Written by: Grace Debora C.O. (016201200028)
Asia is known for the ability to use everything as the ingredients for food. Some of the weirdest food can be found here in Asia. But first, we will focus first on the bizarre food in East Asia region. Here are several food that will give the word “appetite” a new meaning. Bon appetite!
1. Beondegi (Silkworm Larvae)
Where to find: South Korea
Literally meaning “chrysalis” or “pupa” in Korean, the Silkworm Larvae are a popular snack in South Korea. They are either steamed or boiled, and then seasoned before serving. If you can get through the subtle, nutty aroma, these little guys are crunchy with a unique, strange texture inside.
2. Drunken Shrimp
Where to find: Shanghai
Our first thought of Drunken Shrimp might be the usual style of steaming your shrimps in a healthy dose of wine and alcohol. It gives the shrimp an additional dash of sweetness. The actual Shanghai Drunken Shrimp however, is an entirely different experience – most notably because of the absence of steaming, or any kinds of cooking whatsoever. The shrimps are not only raw, but live! They are served bathed in strong liquor, which helps to make the shrimps less feisty, and you eat the still twitching body right away after you decapitate the poor fellow.
3. Tuna Eyes
Where to find: Japan
If you can handle your food staring back at you, feasting on tuna eyes should come as a pleasure. Except for the bizarre situation of having to look at your food in the eye, they are actually pretty tantalizing for its fatty, jelly-like tissues around the eyeballs. Some prefer to eat it raw, albeit the fishy taste, others would rather steam or fry it alongside garlic or soya sauce to spice it up. Selling for less than 100 yen (approximately US$1) in Japan, this is a popular local delicacy worth trying out!
4. Baby Mice Wine
Baby Mice wine is a traditional Chinese and Korean “health tonic”. This amazing concoction consists of rice wine mixed with fermented baby mice. According to local folk medicine, this stuff can help cure all kinds of ailments from asthma to liver disease.
To make it, days old mice babies who don’t even have hair or open eyes are dropped into a bottle of rice wine and left to sit for about a year. The finished product has been described as tasting like “roadkill mixed with gasoline”.
5. Horse – Basashi (Japan)
You may well have had sashimi at a Japanese restaurant before, but perhaps not like this. Raw horse meat is served with the sashimi and a drizzle of soy sauce on the side. If you go to a local bar around Japan, you could get this as finger food with your beer. And if that doesn’t scare you, the sweet and smooth meat is also used to make basashi ice cream.
6. Dog – Bosintang Soup (South Korea)
This highly prized dish is still served in traditional South Korean restaurants, despite a ban on dog meat in the country. Pieces of dog are boiled and mixed with green onions, leeks, ginger, garlic and Taro stalk. A particular mint herb known as perilla is also added to disguise the intense smell that dog meat produces when cooked.
7. Chocolate / Ice Cream Ramen Soup
The Japanese candy maker Lotte teamed up with Ghana, the popular chocolate manufacturer to introduce the first ever chocolate flavored Ramen. If you've ever had Ramen noodles, you probably know there's nothing sweet about the spicy soup meal. The chocolate flavored Ghana Miso is nothing short of a bizarre combination of sweet chocolate with salty Ramen soup broth. Some Ramen Shop in Tokyo also serves other startling ramen, such as Vanilla Ice Cream Ramen, Green Tea Ramen and even Yoghurt Ramen.
You might find that some of these food either normal or disturbing to be eaten. Indeed, what is “normal” is different in different culture, especially when it comes to East and West. Probably some will find it disgusting eating insects. But, in Thailand, for example, they make a very delicious snack. Well, if you have a chance, maybe you can give some of the food a try. who knows you might like it after all.
.jpg)
0 comments: