''Tiết canh'' is a
Vietnamese dish of raw
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...
pudding served with cooked meat in
Northern Vietnam
Northern Vietnam ( vi, Bắc Bộ) is one of three geographical regions within Vietnam. It consists of three administrative regions: the Northwest (Vùng Tây Bắc), the Northeast (Vùng Đông Bắc), and the Red River Delta (Đồng Bằng S ...
.
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
and
duck
Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
are the most common animal used to create this raw blood pudding. The most popular is ''tiết canh vịt,'' made from freshly killed duck blood and duck meat.
Typical preparation
The freshly drawn blood is collected in a bowl, and prevented from premature coagulation (
hãm huyết), by mixing it with some
fish sauce
Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Lao ...
of certain proportions, usually three to five soup spoons of fish sauce for one quart (approximately 1 liter) of blood. Finely chopped meat such as cooked duck innards (gizzards, for example) and duck meat are put in a shallow dish along with a sprinkling of crushed
peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and ...
s and chopped herbs such as
Vietnamese coriander
''Persicaria odorata'', with common names Vietnamese coriander, rau răm, laksa leaf, Vietnamese cilantro, phak phai, praew leaf, hot mint and Cambodian mint, is an herb with aromatic leaves, used in Southeast Asian and Northeast Indian cooking. ...
,
mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...
, etc. The blood and fish sauce mixture is then diluted with some watery broth left from cooking the meat and/or gizzards to promote blood coagulation, then quickly poured into the prepared meat dish. The finished dish can be kept cool in the refrigerator, which allows the blood to maintain its coagulated state, when immediate consumption is not called for right away. If the dish is removed from the refrigerator and left to sit at room temperature for a while the blood will return to a liquid state.
Health risk
Raw pig's blood often contains swine
bacteria
Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometr ...
, and ingesting them may cause severe bacterial infections. For example, a ''streptococcus bacterium'' infection may cause respiratory decline, blood contamination, and severe necrosis in arms and legs, and is potentially fatal. In Vietnam, there are reports of human casualties after eating raw blood pudding.
See also
*
List of duck dishes
*
Blood as food
References
External links
Photos of ''tiết canh'' by Tristan Savatierfrom
Flickr
Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and profession ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiet Canh
Vietnamese cuisine
Puddings
Blood dishes
Duck dishes
Pork dishes
Potentially dangerous food
Vietnamese words and phrases