me that at this day and age, people still have this mindset. I’d take it that you’re a Nguoi Trung? Note that most of those exortic animals are eaten in SAIGON. Get your facts straight, man.
I agree with Khanh on TC. Here in Seattle I buy live ducks from some local farmers, ducks raised with grains, not commercial feeds. It’s my hobby on the weekend buying a few ducks and make tasty TC. Compare to other parts of a duck, its blood is the cleanest of all unless you get a very sick duck. The final product is not a dish of liquid blood. It’s more like a pizza. If you make it right and clean, it’s great TC with some beers or sake.
Regarding the cruelty of killing the ducks, well, have you seen commercial chicken raised? They don’t even have enough room to walk and their beaks got clipped to avoid poking at each other. Anyway, we human beings are not that unique or exceptional when it comes to eating. Nature is red-in-claws-and-teeth, so TC is not that big of a deal. It’s personal taste, so keep it that way.
i’ve watched and read some horrific things that vietnamese eat. but you can’t believe everything that is written or posted. i’ve been to vietnam several times, i’ve never seen them eat cat, turtles, squirrels or rats. however, i’ve seen dog meat prepared there, as well as snake meat, or even silkworms. but all those are delicacies there, not everybody eats that. in a typical restaurant in saigon, you would never find anything out of the ordinary. most vietnamese typically eat beef, pork, poultry, and seafood. even tiet canh is a rare delicacy entree. it is mostly served only at quan nhau or specialty eateries that serve that kind of food. hopefully, the kinds of programs on TV won’t discourage foreigners from travelling to vietnam. every country has some groups of people that eat strange things. take for example in the united states, possum is eaten in some areas, as well as rabbit stew, alligator meat, pickled pork knuckles served cold in some states in the south, shark fins, and of course, chitlins, pork intestines. i don’t think these things are gross, but different. if in america, these exotic foods are eaten, why should we judge people from other countries and the things they eat like in vietnam? furthermore, in other parts of the world, i.e. europe, some eat horses, snails, frogs, ants, but again, not everyone. in central america, iguanas. in australia, caterpillars and kangaroos. so you see, in every corner of the world, people eat different things. so don’t judge.