weirdest foods you (or someone you saw) ever ate

[Zohar]

Huh. I haven't posted here. When I was in Korea a couple of people I was walking around with had live octopus for lunch. It was basically cut up (live), seasoned a bit and served completely raw. Its nerves were still working so the individual pieces kept wriggling around whenever they poked it with their chopsticks. It also stuck to the plate with its suckers and a couple of times to their tongue while they were eating it (it kept squirming in their mouths as well).

[Coffee]

Huh. I haven't posted here. When I was in Korea a couple of people I was walking around with had live octopus for lunch. It was basically cut up (live), seasoned a bit and served completely raw. Its nerves were still working so the individual pieces kept wriggling around whenever they poked it with their chopsticks. It also stuck to the plate with its suckers and a couple of times to their tongue while they were eating it (it kept squirming in their mouths as well).

I've seen that before; last time I was stationed in Korea actually. I couldn't work up the nerve to try it; I kinda got a thing for food that ain't still movin'.

Wierdest thing I've ever eaten personally? Haggis.

[Thesh]

Cod soaked in lye, also known as lutefisk... WHY? It was the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted.

[PatrickRsGhost]

I was telling my mom about this thread, and she told me about a craving she once had when she was preggers with me:

Chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and chocolate syrup, on a bed of Ruffles potato chips. She said what really grossed my dad out was when she'd take a Ruffle and scoop up some of the chocolate ice cream with it after the ice cream had softened up.

[meatyochre]

I was telling my mom about this thread, and she told me about a craving she once had when she was preggers with me:

Chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and chocolate syrup, on a bed of Ruffles potato chips. She said what really grossed my dad out was when she'd take a Ruffle and scoop up some of the chocolate ice cream with it after the ice cream had softened up.

eiu! My mom told me she had weird cravings for pickles while she was pregnant with me. But that is plenty stranger

[Bakemaster]

I was telling my mom about this thread, and she told me about a craving she once had when she was preggers with me:

Chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and chocolate syrup, on a bed of Ruffles potato chips. She said what really grossed my dad out was when she'd take a Ruffle and scoop up some of the chocolate ice cream with it after the ice cream had softened up.

Sounds fantastic to me, man. But I've always had an acute appreciation for the combination of savory, salty and sweet flavors. In first and second grade, whenever the cafeteria served chicken noodle soup on the same day that they served chocolate chip cookies (which seemed fairly frequent), I would crumble the cookies up and put them in the soup instead of oyster crackers or saltines. The decrepit old lunch-ladies persecuted me for this because it caused an uproar among the other children, who were clearly culinary philistines.

[voidPtr]

Huh. I haven't posted here. When I was in Korea a couple of people I was walking around with had live octopus for lunch. It was basically cut up (live), seasoned a bit and served completely raw. Its nerves were still working so the individual pieces kept wriggling around whenever they poked it with their chopsticks. It also stuck to the plate with its suckers and a couple of times to their tongue while they were eating it (it kept squirming in their mouths as well).

I have eaten live octopus before, a couple times actually. Aside from the "sucking" texture, awkward chopstick handling, and ethical conundrum of eating something still living, I actually didn't think it was that bad -- not necessarily great either -- it's light tasting and the texture, although different, wasn't off-putting.

As for the weirdest food I've seen someone eat, this isn't the "weirdest" food, but perhaps the weirdest circumstances: The abridged backstory is that during a scuba-diving course I was on I was learning the hard way that I was not cut out for it. An excellent instructor was working with me, trying to help me relax. When we were about 15-20ft down, my instructor spotted an oyster on the ocean floor. He then took a knife off his side, pried it open, flipped his mask up, and ate it.

I suppose you don't get any fresher seafood than that!

[PatrickRsGhost]

I was telling my mom about this thread, and she told me about a craving she once had when she was preggers with me:

Chocolate ice cream with chocolate chips and chocolate syrup, on a bed of Ruffles potato chips. She said what really grossed my dad out was when she'd take a Ruffle and scoop up some of the chocolate ice cream with it after the ice cream had softened up.

Sounds fantastic to me, man. But I've always had an acute appreciation for the combination of savory, salty and sweet flavors. In first and second grade, whenever the cafeteria served chicken noodle soup on the same day that they served chocolate chip cookies (which seemed fairly frequent), I would crumble the cookies up and put them in the soup instead of oyster crackers or saltines. The decrepit old lunch-ladies persecuted me for this because it caused an uproar among the other children, who were clearly culinary philistines.

I said the same thing to her. It seems like something worth experimenting with one day. I have a bag of Ruffles at work. Just need to get a pint of Ben & Jerry's or Mayfield. Also got some chocolate syrup at work, so the only other thing I need is chocolate chips. Although, I may just try it with the ice cream and chocolate syrup only.

I remember when the new Ingles (grocery store in the Southeast) opened up a couple of years ago, which replaced the old Ingles, they had in the bakery/deli section a lot of sample plates, including one with chocolate chip cookies, and another with slices of Gouda cheese. I made the mistake of putting the both of them together in my mouth, and the end result was OMGWTFBBQHOLYSHITTHISISAWESOME.

[voidPtr]

We went to a Chinese Buffet (in Ohio...) the other day.

I think the baby octopus won. Tiny and purple and chewy and...cold. Not spectacularly tasty.

The frog legs were delicious, though. They legitimately taste like chicken.

Another octopus post here from me...but I've tried cooking octopus at home and quiet honestly, it didn't turn out well at all. I'm not sure if I just overcooked it but it as you said...chewy, purple, and honestly, tasteless

I've also tried cooking frogs legs before on a whim and I think I screwed them up as well. Yeah, they tasted like chicken..if the chicken was left to soak in a bucket of swampwater overnight.

[Blackhawk5367]

dog soup in South Korea, has a texture similar to beef, don't recommend eating the skin, tend to be spicy
this usually ends any of my food related conversations, most people are grossed out by it

[charolastra]

Let's see...

When living in Iceland:
-hakarl (putrified Greenlandic shark... as seen on Tony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern)
-slattur (lamb's blood sausage in a sugar sauce)
-puffin
-foal (to be fair, I didn't know what it was when I ate it)
-lamb's eye
-hardfiskur (wind dried fish)
-lamb's brain

When living in Mexico:
-chapulines (fried grasshoppers with lime and chile---- SOOOOO good)
-bull's heart
-various entrails in menudo
-tongue and beef skin taco

Living in London/Traveling in Europe:
-deep fried haggis (haggis on it's own= DELICIOUS, deep fried= too much)
-black and white puddings
-potted eel
-deep fried Mars Bar
-paella with blood sausage and puffer fish

At home (by which I largely mean Boston's Chinatown, but elsewhere):
-congealed pig's blood
-durian fruit
-chicken feet
-headcheese
-cured pig's heart

Most of what you all put is not weird at all. Eel and octopus is pretty tame.

[existentialpanda]

The youth group at my church used to hold "gross challenges" in which they would come up with some weird combination of food items and dare people to eat it. One that I took part in (and regretted) was essentially a mixture of mashed potatoes and some kind of syrup, with Oreos here and there. I nearly threw up after one mouthful. To this day, I often can't eat more than a few spoonfuls of mashed potatoes without getting nauseous.

(Which is a pity, since my dad makes really good mashed potatoes.)

[Jplus]

I've eaten insects (and seaweeds), but I don't really consider those weird. Actually I think it would be a good thing if more people in the Western world would dare to eat insects...

[balderduck]

I once accidentaly ate someone else's words

But seriously folks...

Well I once tried dipping bacon in chocolate fondue...A friend of mine told me it was great, and although I once saw him eat watermelon with mustard, I though I'd give it a go.

Well, you won't believe it but it's actualy quite good!

(I mean the bacon chocolate , not the mustard watermelon!)

I also once saw an american couple ordering ketchup for their octopus in a greek island tavern...(that's even worst than the mustard-watermelon I think)

[dubsola]

I've eaten insects (and seaweeds), but I don't really consider those weird. Actually I think it would be a good thing if more people in the Western world would dare to eat insects...

Well, eating insects is weird, in the sense that it doesn't happen very often. I'd try grasshoppers with chilli and lime, that seems like a pretty good way to start.

Are you thinking it would be a good thing in terms of reducing the production and consumption of farm animals, or some other reason?

[Jplus]

Mostly because of the reduction of farm animal consumption (and the associated improved crop efficiency). But also because I think people in general are childish about insects looking dirty or scary or anything like that. And because insects are just damn tasty.

Note that eating insects is perfectly normal for nearly everyone not living in the Western world, by the way.

[theGoldenCalf;]

"Prawn crisps". Not prawn-flavored potato chips, mind you, but something odd that looked and tasted very much like deep fried styrofoam, and to this very day I have no idea what it actually was. The only thing it had in common with prawns is a pinkish color.

I witnessed a cousin and his friends accidentally run over, barbecue and eat a porcupine. Call me crazy but I have something against eating roadkill if it isn't to save my life.

Chicken hearts & spleens, cattle brains, lungs & intestines many times, udder once (never tried testicles, although I had the chance). Once saw a (very hot) girl eating a chocolate spread & pickled cucumber sandwich, which according to her was normal.

Does Malva fruit counts?

EDIT:
These are prawn-flavored crisps, served in a Nepali restaurant in some Disney theme park. I had mine in Pokhara, Nepal.

[Jplus]

Those are actually made from the chitineous shells of prawn or shrimp. In the Netherlands they're quite well known under the Malaysian name, "krupuk".

[theGoldenCalf;]

Huh. So they do actually have something to do with prawns. In Nepal and India people have an unreasonable affection for industrial, plastic-y, evil-toxic-flavored snacks and sauces, so I thought these were just another specimen, only tasteless, and that the allusion to prawns was just a cruel joke they play on uninformed tourists.

[TaintedDeity]

They look like what I'd call prawn crackers.
Hey, wiki agrees too. I see nothing about them being made from shells, though.

[dubsola]

They are prawn crackers, and they certainly are not weird unusual - most Asian restaurants serve them as a snack while you decide what to order. They are great.

[Azrael]

I just looked up geoduck, and spent several minutes giggling. Hee.

There was a Dirty Jobs where Mike Rowe went geoduck harvesting. He was rather (hilariously) understated the entire time. And then one squirted him in the face.

[theGoldenCalf;]

Well, I guess prawn crackers are unusual for someone from the middle east, but not for Britons. I encountered them as "prawn crisps" and all I could find by that name were prawn-flavored fries. If they're so popular then I guess I just had some really bad ones, will try them again if I get the chance.

Also, second on the geoduck thing. I thought I was alone in this and felt so immature

[HateBot]

When i was in Iceland a few years ago I tried their national specialty of seemingly rotten shark meat. I tried to keep a straight face for the nice hosts but I nearly swallowed my own vomit to do it =(

[Knigel]

So far I've eaten scorpion (small and big), dog meat, silkworm larvae, stinky tofu, fresh raw octopus, sea horse, and a few more that won't come to my mind yet. I'm no Bourdain, but I'm still trying things out. I think balut would challenge me, but I've heard that it's very delicious.

[Izawwlgood]

So far I've eaten scorpion (small and big), dog meat, silkworm larvae, stinky tofu, fresh raw octopus, sea horse, and a few more that won't come to my mind yet. I'm no Bourdain, but I'm still trying things out. I think balut would challenge me, but I've heard that it's very delicious.

Yeah, fuck Bourdain, if you want to talk about unique foods, Andrew Zimmer is your man. But... I feel like I just said that to someone... somewhere... about something really similar...

[Knigel]

So far I've eaten scorpion (small and big), dog meat, silkworm larvae, stinky tofu, fresh raw octopus, sea horse, and a few more that won't come to my mind yet. I'm no Bourdain, but I'm still trying things out. I think balut would challenge me, but I've heard that it's very delicious.

Yeah, fuck Bourdain, if you want to talk about unique foods, Andrew Zimmer is your man. But... I feel like I just said that to someone... somewhere... about something really similar...

What do you have against Bourdain? Just curious.

[Izawwlgood]

I find his show to be ostentatious. I feel it's mostly him sitting at expensive restaurants or exclusive locations and saying "Hmm, yes, this is delicious, balanced and rich" and then the camera pans to him having a lively conversation with some famous chef. Whereas I feel Bizarre Foods is mostly Andrew Zimmern (sp on lastname?) traveling the countryside and trying local fare, no matter how non-European it may be, and describing it in detail, while giving a little cultural background on why the dish is served this way or that way.

I've heard Bourdain's more recent episodes include him trying more local stops instead of just famous restaurants, and that he has more cultural exchanges instead of just interacting with chefs, and to be fair, the later episodes of Bizarre Foods have included more and more of Andrew eating in famous restaurants, but I still feel like there's a critical difference between the two. Also, Andrew is funnier in my mind than Anthony, whose kind of a pretentious jerk face.

[dubsola]

I had mine in Pokhara, Nepal.

Did you try any yak while you were in Nepal? I had some on the trail. When Nepali's kill a yak, they eat what they can fresh, and dry out the rest. They then rehydrate it in a pressure cooker when they want to eat it. I tried both fresh and rehydrated yak, and fresh was undoubtedly better. It was cooked with a bit of salt, pepper and chilli powder. Quite gamey, but I like gamey meat so I enjoyed it a lot.

[theGoldenCalf;]

I had mine in Pokhara, Nepal.

Did you try any yak while you were in Nepal? I had some on the trail. When Nepali's kill a yak, they eat what they can fresh, and dry out the rest. They then rehydrate it in a pressure cooker when they want to eat it. I tried both fresh and rehydrated yak, and fresh was undoubtedly better. It was cooked with a bit of salt, pepper and chilli powder. Quite gamey, but I like gamey meat so I enjoyed it a lot.

I did have a few yak steaks and a yak burger, no idea whether it was fresh or rehydrated. Wasn't very good, pretty dry for my taste, and pretty much all of it was way over-done. Chalk it off to Nepalese not being a heavy meat-eating nation. I was actually surprised beef was so available there after spending some time in India where it was illegal.

[Nath]

I did have a few yak steaks and a yak burger, no idea whether it was fresh or rehydrated. Wasn't very good, pretty dry for my taste, and pretty much all of it was way over-done. Chalk it off to Nepalese not being a heavy meat-eating nation. I was actually surprised beef was so available there after spending some time in India where it was illegal.

Well, you can't eat cattle in most of India (though I don't think there's a formal nationwide ban). Other bovines are fair game. You can get what I assume is buffalo meat in parts of the country with large Muslim or Christian populations. They call it 'beef', just like they call goat's meat 'mutton'.

As for it being overdone, there's just no tradition of eating meat rare in most of India. Kebabs tend to be quite well-done and chewy too. I always just assumed that that's what red meat was supposed to be like, and I used to get squicked out by rare steak. To this day, I've never had a good burger or steak in India.

[dubsola]

I entered Nepal from India as well, and also remember being surprised by the availability of beef. I wasn't expecting it.

I tried some buff in India (in Kerala), and didn't like it - too tough.

Everyone I know who tried Yak steak said the same as you, but my guide took me to a local restaurant (I was the only tourist in there) which had fresh yak, and that was pretty good.

Nath - do you now appreciate an excellent rare steak?

[Nath]

Yes, though not to the point that I regularly buy high-end steak. Most of the beef I eat is cheaper stuff, either stewed or burgernated.

Even though I lived in a community with a lot of Malayali Christians who often ate buffalo, I don't recall ever trying it in India. I only remember seeing it in curry form; never cooked dry (well, maybe the odd 'beeph pepper fry'). I've had bison in the US; tasty, but it was too lean to be good steak.

[Jplus]

By the way. Did anyone try palolo worms?