Fish sauce coffee is 'hot' on social media and the truth behind it, is it as delicious as rumored?

Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Food Association in collaboration with the Vietnam Traditional Fish Sauce Association organized the Traditional Fish Sauce Festival - The First Time in 2024 with the theme "Honoring traditional Vietnamese fish sauce on the world's dining table".

During the event, fish sauce coffee was introduced, making many visitors curious. Many were hesitant to try the new drink, while others were excited to try it, saying it was the first time they had heard of the combination of fish sauce and coffee.

With the worldwide popularity of salt coffee, fish sauce coffee seems to be a new "trendy" drink, appealing to the tastes of young people who like to enjoy unique things.

However, in reality, this seemingly unrelated combination has long appeared in the way of making coffee of ancient Hanoians.

Coffee was introduced to Vietnam by the French, but it wasn't until the 1920s and 1930s that the habit of drinking coffee spread in the capital and gradually became popular.

Over hundreds of years with many variations, coffee has gradually had many different flavors to suit the taste of Vietnamese people. Old Hanoians often added butter, bean powder or even fish sauce to the coffee filter to neutralize the bitter taste.

Normally, when brewing filter coffee, the barista will dip a bamboo chopstick into a bottle of fish sauce, then stir the chopstick into the cup of coffee and bring it to the customer. This method helps reduce the bitter and burnt taste of poor quality beans.

Over time, the fish sauce coffee recipe has changed from the traditional way of making it. In Da Nang, the Nam O fish sauce craft village stands out with its unique fish sauce coffee recipe created by a fish sauce production facility in the craft village.

Accordingly, traditional fish sauce with high protein content will be condensed by high temperature and get a layer of fish powder. Then, this layer of powder will be sprinkled on top of the coffee cup with a layer of salty cream and coffee underneath. This drink will have the richness of fish powder, salty cream neutralizes the bitterness of coffee.

Since early 2023, fish sauce coffee has been a "fever" on social media. Many internet users have experimented with making the drink at home, attracting a large number of views.

It can be seen that the strange combination of coffee with "smelly" ingredients such as rotten beans, green onions, octopus... makes the drinks look scary, but they create a trend.

Below are some types of coffee with unique and bizarre recipes, beyond most people's imagination in terms of how to combine ingredients, but once caused a strong fever in China.

Green onion coffee

Iced milk coffee with chopped green onions sprinkled on top is a new popular drink in China. When it first appeared in some shops in Shanghai, this strange coffee received a lot of ridicule because of its strange combination. However, after a short time, green onion coffee became a trend on TikTok and made many people curious to try it.

Several authors have called it one of the most surprising combinations ever tried, and many diners have expressed concern about bad breath after enjoying coffee with this unusual topping.

Octopus Coffee

At first glance, this bizarre coffee doesn’t look like anything special compared to a regular latte, until you spot an octopus nestled between ice and sweet cream. The combination of seafood and coffee flavor has many people questioning the true taste of this drink.

Many diners said that the coffee flavor seemed to overpower the taste of the octopus, but they couldn't help but worry about their stomachs after bravely trying it.

Fish ball coffee

Instead of eating fish balls with chili, young Chinese people have come up with a way to enjoy fish balls soaked in coffee flavor. This drink is called Satay Paste Latte. Its creator also cleverly sprinkled a little red powder so that drinkers can associate the taste of chili powder when eating fish balls.

Pickled cucumber coffee

Pickled cabbage is now not only a side dish in meals but also appears in coffee shops. The way to enjoy it is also quite elaborate, diners have to dip the pickled cabbage in milk or coffee to enjoy. The strange combination of sour, salty and sweet flavors of this dish has attracted many young people in China.

Century egg coffee

If Vietnam has egg coffee, China has century egg coffee, a drink that once created a fever on social networks. Century eggs, after being crushed, mixed with fresh milk and coffee, will create a unique flavor that attracts many diners.

Coffee porridge

Instead of having to prepare a breakfast with coffee, young Chinese people can now order a 2-in-1 drink, including raw eggs with iced coffee, whipped cream and a rich egg latte. This dish is called Coffee Poridge.

Stinky Tofu Coffee

Not everyone can eat stinky tofu, but when it is combined with coffee, many people want to dare to taste it. However, this unique culinary product was only mentioned for a short time and quickly "sunk", perhaps because it was too "difficult to swallow".

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