all right so the technique in here you
hold a hat and you put a whole thing in
your mouth okay that's good okay here we
go I'm grabbing it
[Music]
today our Mekong Delta adventure
continues along with our quest to learn
more about Viet Nam's coconut cult
there was a guru out here he created
this coconut religion do you think it's
possible to live just off of the coconut
you know he'd eat it and survive he did
well he died after three years last time
mom and I enjoyed a Mekong feast
wild birds fried junebugs and grilled
wrap meters Amica local gave us a hot
coconut cult tip he suggested going
deeper into the mekong to the bench a
province have you heard about the
coconut people or the coconut religion
just a few decades ago the coconut
congregation built this
a temple on a floating island and the
answer to all my burning questions all
this is from that guy I'm the founder of
the religion that's crazy
today we're exploring the unending
bounty and beauty that is Viet Nam's
Mekong Delta including the king of
extreme jungle Phu a worm that thrives
on these coconut trees from the inside
all this has been chewed up along the
way I may try my own luck at this
coconut religion
oh it's refreshing it's got electrolytes
is that Gatorade but first breakfast
bench a province with a population of
over 1.6 million this is its metropolis
each morning the day begins with this
sprawling market where vendors proudly
display their offerings your fruit looks
magnificent why no coconuts though is it
a home medical or not everybody have two
1s oh I don't think visited the Mekong
Delta is an agricultural miracle while
the Mekong only accounts for 10% of Viet
Nam's landmass it pumps out more than a
third of the country's crops and 60% of
its shrimp and fish and maybe frogs too
down the street pork chops
and broken rice for breakfast I saw in
the fact the lady was beating the meat
did you see them yes if you do that you
actually stopped in the pork picture
we'd be much better
they've been doing this for 15 years
with no name and no signboard just food
good enough to keep locals coming back
I'm looking at this plate it's very busy
what is your strategy when you have so
many foods here what are you trying to
do of course I'm gonna pick the one I
like the most off him oh the foundation
of this dish broken rice fractured rice
grains perfect for soaking up fish sauce
do you put fish sauce on everything yeah
what yeah toss on pickled daikon and
carrots then the pork chop pork chops
are marinated in sweet sticky fish sauce
and beaten before grilling next the egg
then a sort of egg and mushroom loaf
called chant kind of like a mekong Cash
pork skin and finally a sort of green
onion and fried pork fat dressing all
this for just over a buck how's that for
a dollar menu behind some rice some pork
skin right here and let's go for it oh
just the fish sauce and rice is already
good enough fish sauce doesn't taste
like fish at all to me does it taste
like fish steel only to be polite hc1
jump into the steak hahaha I love it
it's like so thin and then you can see
it's just caramelized on the outside wow
it's a perfect breakfast see how I look
angry because I like it so much I can't
control it
[Music]
I want to learn more about the coconut
religion its people but there's a
conflict of interest here if I change my
whole diet to just coconuts how can I
have a food review show it's a big
problem today I risk it all taking on
the coconut lifestyle and seeing if this
super food can heal my body and soul I
think for me this would be a good way to
find some uh peace
[Music]
to get some help we're headed to the
headquarters of the Mekong based YouTube
channel down down in take this
three-person team highlights the most
delicious and unique food in Viet Nam's
Mekong
the channel's host we will be our guy
guys this is perfect I've got coconut
water from an actual coconut I've got
this will when that paper will call it
cool in a paper after being here just
five minutes we can already see the
versatility of the coconut in action I'm
gonna try this up Wow good stuff you
guys made this yourself yeah maybe
coconuts do have all that I need coconut
water coconut paper here in Vietnam they
even make a coconut caramel the result
of boiling down gallons and gallons of
coconut water and yet another use for
coconuts we use the caramel for you know
like dying to kala from meat when you
marinate the meat it's not all the way
finished but I do want to try it
it smells like caramelized coconut sugar
oh my god that is so sweet
it's like molasses like coconut molasses
wow that is full of flavor syrupy mmm
it's a powerful flavor if this all goes
well maybe instead of being a coconut
follower I could be a coconut leader can
you ask him what he thinks does does he
think I could be a leader of some
coconut people and the winner yeah okay
I'm with a mango that's guy you know
have been a miracle he can leave on
coconut I think that he's doubt about
your ability your capacity so I think
like when people look at you they don't
take it seriously with all the coconut
has to offer I'm still missing some
protein but perhaps there's a loophole
do you think it's okay that maybe also
eat coconut worms if you're part of this
group so he said at least he's not so
sure but at least he can show you where
the coconut bumps are all right good
enough let's do that
as our hunt begins
we is searching for coconut trees with
dying leaves they just might be infested
with coconut worms are the coconut worms
eating the coconut or they eating the
tree the wall I'm gonna eat you know the
youngest Park up the tree need a top
because that he does soft it part the
maximum we can get a hundred of them a
hundred of them so he's got a cleaver
here and he's starting to take off some
of these branches okay I'm gonna take a
peek in
I see ants I think we're gonna have to
strip back these branches maybe this is
gonna reveal it right here and this tree
psych an onion we're just kind of
peeling the layers back we don't see any
coconut worms yet but this is the part
they've been chewing on from the inside
all this has been chewed up it's just
soft and kind of nasty but no worms yet
we're like eight layers in at this point
one more try well there's not much
deeper to go on this tree yeah
so they used to be in here yeah look at
this a handful of what inside has become
mulch if I'd they basically have been
rotting the tree from the inside out and
they're no longer in here I think they
ate everything they could from this tree
for this tree it's too late the worms
have already reached their adult form as
the coconut weevil and they're in search
of more food if you look inside a
healthy tree this is what it's actually
supposed to look like that tasty inner
part of the coconut tree trunk something
that humans can eat too you can eat this
yeah it's just the inside of the coconut
what this is what the coconut worm is
eating okay I'm gonna try it up there's
not that much flavor it's like pure
fiber when would you eat this if you're
starving to death you know we use it
loud to my count Salah but coconut worms
gonna love it yeah the hunt continues
and it's clear that this is not going to
be easy
scratches did you hear anything he
didn't hear anything um I found this
chainsaw do you think this might speed
things huh
[Music]
yes selling coconut worms is illegal in
Vietnam the government doesn't want to
encourage the spread of this pest oh oh
look at what we've on but there is still
a coconut worm black market where
independent sellers can earn up to $1 a
piece you can see it's got insane
huge mandible its mouth here it can bite
you and the purpose is to gnaw it's
eating through the inside of the tree
turning it to mulch before they turn
into an adult into a weevil they well
they just take them out and they eat
them and that's what we're doing today
it's a win-win okay we get to save the
tree well maybe this tree is pretty fun
after more cutting more digging and more
collecting we've amassed enough coconut
worms to satisfy me for a lifetime
time to dig in as we look down to these
worms I mean they have a little kind of
a disturbing way of moving or I can I
notice that one is completely shedding
it's outside skin so that's fun we just
got back from hunting all of these worms
we've got about 50 worms here I think we
should start right now eating it with
the fish sauce are you pumped we're
gonna add some images well
all right you just get the whole thing
and I'm gonna walk it out uh-huh
they'll eat a whole thing I'll gotta say
okay here we go I'm grabbing it I'm
holding it oh gosh the way it moves it's
like pulsating in my hand mul hi
ba yo what the Newseum everyone hmm I
don't ma'am we need to late concert
ahead yeah crunch ahead so does about
you mmm-hmm I know what done you know
like it hit you see is good right now
thank you it's so weird
the texture is pretty weird I mean it
just tastes like chilies and fish sauce
SARS I know yeah I think is this better
because we have this but you asked me to
eat it all along without this one next
no way dude very proud of you thank you
thank you
from here we're gonna cook these in two
different ways we're gonna grill them
and we're gonna want the other one
pudding um on a bagel deep-fry all right
let's do it
[Music]
I feel bad there's only two skewers I
just feel like you guys can each have a
skewer and I'll just watch you guys
you watch come on you hold it it doesn't
look advertising at all you know look
ugly and scary how dare you this is
another cultures foot away this is your
cultures food all right that's fine you
can say that all right should we try it
out sure hmm better than they're all one
for sure that's skin the skin is so
thick and leathery Oh another one thank
you the inside that explodes it's got a
kind of smoky nutty taste to it my bro
wouldn't you normally eat some beer with
this honestly I don't think anyone
around here is eating this as a regular
part of their diet
coconut worms seem to be some kind of
manly Mekong Delta drinking food the
perfect partner for a BSI gun gentlemen
thank you very much for having us here
today this guy you chopped do you see
here he chopped down like three trees we
have our final specimen here but
honestly it's not about the food and in
fact even if we didn't eat it it
wouldn't matter cuz it's about
camaraderie and friendship the skin has
ballooned up and become translucent and
the rest of the bodies inner part has
become a squishy tube on the inside on a
yogurt filling with their crunchy head
on there please join me
Cheers Oh are we doing it alright cheers
guys
be different from you know down yeah the
cream one oily Harley of course the head
is still very crunchy I think any of
this food it just feels weird because
it's a bug and you know it's a bug but
if you just got more used to it or if
you ate it from when you were young no
big deal it's a good snack but I think
you really you have to have beer right
they can't handle it without beer for me
somebody who is potential to join this
coconut religion I think I could do it I
think I could handle the coconut
religion as long as I can eat some of
these delicious coconut worms okay
[Music]
oh hi but yo the power of the coconut is
unquestionable its powerful enough to
inspire a religious movement powerful
enough to provide millions of people in
the mekong delta with food and resources
and powerful enough to bring strangers
from opposite sides of the planet
together to eat coconut worms
[Music]
next time on our Mekong Delta series
finale I bite off more than I can chew
taking on the Mekong Delta 's most
extreme 8th
[Music]
well thank you so much for being an
incredible guide as always mama is a one
trip guide from the company called one
trip one trip is the highest-rated tour
company in Vietnam doing tours from
north to south in all major cities
including hanoi 'no chang Danang hi em
and saigon you can experience food tours
adventure tours and more to learn more
about one trip check out the links in
the description down below I will see
you next time
jiggers