One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This statement may be true regarding worldly belongings, but apparently a similar statement should be created to apply to foods. One man’s waste is another man’s delicacy, perhaps?

Each country is unique in that it has a distinct culture and cuisine. Unfortunately, what some people would find completely disgusting may turn out to be an everyday food choice for others. Such is the case with these incredibly odd meals. Those with delicate stomachs may want to proceed with caution.

Balut

Image credit: Marshall Astor - Food Pornographer

What’s balut, you ask? Find yourself a fertilized chicken or duck egg and you’ll have a balut in your hand. That’s right. I said fertilized. The embryo inside is nearly developed before the egg is boiled and eaten - shell and all.

Image credit: Jon Young UK

Baluts are popular in Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Cambodia. They’re considered to be a healthy snack chocked full of protein and can be easily purchased from street vendors.

Deep-Fried Crickets

Image credit: Xose Castro

Crickets are another popular and tasty snack and are commonly eaten in Asian and African countries. A few companies have attempted to introduce the concept of eating insects to those of us in the West, but for some reason the trend just won’t catch on, despite the high protein content contained within these little guys.

Deep-Fried Cockroaches

Image credit: Spolster

See above and add these cockroaches to the list of things you may or may not want to try. All I can say is this - I don’t like finding them in my house and have absolutely no desire to find them on my dinner plate!

Roasted Guinea Pig

Image credit: 10b travelling

When I think of a guinea pig I think of the little critters my kids keep in glass cages at school. I do not imagine eating domesticated guinea pigs from Peru and Bolivia. Sadly, in these areas guinea pigs are easier to keep and care for and are a major food source.

Image credit: Jungle_Boy

They’re typically larger than the furry guys we keep as pets, but it appears as though size does not matter when it comes time to prepare dinner.

Silkworms

Image credit: Alxeandra Moss

In some Eastern countries silkworm kabobs top the menu. The silkworm was originally discovered about 5,000 years ago when one fell into the tea cup of a Chinese Empress. She discovered how wonderful it would be to use them to make silk and now silkworms no longer exist in the wild at all - they breed in factories.

Of course, there are way too many silkworms to be used for silk production alone so many of them are distributed for frying, boiling, seasoning, and eating. They’re squishy, bitter, and best left to those with strong or adventurous stomachs.

Scorpions

Image credit: jntolva

Apparently deep-fried scorpions are a hot commodity in Asian countries. Don’t worry, though. Their stingers and pincers are removed before they’re marinated and cooked. They can be roasted, baked, or fried as desired and are known to be a great source of protein, vitamins, and even fatty acids.

Sannakji

[Youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDAn5M4Fkzw]

Sannakji is a Korean delicacy made from live octopus. The poor little baby octopus are alive when they are diced and seasoned for your dining pleasure. If you don’t chew them well you’ll find they can still stick to your mouth and throat!

Deer Placenta Soup

Image credit: weirdmeat.com

Deer placenta is apparently very healthy for you - especially if you’re looking for a male enhancement supplement or want to clear up your skin. You could, of course, bypass the soup and buy the dried placenta in pill form. As a matter of fact, that seems a bit more palatable - regardless of how many vegetables you mix into the stew!

Image credit: Paul Mannix, Fraser Lewry, Indrani Soemardjan, Breathtaking Photos

Have you been thoroughly grossed out yet? If not, consider whether or not you’d like to eat fried tarantulas, lamb testicles, bee larvae, or spotted dick pudding (alright, so the last one just has a funny name).

Has anyone here ever tried any of these dishes? If so, what did you think? And if not, would you dare?

Posted in Food

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 11:15 am and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.