Bizarre and Weird Delicacy

In every country in Asia, they have their own exotic cuisine or delicacy, that tourist would enjoy trying to taste it. In every country we visit, we must explore many things especially the weird cuisine or delicacy that the host country have. Curiosity of tasting these weird foods are also new challenge for us food trippers.

1) Blood Sausage

Blood sausage a delicacy is made of fresh blood from a new slaughtered animals(pig or cattle) has not yet transformed to solid, and mixed with fat and minced meat. It’s also called blood pudding in United Kingdom, Bratwurst in Germany and Baudoin in France. Every region has their various recipe in making blood sausage and considered their best delicacies, although some find them disgusting, but many appreciate this blood sausage.

Blood Stew (Dinuguan in Philippines)

Pork meat and fresh blood from pig or cow. Some Filipino cook blood stew using the animal intestines( if you don’t know the cleaning techniques, the intestine smells foul and awful).

Soon the blood coagulated or become solid form, they pre-boiled it with vinegar, soy sauce, pepper and minced garlic. Let it cool and sliced in cube biting size and skewed with bamboo skewer and grill. In eating you have to dipped it in vinegar with red chilli or gravy the vendor prepared.

2) Casu Mazu

Casu Mazu also commonly called maggot cheese; this traditional Pecorino cheese was fermented until it decomposed and become rotten until fly larvae are produced and visible. The larvae are translucent worms, 8 mm long and can jump as high as 15 cm when moved. Some eat them with the rotten cheese, but some removed the maggots before eating the Casu Mazu. At present eating Casu Mazu is banned for health reason, but still sold and found at the black market in Sardinia, Italy.

3) Escargot

This snails are being fed and well taken cared of  to assure that they would not eat toxic plants that could be harmful and toxic to human. The snail meat are removed from their shells, cooked in butter, garlic and a special sauce. Then the cooked snail meat ingredients will be stuffed back in the shell. Some people find it disgusting but this escargot are excellent in diets. They contain 15% protein, 80% water and 24% fat.

Ginataang Kuhol (Snail in coconut milk)

One of Philippine delicacy the, “Ginataang Kuhol” (snail cooked in coconut milk. Some find it disgusting but it is one exotic delicacy in the Philippines.

4) Hakarl (Fermented Basking Shark)

Basking shark, are traditional shark dish from Iceland. It is processed in a special fermentation process before they hang it to dry for almost 5 months. In making hakarl, the beheaded and gutted basking shark is placed in a narrow sand-hole and they cover with rocks, so the fluids are pressed out leave for fermentation from 6 to 12 weeks. Then after fermentation they hang the shark to dry. Then Hakarl is ready to cut into cubes and served. Some Icelanders don’t eat Hakarl because of the strong smell amonia-like and taste. Some taste it but pinch their nose so they won’t smell it.

5) Dormouse Stew

Dormouse or Glis-Glis delicacy are still one favorite dish among Romans and people from Slovenia, Croatia and Italy. Because of high demands of this domice delicacy, (20,000 dormouse are being hunted every year) these animals are now considered as  one of the endangered species.

6) Criadillas

In Spain, Criadillas are popular delicacies, disgusting and embarassing if you knew it was bull’s testicles or from lambs. So in other countries like in Canada it is called Prairie Oyster and in United States it is called Rocky Mountain oysters. They peel-off the protective membrane and slice or minced and coat with flour and deep-fry.

7) Green Tree Ants

Bushmen tribes in Australia love to eat the green large- abdomen of green tree ants, it tastes like tangy-lemon flavor. Pick the ants by their head so they could not bite you and and squeeze it, then you can eat the ant’s belly.

Raw Crocodile Egg

The Nauiyu Nambiyu Aborigines in Australia love’s eating this crocodile egg raw, dug and hunted by the tribes’ children while mommy crocodile is away. They crack the egg shell and suck the content of the egg. Some tourist try it for curiosity’s sake.

9) Vegemite Paste

Australian’s love for this delicacy that anywhere they go abroad they pack Vegemite thinking it’s not available in any hotel abroad. Made from Brewer’s yeast with kinds of spices mixed and vegetables additives. This salty and slightly bitter Vegemite paste is not popular in any part of the world except Australia and New Zealand.

10) Australian Jerky

This exotic jerky- food packed are found in different meat like beef, emu, crocodile and kangaroo. It’s so tasty and nutritious snacks very popular in Australia that you can carry in your pack anytime and anywhere you travel.

11) Philippines Delicacy- Exotic Food

It is commonly known as “Kinilaw na Dilis”, made of raw anchovies with vinegar, salt, green onion, ginger and chillies.

Chicken feet marinated with soy sauce, lemon and pepper then boil till tender and skewed with bamboo skewer to grill. Eaten with prepared sauce or vinegar with chilli.

Clean thoroughly then boil it and marinate with soy sauce, lemon, ground black pepper and skewed the intestine to grill.

Isaw ng Baboy (Pig intestine)

The pig intestine should be clean thoroughly and let boil for few minutes, let cool and marinate with soy sauce, lemon and black pepper then stick in skewer and grill. Eat and dipped with sauce. (My Sarisari Store)

The grilled pig ears or commonly called “Walkman” among street vendors, are really delicious though high in cholesterol. Eat Walkman with prepared sauce. (source: My Sarisari Store)

Overall street foods in the Philippines, but you can find the vendors in the afternoon till late night.

Tukneneng (quail eggs) and One-day Old Chicken

Kwek-kwek are the one-day old chick egg coated with colored-orange flour and deep fried. Tukneneng are boiled quail eggs coated and deep fried.

12) Monkey Brains (Southern China)

Monkey-brain eaters in southern China, use the top of the skull as bowl where they mix alcohol and brain and suck it. This weird practice are very hazard to health and may cause the brain-eaters, encephalopathy, a lind of brain disease that would be very fatal.

Fried Spider (Cambodia)

Crunchy deep-fried spiders are most popular in Cambodia other than fried bugs or insects.

Kopi Luwak (Indonesia)

Would you eat this if you learn it is an excrement (poops) from Luwak, a cat-like animal? The Luwak an Indonesian animal, eats riped coffee beans but are not able to digest the coffee beans and come out whole. The enzymes and acids of the Luwak’s stomach fermented the beans inside and cause an aroma which are so special and kopi luwak became expensive and very rare in the world. It is a luxurious gourmet that you can’t buy less tahn $50 dollars per 100 grams.

Luwak Animal (Indonesia)