Do you think you are adventurous when it comes to the food that you are prepared to eat? We all enjoy experimenting and trying out different foods from around the world, but some things that are thought of as delicacies in one country, could turn the stomach off a diner in another.
If you thought you were being adventurous eating snails in France, but you couldn’t quite bring yourself to try Haggis in Scotland, you need to take a look at these ten bizarre foods from around the world that really are very, very strange.
1. Duck embryo
Balut is a dish that can be found in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines and is eaten as snack. It’s the fertilised eggs of ducks, or chickens, which have been left to develop long enough, so that there is a fully formed embryo inside. The eggs are then boiled and served up in their shells as a snack. Not surprisingly, the delicacy is said to taste something like a cross between eggs and chicken.
2. Smelly fruit
There is a fruit that is eaten in Southeast Asia that smells so bad that it has been banned in hotels and airports around the world. The fruit looks perfectly normal from the outside, but when it’s opened up, it emits a smell that has been likened to that of rotten flesh, sewers and dirty old socks.
3. Fried brains
Forget the burger…How about some fried calves’ brains served up in a burger bun? Up until the mad cow disease scare of a few years ago, calf brain burgers were a regular feature on the menus of clubs and bars in St. Louis, Missouri. In Mexico, brains are still a firm favourite and they are usually served up in burritos or tacos.
4. Poisonous fish
This is probably one of the most weird and bizarre foods from around the world. Preparing the poisonous fish dish, Fugu, is such a delicate task, the Japanes chefs who prepare it have to undergo years of training and have passed a test. It’s not surprising that they have to be careful, because if they make a mistake, there is enough poison in the fish for it to be lethal. Fugu is best enjoyed with a tiny bit of the poison still in the fish, because that gives you a tingling sensation on your lips and tongue.
5. Raw blood soup
Tiet Cahn is another very unusual and bizarre food, it’s a soup dish that comes from Vietnam. The ingredients are pretty straight forward. It contains raw duck blood and chicken gizzards which are finished off with a sprinkling of herbs and peanuts. As if the blood and guts ingredients weren’t bad enough, they then refrigerate the concoction until the blood congeals and forms a jelly.
6. Live Octopus
Most people have tried sushi and eating raw fish is no longer a big deal, but how about eating live raw octopus that is squirming around on your plate? In South Korea, they slice up live baby octopus, lightly season it, and then they serve it while it’s still wriggling. Apparently, you have to be careful when you are eating the dish, which is called Sannakji, because the suckers of the octopus can get stuck to the roof of your mouth. Isn’t it one of the most bizarre foods?
