Tasty Weird Foods

Self | November 6, 2001 | PJ-Comix

[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.

[gumbo]

Omigosh. I can't believe you did that!

But while I'm here, I might as well "share" my favorite tasty weird food: okra.

Yes, folks, I'm named gumbo for a reason. I'm the only one in the family who likes it.

My favorite thing about okra is the little spherical seeds that go "pop" in your mouth while you're chowing down on some nice spicy shrimp gumbo.

[oldsalt]

Baluts in the Phillipines, the forementioned duck, sometimes chicken, fertilized eggs with embryos inside.

Fish eyes and rice with a little seaweed thrown. I bummed a bowl of this stuff one night from the engine room crew on a ferry in Hong Kong. The eyes were very salty and you could sorta squish 'em with your teeth to get the most flavor out.

[hgro]

How about baby eels - they look like noodles. A meal enjoyed in Bilbao, Spain several years ago.

[hope]

There was this place ( i forget the name been 20+years) outside my hometown of Monroe Mich, that served up the best turtle soup and frog legs..

[geege]

Alligator sausage from Kiki Bonton's in Kansas City:0)

[hope]

Pointe Tapitio in Phoenix was my first try at rattlesnake. Taste like chicken, I swear.

[JimVT]

On second thought maybe we don't have to import it.

They grow it in PA.

Ustilago maydis is an excellent example of this phenomenon. It's a fungus that grows primarily in sweet corn; infected kernels grow large and oddly shaped, turning grey or black as they fill with spores.

In the US, it's corn smut, a disease to be eradicated. In Mexico, it's huitlacoche (wheat-lah-KOH-chay), a delicacy to be savored. US farmers destroy it or feed it to the pigs. Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Aztec and Maya, prized it. The USDA has spent considerable effort and money to eliminate it. Mexican farmers are filled with joy when they see it, because they know they can sell their crop at a much higher price.

Attitudes are changing in the US. After certain trendy restaurants began to serve huitlacoche, the USDA started an experimental program to allow farmers in Pennsylvania and Florida to cultivate Ustilago maydis. Whether this will be a success remains to be seen.

I have a foot in each camp: both of my parents grew up in Ohio farm families and have vivid memories of shucking smutted corn, the grey spores sticking to their hands. To them, it's a disease. I've also been exposed to the other point of view. I'm left in the odd position of enjoying eating the fungus (it's very tasty in scrambled eggs), but disliking the look of it. In my family, it may take one more generation before it's truly "good to eat".

Note: Looks like somebody beat me to it --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Whilom]

Nuoc mam, fried rat, raw monkey brains, and grilled quail chicks (with feathers and entrails), all marvelous Vietnamese contributions to international cuisine. I passed on the monkey brains.

[Zviadist]

I don't think it's " weird " but I love raw kolarahbi. It's a Hungarian thing. : - )

I never understand why they don't have kolarahbi here. I used to make it stuffed in Budapest. Delicious!

[freefly]

LOVE this thread!
I tried all afternoon yesterday to get on it KNOWING it was going to be a keeper!
My list of "exotics" (so far):
woodchuck
raccoon
(my grandfather, an old trapper, wouldn't feed it to his dogs, but it is tasty if cooked right!)
opossum (VERY good, but must be boiled in saltwater, like a lot of fatty game)
muskrat
beaver
moose, elk
venison, (a favorite)
American bison (far better than beef IMHO)
goat (another favorite)
alligator (and smaller lizards)
snakes (of all kinds)
turtle
snails (MMMMMM!)
horse, (very good)
ostrich, emu, every part of a duck,
rocky mt oysters from almost all farm animals
bone marrow
calf brains "innerds" in general
Most oriental food, (where NOTHING is thrown away)
(fish sauce...mmmmm! just don't think about how it's made!)
sushi!!! (and, for me, has for much longer than it's been popular here)
jellied pig veins being one of the more strange
Unusual seafood includes eel (big and baby), sea urchins, sea cucumber,
shellfish (the 1st guy that ate an oyster was HUNGRY!)
octopus and squid (both big and little)
I've eaten a lot of bugs.
Ants are pretty good, but I cannot say I like any other insect.
I've not eaten armadillo (but I will one of these days),
monkey, dog, or cat (too much like people, I'd have to be HUNGRY!).
I'm looking forward to trying some of the stuff listed...
I only THOUGHT my tastes were a bit strange!

[freefly]

What's for dinner tonight?

[Zviadist]

I've had durian candy. A bit difficult to get used to. Funny to serve to guests.

[Ham Hock]

O.K. Here is one that I came up with (I think). I call it "Blackened Macaroni and Cheese" or maybe "Cajun style Mac and Cheese."

It is Macaroni and Cheese, served over Totilla chips, and absolutely covered with black pepper. If you can see any cheddar, you don't have enough pepper.

Believe it or not, this is very tasty.

 

[Atticus]

I must be the only vegetarian on Freerepublic!

I haven't eaten meat in several years and don't intend to do so ever again. I don't call myself a vegetarian because many vegetarians are are left-wing nuts or just like to draw attention to themselves and have people cater to their lifestyle. Also, I occasionally eat fish--mostly wild salmon. I support safe, legal hunting. When I did eat meat, I was not very adventurous. No pork. No lamb. No wild game. No shellfish. No hotdogs. Just burgers and chicken, mostly.

[Brewer]

I once read about a type of meat jerky from South Africa. I forgot the name of it but it sounded interesting. Apparently it is very popular there. Does anybody know the name of it and is it available here in the USA?

I have had a lot of wild game, smoked racoon, smoked possum and crow stew, but not a jerky from South Africa..

[Brewer]

I only THOUGHT my tastes were a bit strange!

They are, but so are mine.

[Brewer]

Try limburger cheese on saltines, sprinkled with smoked salmon or head cheese on saltines.... Excellent stuff.

[Flint]

There is a fruit that Vietnamese and Cambodian veggie stores sell that is yellow, about the size of a football. I forget the name of it but when you cut it open it smells like rotten meat but tastes like a slice of pure heaven.

[ScreamingFist]

"Placenta Recipes (Mothering Magazine, September 1983, Vol. 28, pg 76)"

Mame, I've eaten everything from fried chicken feet, to live lobster that moves when you stick the fork in, to rotten eggs pickled in horse urine, but I have NEVER though about eating a part of my own body. Ewwwwwwww, you win.

[Cagey]

Pennsylvania Scrapple

"The feature attraction is the cleaned head. Remove the eyeballs (the brains were removed on killing day and scrambled with eggs the next morning), break the head(s) into manageable pieces with a cleaver, and cook them down in a kettle of boiling water 'til the meat is easily pulled. Skim the fat from the water and save. Pull all of the meat and fat (separate) from the heads and chop up the chunks. Cook the liver and heart and whatever else wasn't used in other delicacies and grind them up. Get a tote-sack full of corn meal and keep it handy. Put the meat, heart, and other scraps (except liver) back into the simmering kettle of stock. Add liver until you can taste it but the liver flavor does not predominate. You can put some of the fat in if you wish. Add salt and celery salt - the cornmeal will take a lot of salt so you get this mixture fairly salty. Stir. Taste. Add sage and pepper to taste - not too much, now. Stir. Taste. Pass the spoon around so everybody can pass judgment. When it's right, you should taste salt first, then liver - but not too strong, rich pork meat flavor and a hint of sage. When everybody (especially ingredient #1) is agreed that it couldn't possibly be better, bring out the cornmeal and kids. "