Here’s a bin with some coagulated blood chunks [luad – เลืà¸à¸”]. Apparently cow blood is too dark and smells while chicken blood gets a bit tough, so they aren’t used much. What we have here is pig blood. And it tastes like…blood! If you’ve ever got a cut in your mouth you’ll know what I mean. The consistency is very soft like pudding.
Anyway, the blood is commonly used as an additive in soups. If it is coagulated like this, it is cut into large cubes. It can also be a liquid added in for flavor, commonly called nam dtok [น้ำตà¸]or waterfall. I don’t particularly enjoy the taste and while I’m sure it is high in iron, I bet it has a bit too much cholesterol to be considered healthy.
I wouldn’t mind eating some of those steamed fish sitting alongside the blood.