Most unusual food you have ever eaten

[StatGuy2000]

Hi everyone! I remember a while back that the General Discussion had a Food thread, and I admit that among my guilty pleasures are watching cooking shows or travel shows with food as a theme (whether on TV or on Youtube).

This reminds me of a question I wanted to ask all of you -- what is the most unusual food that you've eaten in your life?

For me, it would be a tie between escargots and deep-fried alligator.

I would love to hear more responses from all of you. Feel free to include pictures if you have them!

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Off the top of my head... Black fungus in China, fresh goat blood in Tanzania, snake steak in Vietnam, dog soup in North Korea (I highly regret this), Minke whale streak in Iceland. Whole crab shake in Columbia, roasted whole Guinea pig in Peru, cobra infused whiskey in Thailand.

 

[StoneTemplePython]

dog soup in North Korea (I highly regret this)

Which part do you regret: the dog part or the North Korea part?

 

[PetSounds]

I had bacon marmalade once. Other than that, probably a squid salad.

Off the top of my head... Black fungus in China, fresh goat blood in Tanzania, snake steak in Vietnam, dog soup in North Korea (I highly regret this), Minke whale streak in Iceland. Whole crab shake in Columbia, roasted whole Guinea pig in Peru, cobra infused whiskey in Thailand.

I think we have a winner.

 

[OmCheeto]

Off the top of my head... Black fungus in China, fresh goat blood in Tanzania, snake steak in Vietnam, dog soup in North Korea (I highly regret this), Minke whale streak in Iceland. Whole crab shake in Columbia, roasted whole Guinea pig in Peru, cobra infused whiskey in Thailand.

I guess as they say; "Game Over!"

ps. Mine is Urchin ovaries. Uni!
pps. I once worked with a young lady from Peru, who described the first part of the "Guinea pig" culinary process.
"It's easy! You just grab their head in one hand, their body in the other, and twist!"

ppps. I have only ONCE eaten rabbit. All I could see, was me eating Bugs Bunny. Never again.

 

[OmCheeto]

Whole crab shake

What is "shake"?
My googlings are failing me.

 

[BillTre]

Impressive @Greg Bernhardt!

I've eaten several vertebrates, but I think the weirdest is broiled locusts all spiced, up cooked by a Thai post-doc I knew in a locust lab. Crunchy and tasty.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

What is "shake"?

They put a live crab in a blender, added ice cream and turned it on

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Which part do you regret: the dog part or the North Korea part?

North Korea was an amazing experience, but the dog soup was sad. I know how they are treated and I have a dog at home.

 

[StoneTemplePython]

North Korea was an amazing experience, but the dog soup was sad. I know how they are treated and I have a dog at home.

An acquaintance of a friend of mine goes there as part of Rodman's crew. Otherwise I couldn't see making that work, as I've read too much on the topic. (If you went with Rodman, you must tell us!)

You did pique my interest with Cobra infused whiskey in Thailand. Thai food is probably my favorite food and I do enjoy whiskey, particularly when it's cold in the winter.

 

[Mark44]

I have only ONCE eaten rabbit.

They taste just like rattlesnake, except with more drumsticks.

I've eaten several vertebrates

So have most of us. I've eaten several kinds of invertebrates, including crab, lobster, squid, cuttlefish (in Croatia), clams, mussels, snails, and probably a few others.

 

[OmCheeto]

They put a live crab in a blender, added ice cream and turned it on

Wow...

hmmm... Me and my friends have watched "the boiling of live crab" for around 3 decades.
In the beginning, the oldsters told us; "That sound you hear, is them SCREAMING!"

 

[BillTre]

They put a live crab in a blender, added ice cream and turned it on

So, kinda like a Super Bass O Matic, but with ice creme:

 

[opus]

Peanut butter pizza. Absolutely disgusting.

 

[skyshrimp]

After boiling large, live stone crabs, I crack the head open and drink the brown soup of goo and organs inside. It's called 'crab butter' and tastes really good.

I had frogs legs two days ago too. I've tried kangaroo sausages, stuffed pigs heart and alligator burgers in the past.

 

[StatGuy2000]

Off the top of my head... Black fungus in China, fresh goat blood in Tanzania, snake steak in Vietnam, dog soup in North Korea (I highly regret this), Minke whale streak in Iceland. Whole crab shake in Columbia, roasted whole Guinea pig in Peru, cobra infused whiskey in Thailand.

Wait a minute, you traveled to North Korea? I'm surprised that any Westerner would have been able to enter that country. What was that like?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Wait a minute, you traveled to North Korea? I'm surprised that any Westerner would have been able to enter that country. What was that like?

It wasn't hard, at least in 2011 when I was there. You join a chinese tour group and leave from Beijing. It was a fascinating experience and the scariest part of the trip was the flight over on a 40+ year old Ilyushin Il. Here are a couple photos. I can create a new thread if you are interested in learning more.

 

[ZapperZ]

Off the top of my head... Black fungus in China, fresh goat blood in Tanzania, snake steak in Vietnam, dog soup in North Korea (I highly regret this), Minke whale streak in Iceland. Whole crab shake in Columbia, roasted whole Guinea pig in Peru, cobra infused whiskey in Thailand.

You might give Andrew Zimmern a run for his money, Greg!

Zz.

 

[ZapperZ]

Hi everyone! I remember a while back that the General Discussion had a Food thread, and I admit that among my guilty pleasures are watching cooking shows or travel shows with food as a theme (whether on TV or on Youtube).

This reminds me of a question I wanted to ask all of you -- what is the most unusual food that you've eaten in your life?

For me, it would be a tie between escargots and deep-fried alligator.

I would love to hear more responses from all of you. Feel free to include pictures if you have them!

I think "unusual" or bizarre food is obviously relative, because what is unusual for some, is a common food for others.

If I were to use a standard American palette as a references, then the unusual food that I've had are (i) chapulinas (ii) satay made of small intenstines (iii) mud creeper (Cerithidea obtusa) (iv) and lots more than I can't think off the top of my head.

Of course, would people consider "durian" an unusual food now after all the notoriety it got?

Zz.

 

[StatGuy2000]

I think "unusual" or bizarre food is obviously relative, because what is unusual for some, is a common food for others.

If I were to use a standard American palette as a references, then the unusual food that I've had are (i) chapulinas (ii) satay made of small intenstines (iii) mud creeper (Cerithidea obtusa) (iv) and lots more than I can't think off the top of my head.

Of course, would people consider "durian" an unusual food now after all the notoriety it got?

Zz.

You are absolutely correct -- what is bizarre or unusual is relative depending on the cultural background of the individual.

BTW, are mud creepers a type of snail? And in the picture you linked to me, are they in some type of soup or stew? I'm curious about the flavour.

[Aside #1: After watching a number of Youtube videos, I'm keen to try durian!

Aside #2: Those chapulinas look crunchy -- I can see them going well with beer!]

 

[ZapperZ]

BTW, are mud creepers a type of snail? And in the picture you linked to me, are they in some type of soup or stew? I'm curious about the flavour.

Yes, it is a type of snail. An episode of Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre Food" when he visited Vietnam has a segment when he "sucked" on one of these things at a street cafe.

The one in the pic is cooked in coconut milk. I've had it this way, and also when it is cooked in a tamarind broth.

Zz.

 

[StatGuy2000]

Yes, it is a type of snail. An episode of Andrew Zimmern's "Bizarre Food" when he visited Vietnam has a segment when he "sucked" on one of these things at a street cafe.

The one in the pic is cooked in coconut milk. I've had it this way, and also when it is cooked in a tamarind broth.

Zz.

Interesting. Since this one was cooked in coconut milk, I presumed you had this (and the one cooked in tamarind broth) in Thailand? (I am aware that both coconut milk and tamarind are frequent ingredients in Thai and Malay/Indonesian cuisine.)

Also curious about the satay made out of intestines. How did it compare to other satay you've had (assuming you've had other types of satay)?

 

[StatGuy2000]

They taste just like rattlesnake, except with more drumsticks.

So have most of us. I've eaten several kinds of invertebrates, including crab, lobster, squid, cuttlefish (in Croatia), clams, mussels, snails, and probably a few others.

I suppose if we consider snails to be unusual food, then yes, I've had snails as well (as "escargots"). I've also had other invertebrates like crab, lobster, squid, octopus, mussels, and clams.

I've never had cuttlefish, however. How was it prepared in Croatia, to the best of your recollection?

 

[Mark44]

I've never had cuttlefish, however. How was it prepared in Croatia, to the best of your recollection?

It's similar to squid. It's been 2 1/2 years, so I don't remember it all that clearly. It might have been sauteed or possibly stewed. It was served on "black" rice, rice that was cooked in the ink of the cuttlefish.

 

[Fervent Freyja]

The most bizarre thing I've eaten is shark meat in tacos. They let me assume it was chicken before I bit into it...

 

[StatGuy2000]

The most bizarre thing I've eaten is shark meat in tacos. They let me assume it was chicken before I bit into it...

I've had shark meat before! (although not in a taco) In my case, I had it essentially just pan-fried and ate it with soy sauce. It didn't taste particularly that different from most fish, so curious how it would taste in a taco.

I guess for someone who grew up on fish and seafood, I never would have thought of shark meat as being particularly unusual.

 

[ZapperZ]

I guess for someone who grew up on fish and seafood, I never would have thought of shark meat as being particularly unusual.

Let's see if you think that this seafood is unusual. This was what I had for lunch many years ago at an outdoor restaurant in Malaysia:

Zz.

 

[StatGuy2000]

Let's see if you think that this seafood is unusual. This was what I had for lunch many years ago at an outdoor restaurant in Malaysia:

View attachment 218469 View attachment 218470

Zz.

They look absolutely delicious!

[As an aside, I am a fan of Southeast Asian cuisine, including Malaysian/Singaporean -- there are a few Malaysian restaurants in Toronto, but no doubt they pale in comparison to what's available in Malaysia.]

At any rate, I think I can see various mussels and clams (I think I see what looks like the mud creepers you linked to earlier, although I'm not entirely sure). I also see what looks like fish sauteed in peanut sauce and crab legs, along with vegetables in some type of curry or tamarind broth, and what looks like vegetable noodle dish. Am I close?

 

[Fervent Freyja]

I guess for someone who grew up on fish and seafood, I never would have thought of shark meat as being particularly unusual.

Unusual to me because I refused to eat seafood at all at the time... I don't recall ever eating oysters. I will never understand why people get so excited about it. Goat and pig are great if cooked right. My family used to buy them alive and stake them outside for a day or so before big celebrations...

I have probably eaten more bizarre things that I don't remember the taste of. I lived pretty much "off the grid" for my first 5 years. Have been told deer, snakes, squirrel, possum, large rodents and such. Possibly big cat and fox (yep). My mother has told me stories...

 

[lekh2003]

It wasn't hard, at least in 2011 when I was there. You join a chinese tour group and leave from Beijing. It was a fascinating experience and the scariest part of the trip was the flight over on a 40+ year old Ilyushin Il. Here are a couple photos. I can create a new thread if you are interested in learning more.

View attachment 218181 View attachment 218182 View attachment 218183 View attachment 218184 View attachment 218185 View attachment 218186 View attachment 218187 View attachment 218188

This is absolutely fascinating, could we open another thread to discuss this further, I really want to know what it was like. I assume propagandized...