What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?

You can always count on Chinese food for weird - at least to the Western palate.
I've eaten chicken feet which, like duck feet are very gelatinous and really are just a vehicle for whatever sauce it is served with. Likewise jellyfish is pretty tasteless on its own. It has a crunchy texture and all the flavor is from the sauce.
A few months ago someone started a thread called, "I'd rather starve than eat....". I listed Poi which is a purple tinted paste (similar in texture to wallpaper paste) made from taro root. Yuk!!!
I dunno, some might think haggis is pretty weird :)

Jock

I like jellyfish. The blood sausage (giant fried scab) was where I drew the line.

Phil

Hi Rachel,

You may be interesting in viewing the following threads:


Personal weird food combos

speaking of weird food.....

What are the three strangest things you've eaten in your lifetime?

Don't get us started again with haggis, Jock!

:;) What about foods that, in themselves, aren't particularly strange, but are prepared in a way that might give one pause (or the heaves)?

When I was in Hong Kong, my then-husband wanted to try something he'd read about in the airline magazine: drunken prawns. Live prawns are brought to the table, crawling around in an enclosed, glass bowl. Then Chinese white wine is poured into a small opening. At first, the prawns scurry and (appear) to squeek, as they try to avoid the (acidic?) liquid that is fast filling the bowl. Once it's filled, they slow down and seem (to the human eye) to get drunk as they ingest the wine--thus marinating themselves while still alive.
OK, at this point, I'm beyond queezy.
Next, a tureen (thankfully, opaque) of boiling broth is brought to the table. The waiter lifts the prawns out of the wine, one by one, and drops them into a small opening in the lid of the tureen. One did try to gain its freedom by making a break towards me (I screeched), but the waiter retrieved it quickly. Of course, the broth kills them. Then they are placed on plates.
I'd already told my then-husband that he was on his own. That I would wait for the waiter to leave, and then I'd put my share on his plate. But the nice young waiter decided that my hesitation was because I didn't know how to shell a shrimp. As he helpfully began to disrobe the sodden corpse (no, I am not a vegetarian, but, at that point, it seemed like a pretty good idea), his knife slipped and he splattered shrimp brains all over my blouse. Of course, I burst into tears and then immediately tried to comfort the waiter.
Yes, I know that this type of preparation quarantees freshness, and that it's more honest--you see that you are indeed eating a living creature--but it's way too primal an experience for me :eek:

Well, I had my son a month ago today and during the last week of my pregnancy I had this craving for vanilla ice cream and anchovies. :eek: Yeah yeah...say what you will but my son wanted them for some reason. :rolleyes: I of course will NOT be eating those post pregnancy. YUCK! :D

Jodi

That was one of the mainstays of my brother's diet as a child. You might be interested to know that he's now a chef/restrauteur! The combination of fruit (especially canned) and cottage cheese is common in the states. But then, Rachel, you have deep-fried candy bars, so I guess that makes us even! :D

Rachel -- how nice to see you again!!! Yes, cottage cheese and canned peaches is extremely strange (although I thing cc with canned pineapple is even worse, but that's just because I don't much like pineapple) -- but it has long been a mainstay of the American weight-loss field; maybe because it's so awful! :D

Shawty: when my mother was expecting my older sister, family lore has it that all she could eat was hard-boiled eggs and anchovies -- Mom, that is. Oh, and smoke cigarettes. No wonder my sister is so strange ... ;)

Duck feet are okay, not + or -, just okay. And I grew up on chicken feet, after the soup was done, so I'm neutral to them, too.

But blood sausage -- oh, YUM. And I just had the most wonderful baby squid rings in ink at a Basque restaurant a couple of weeks ago.

I don't denigrate people who won't try things; that's their choice. But so many "strange" things turn out to be delicious -- and so many "normal" things are yuck (to get back to the cottage cheese thing).

Wow Phoebe, that was quite an experience, one that i would never want to go through. But hey, whatever didnt kill you only made you stronger, right?

As i think with most dishes, the level of queerness is determined by the region it is from. i've tasted some pretty peculiar foods, most of which i enjoyed. i consider myself very open to new things. And i know the topic is WEIRDEST FOODS, but i automatically thought of the time i had some sea urchin at a Japanese sushi bar. It had a disgustingly potent scent, and tasted just the way it smelled -- rotten! It was presented to me on a beautiful oriental plate, with lovely garnishes. The urchin itself, was in the center of the oversized plate, and looked like a tiny little blob about 1/3 the size of a dime. Though it was a very small portion, i did not finish it. But i am happy to say that i did try it!

That's funny that this came up. I had cottage cheese and peaches this morning and for the last 6 mornings as well. The cottage cheese is a good source of protein and the carbs in the peaches give me a balanced combination in my quest to change my body. (I said Body, not sex!) I have a hard time this morning with mistakes and misconstrued sexual innuendos!:D

Lambs Eyes in Saffron Broth

Curried Lambs Tongue (whole with the taste buds still on)

An Awesome cocktail of Spicey Tomato Sauce/soup, Raw Oysters, Octopus, Mussels, and Cooked Shrimp (kind of ceviche style)

Spicy Schezwan Dog

and 35 Saltine Crackers without a drink on a bet from my little brother!

Jon

DOG?!!:eek:

Uy!

Did it taste like chicken?

Highly spiced, the meat was gamey, muttony and stringy.

My least favorite of the ones posted

Jon:D

Oy vey, DOG. I know there's a cultural bias in my reaction, but I'd have no qualms about declining. Was the dog on a bet, too? I've eaten Chinese preserved eggs (never again), various raw fish (but no urchin), eels prepared three or four ways (never again after seeing them prepared on Iron Chef) and plenty of boiled tongue (I begged my mom to be allowed to do the skinning), but I'd draw the line on that one. There are other foods I'd also refuse to eat, but there isn't enough time to waste listing them.

The first time I was served Sashimi, I thought it was pretty odd food...and now I love it! :lips:

miahoyhoy,
according to my chinese friend, "black dog, best dog- yellow dog second best." perhaps you had the yellow dog? :D
kat

My favorite "wierd food" stories is one that my mother tells. She grew up in Brooklyn in the 1930's and 40's and the only fish she ever ate were salt water varieties (mostly flounder). My father was from Iowa and the summer after their wedding, she was taken home to meet the family (Dad was attending college in NY).

The first big family dinner featured fried catfish. As the guest of honor, she was served first and urged to tast the local delicacy.

It was awful and tasted of oil (the petroleum kind) and kerosene. Having NO idea what catfish was supposed to taste like she choked it down and allowed as how it was rather good.

No sooner had she said so than my uncle spat his fish back onto his plate and complained loudly "who the ****'s been dumping crankcase oil in the damned lake?"

Eeewww!

I would have to say the worst thing I have eaten is either dinner at a buffet restaurant we went to, or my MIL's cooking.

Both the same, out of cans. ;)

Mignonettes d'agneau.



Lamb testicules.



I didn't eat it.

A local delicacy is mopanie worms. During springtime, these worms hatch(?) and feed on the leaves of the mopanie tree. They are harvested, then sundried and cooked in a sort of stew with marog (spinach-like leaf) and tomatoes. Great source of protein - taste is rather bland, although the crunchy texture is quite interesting. Available tinned, although the texture is somewhat soggy.

They sure look a lot like crosnes! ;)

I picked up an interesting cookbook/travel log by Anik See (cann't remember title) about experiences travelling around the world as related to food. In the section about Indonesia she tells of how she and her sister order satay from a street vendor who gives them funny looks. As they sit on the side eating the meat it suddenly dawns on them to ask what kind of meat it is since a. they know it's not pork or beef - turns out to be dog.

Years ago in college, I had a friend who was a hunter and butchered the deer meat, made a bunch of scallopine and left in in his fridge - his girlfriend came over - let her self in and proceeded to nibble on the food in fridge - loved it until she realized she had eatened "bambi's mom" and spent the night barfing in the bathroom.

It's all a matter of what we are used to and previously what was neccessary for survival...

Forget duck feet - what the heck do ya do with duck tongue???? Yep, seen 'em in the Asian supermarket, all lined up neatly in that little yellow styrofoam package!! Or - this is gross - pig uterus?!! While I certainly applaud a culture for using every part of the animal, aren't there limits? Guess not!

Disclaimer - Never had 'em, never will!

A plate of Duck tongue - the pointy bits are the back of the tongue.

I have a nice philosophy about eating out. "Unless its poisonous, dont tell me what it is" Those duck tongues look edible....but I wouldn't eat much of them (unless they tasted really good) now that I know.

Heck...I eat beef tongue. How bad can duck tongue be?? ;)

Gee Whiz, I'm definately in the "Others" catagory too. I think haggis is delicious. But Haggamuggie? Sounds like something Harry Potter's pal Hagrid would eat. Not me I think. I remember as a kid my mother would force feed us cod liver oil once a week. A great dripping spoonful out of a jar. It was the most discusting thing I ever put in my mouth. I know fish liver is rich in Omega 3 fatty acid but you couldn't pay me to eat it :p

Jock