Culture of Vietnam

Medicinal Rice Wine – Rượu Thuốc

Medicinal Rice Wine – Rượu Thuốc

Medicinal Wine – Rượu Thuốc

Vietnamese people have a strong belief in the healing properties of medicinal rice wine. It’s made by putting rice wine in large earthenware or glass jars along with herbs, animals or animal parts. This can be done with a single kind of plant or animal or a mixture of several, depending on the medicine’s desired effect.

We’ve heard there are around 100 kinds of ruou thuoc, but the reality is that there are probably many, many more. The combinations are endless and anything imaginable — sometimes unimaginable – seems to have been used to make it. From bull penis and ginseng to starfish and snakeheads, all things natural have their place in Vietnamese medicine wine.

Sea horses in a glass jar of rice wine

Sea horse wine - Rượu ngựa biển

Pineapple in a glass jar of rice wine

pineapple wine - rượu dứa

Plantain in a glass jar of rice wine

plantain wine - rượu chuối

How it’s made

Distilled rice wine, typically with an alcohol content of 45% or higher, is the main ingredient. It is said that the higher the alcohol content, the more effectively it can extract the active ingredients or properties of whatever’s added to it. This can take as few as 7-10 days, but longer is better. It takes time for the ingredients to infuse thoroughly, and a 10-year-old wine, for example, can fetch a large sum of money.

Some wines are heated first, to help speed up the process. Some wines are buried for hundreds of days. Many are kept, drank slowly over time, and topped up with more wine if the liquid gets too low.

Goat penises in a large glass jar of rice wine

Goat penis wine - rượu dương vật dê

Cat apples in a large glass jar of rice wine

Cat Apple wine - rượu táo mèo

Coconut flesh  in a large glass jar of rice wine

Coconut wine - rượu dừa

How it’s drunk

Ruou thuoc like most rice wine is drunk in small thimble size glasses. Depending on the patient’s condition, a small glass or two is drunk before or with meals. At other times it can be the basis of a full-blown drinking session – volume really comes down to each specific wine, the prescribed volume for treatment, and the situation you find yourself in.

Additionally it can also be used to treat the body externally through washing, soaking, covering or even massage.

A pangolin standing  in a large glass jar of rice wine

Pangolin Wine

A lamb in a large glass jar of rice wine

Lamb Wine - rượu cừu

An eagle in a large glass jar of rice wine

Eagle wine - rượu đại bàng

Green corn soaking in a large glass jar of rice wine

green corn wine - rượu ngô xanh

lizards in a large glass jar of rice wine

gecko wine- rượu tắc kè

A wikd beehive fermenting in a large glass jar of rice wine

wild beehive wine - rượu ong hoang dã

Philosophy

Although many Westerners might consider ruou thuoc a nostrum, belief in its powers is strong in Vietnam. (Scientific studies of ingredients such as ginseng and Lin Chi mushrooms have proven that at least some traditional medicine is effective.) It is thought that alcohol helps whatever medicine it contains to enter the bloodstream quickly.

A goanna  in a large glass jar of rice wine

Goanna wine - rượu thằn lằn

2 bats in a large glass jar of rice wine

Bat wine - rượu dơi

A cobra snake in a large glass jar of rice wine

Cobra wine - rượu rắn hổ mang

A bull penis in a large glass jar of rice wine

Bull penis wine - rượu dương vật bò

Scorpions in a large glass jar of rice wine

scorpion wine - rượu bọ cạp

Sparrows in a large glass jar of rice wine

sparrow wine - rượu chim sẻ

Disclaimer

Viet Tracks in no way condones the consumption of endangered plants or animals. We hope to raise awareness and help prevent it.