Posted on 11/06/2001 7:57:20 PM PST by PJ-Comix
Just to take a break from politics for a bit, I was wondering if there are others out there who also have a taste for weird exotic foods. I thought I was one of a kind in this regard until I read a newspaper article that said that there are many folks who have a hankering for exotic foods that others may find yucky.
I've eaten sea urchin eggs directly from sea urchins, cooked ox tails (or "tako" as it is called in the Phillipines), raw quail eggs, all manner of spicy European sausages such as the very garlicky Kabanosi, blood sausages in Argentina, alligator meat, and I don't even have to be drunk to eat the worm in the Mezcal bottle (although I usually am since I have to drink my way to reach it).
So what are your favorite "yucky" foods? I am always on the lookout for new exotic foods so I will be most interested in reading your comments and food suggestions.
World War Two...
Um....I think there might be a law against that. How can you call an Onion a Vidalia if it is not grown in Vidalia? Remember, it's not just the onion species. The taste of the Vidalia is strongly determined by the soil it is grown in.
I nominate cold jellyfish salad (a Chinese dish: it may have a dressing, but it's mostly just strips of jellyfish)--my wife and I order it whenever it shows up on a Chinese menu.
For runner up: unaju (fresh water eel, a Japanese dish). When I ordered this in Japan, my Japanese colleagues repeatedly tried to disuade me, insistently asking "Do you know what that is?". I had to say, "Yes, it's eel. I've had it before, and I like it. I am not being adventurous," before they would relent.
For Fraulein: the weirdest vegetarian dish (invented by my bishop during a fast, when Orthodox Christians are more-or-less vegans--we're allowed foods from animals without backbones, but as tasty invertebrates tend to be expensive, we're mostly vegan during fasts): peel and trim a carrot, smear peanut butter on a piece of pita, and place the carrot in the middle, sprinkle liberally with tabbasco (sp?) sauce, roll up and eat.
Actually if you've had Thai or Indonesian dishes which combine peanut and chilis, this isn't such on odd thing after all, but it really sounds weird at first.
Well, citizen PJ, you have no choice but to notify the onion police immediately. Get on it.
What is a durian?Well...simply put, Durian is a fruit: a big, green thorny fruit. But wait, it is not just another exotic and expensive fruit from South East Asia. In fact, it is considered "King of the Fruit" throughout the region. Personally, I think that is an understatement of the millenium since we Asian are humble people. In fact, the actual status of Durian is "THE GOD OF ALL FRUIT!". No kidding! Yeah, yeah, I know, some (unadventurous) people would rather die than to smell the STINK of a durian. Heck, a few countries even BAN the presence of durian in selected public spots due to its offensive smell (that, to me, is a hopeless rule just like outlawing fart, when we know that it is such a pleasure and EVERYBODY secretly doing it!). Look here, I can go on and on here but let hear it from non-biased sources okay. Click HERE to see what other people have to say about durian.
Sale of Agricultural and Forest Products: Protect the Vidalia Onion Trademark
"Summary:The Act, known as the "Vidalia Onion Trademark Act," authorizes the (Georgia) Commissioner of Agriculture to create and protect a trademark for use in connection with the sale of Vidalia onions and Vidalia onion products. The Act also authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture to impose and collect license fees or royalties for the use of the trademark.
Effective Date:July 1, 2000
Yeah, I've had those. And you are right about that sinus pressure thingy.
Worst: Oven baked, garlic butter dipped snails, minus the oven baked, garlic dipped part, replaced with fresh slime and packed in a can. Yes, it tastes as bad as it sounds. Can be found in Taiwan.
Honorable mention: fried grasshoppers...disgusting, but kosher (little known fun fact)...found in Philippines....Korea has fried crickets I believe, for a variety on this theme...
How about a tasty weird sauce....Oyster Sauce. Sounds bad, smells BAD, but oyster beef is awesome....
do you cut it so it doesn't get that hump in the middle?
I should also mention a meal I had in Tibet made almost entirely of yak parts: yak meat, yak lung, yak tongue, yak stomach, yak butter tea. Sounds exotic, but what is yak but a cow that has adapted to cold weather through more hair?
In my childhood, I hat monkey stew and crocodile meat. Everyone always asks what the crocodile tastes like. I was only 5 at the time, but my answer is that same as just about everyone else's for any exotic meat: "It tastes like chicken."
Has anyone mentioned Fish Sauce????
I've smelled it, but never tasted it intentionally.
It's used on practically every dish in Vietnam. They call it nuhcmao (phonetic spelling), but
maybe chesty puller will give the correct spelling. He knows, and loves the stuff.
BTW Chesty, could you mention a few of those delicacies that you've described on Paltalk?
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