The Vietnamese cuisine is well known all over the world and the majority of Vietnamese traditional dishes are favorite by foreign diners. However, there are also the special dishes that only fit the taste of a limited number of people. 

With over 11 million subscribers, Sonny Side's YouTube channel (real name William Sonbuchner, 39, from America) is one of the favorite food channels on the platform.

The man has spent a lot of time in Vietnam with his crew, creating over 100 videos reviewing Vietnamese cuisine.

He has tried nearly all Vietnamese traditional dishes, including bun dau (tofu, shrimp sauce, and noodles), bun cha (kebab rice noodles), pho (noodles served with beef or chicken), trung vit lon (balut), oc (snails), and coffee.

Sandworm omelette is a unique dish that has gained more popularity in recent years, though it has existed for a long time in in low-lying areas of the northern and north-central regions of Vietnam.

Even for Vietnamese, not everyone dares try this dish or has the chance to taste it. 

The American YouTuber has tried sandworm fritters twice with slightly different preparations.

Following a Vietnamese girl to a rural area known for its sandworm farming, he witnessed square sandworm fields.

Locals told him that sandworms are only harvested from the ninth to the eleventh months of the lunar year. At other times of the year, diners can only taste frozen sandworms.

Sandworms can be prepared in various ways such as fritters, braised, stir-fried, soup, salt-roasted, or used to make sandworm sauce. However, sandworm fritters are the most popular. 

Each locality has its unique way of making sandworm dishes.

The family which the American man and his crew visited showed them how to make sandworm omelette. 

Sandworms were collected from a field with nets, cleaned, drained, and mixed with a minced pork, eggs, and various aromatic herbs and spices.

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People place a pan on the stove, line it with banana leaves and betel leaves, wait until the leaves got hot, and then pour the mixture into the hot pan. With this method, the mixture of sandworm and meat cis grilled over the fire, with no need to use vegetable oil.

After about 20 minutes, they flip sandworm pieces, and cook for another 10 minutes to be sure that both sides of the sandworm omelets.

The YouTuber said when looking at the lightly charred sandworm fritters, he felt as if he was an archaeologist because they looked like fossils in the fritters.

After tasting, he slightly grimaced and noted that he could feel the sandworms in his mouth. However, the overall flavor was quite good. It's like eating bread with a lot of noodles inside, crispy on the outside, soft inside.

The American diner tried a sandworm omelet another time at a small stall on Hang Bo street in Hanoi. The stall was on the sidewalk, with just a styrofoam box containing live wriggling sandworms and a stove.

The owner of the stall used the same recipe when making sandworm omelets. She mixed eggs, minced pork, herbs, and spices in a plastic tub. She then ladled the mixture into a hot pan already containing vegetable oil. After a few seconds, she added a handful of live sandworms on top of each fritter.

The man could see the sandworms wriggling on the hot pan before they were gradually cooked.

Once cooked, the fritters were placed on paper to absorb excessive oil. The aroma of herbs, meat, and eggs was enticing.

The recipe used by the woman was a little bit different: pork and sandworms were fried on a pan with vegetable oil, without banana leaves, so they seemed to be softer. 

"Honestly, the fritters are very fresh and tasty, with a salty, fragrant flavor," Sonny he said.

This time, as the ingredients blended well, he didn't feel sandworms in his mouth as he did previously.

This experience gained over 17 million views and many liked the videos, including Vietnamese. They wrote that they love the YouTuber because they can see that the American man respects local cuisine and culture even though it is somewhat "shocking" to him and many people.

In addition to sandworms, he has tasted fish sauce, shrimp paste, balut, and hot pots.

Dang Duong