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It originates from a legend.
Le Mat is a village in Viet Hung ward, Long Bien district, located 7 km from the center of Hanoi, famous for its snake catching and snake meat processing.
Legend has it that while the daughter of King Ly Thai Tong (1072-1127) was traveling by boat on the Duong River, a large snake suddenly appeared, capsized the boat, and abducted her. In that critical moment, a young man from Le Mat village jumped into the water, killed the snake, and rescued the princess.
The brave warrior refused all the titles, gold, and silver offered by the king, only asking to lead the poor people of Le Mat village and surrounding villages to the land west of Thang Long capital to cultivate it, eventually establishing 13 prosperous settlements. After the young man's death, the villagers built a temple to worship him, revered him as their guardian deity, and developed the profession of catching, raising, and processing snakes, alongside farming.
This village has been catching and raising snakes for 200 years.
"food" for many generations
To date, snake catching has become a hereditary profession in Le Mat. In addition, there are 100 households raising snakes here, employing nearly 400 people. Many restaurants specialize in producing and serving snake meat, welcoming around 1,000 domestic and international tourists daily to enjoy this unique delicacy.
Among those restaurants, Nguyen Van Duc Restaurant is one of the most famous for locals and tourists visiting Le Mat. It boasts the longest tradition of preparing family-inherited snake dishes. In addition, the restaurant serves hundreds of other ethnic dishes.
For locals, snakes are very familiar animals, a part of their daily diet. However, for foreign tourists, snake dishes might be a bit... horrifying and frightening. Those looking for a challenge can order cobra dishes, while those with more moderate palates should opt for a dish made from a smaller snake offered by the restaurant.
The snake dishes here are all cooked according to Vietnamese culture and taste. First-time diners will be impressed by the aroma and flavor of fresh basil, fish sauce, and garlic, characteristic of Vietnamese cuisine.
Chefs will use a variety of spices and plenty of lemongrass, and snake meat can be prepared in various ways, including skewers, spring rolls, salads, soups, and porridges. Even the snake skin is grilled for enjoyment. The flavor of the snake meat is enhanced by the dipping sauce and is often served as an accompaniment to other dishes. The most popular dish is stir-fried snake meat, as it most closely resembles poultry or pork.
At the restaurant, diners can choose live snakes and request them to be cooked into their desired dishes. Besides snake blood and bile served immediately, diners can order a local beer to enjoy. An entire snake is used to prepare a variety of dishes. A cobra can be cooked into a meal for 6-8 people for $60 (approximately 1,400,000 VND).
There are no printed menus here, and the staff's English is quite limited, making it difficult to explain the dishes to foreign tourists. However, simply by using their sense of smell, diners will immediately sense the aroma of chili and cilantro, and the fragrant scent of dishes cooked in hot pans with plenty of oil.
"Throughout history, there have never been any cases of allergies or poisoning after eating snake meat. Snake meat is very special," said the restaurant manager.
The international community is praising it, but what does Vietnam say?
Regarding the traditional practice of catching, raising, and processing snakes in Le Mat village, animal protection groups have called it inhumane. In fact, in 1993, Vietnam ratified the International Convention on Wildlife Protection and enacted laws restricting the snake farming industry. As a result, snake meat disappeared from the culinary menu at that time.
By 2007, recognizing the negative consequences for the development and survival of the local craft village, the government re-planned and reoriented Le Mat snake-breeding village into a separate craft village. Based on this, a development plan was devised to reconcile snake breeding and meat production with the increasing number of tourists wishing to sample this unique culinary experience.
