Here's some of the stuff I've eaten that would make some people want to barf.
- Pakistani Cow Feet Stew (known as Pai in Pakistan). Hey, don't knock it till you try it, Cow Feet are high in protein and according to my dad who is a doctor, qualify to be on the South Beach Diet.
- Cow Brains (known as Bhaija or Maghaz in the Middle East). I remember my Grandmother preparing these on Eid once, she removed all the veins and cooked it with some onions, garlic, turmeric, and red pepper. I was squeamish at first, but then after I tried it, asked for seconds.
- Alligator Nuggets. I ate these while out on an audit in Denver, Colorado. I think the name of restaurant was Papa Does or something like that. Sorry to sound like a cliche, but alligator meat tastes just like chicken.
- Octopus sushi. To some this may not seem fear factorish enough, but to me, I couldn't believe I was eating octopus. I didn't like it though, I won't go back for seconds on this one.
The only dish I refused to eat, along with my siblings who didn't have enough fear factor to manage even Pai, was Cow Tongue. Yuck, that was the nastiest thing I ever saw. My mom tried to disguise it the next day by turning it into a rice pilau dish and told us it was mutton pilau but we were not fooled. I am never going to eat tongue. I draw the line at something that used to be able to taste food itself. I also draw the line at a dish called Kat a Kut. It's supposedly the stomach and intestines of a goat or cow chopped up and fried with lots of spices to cover up the fact your eating entrails. Nasty.
So now that I've outed myself as a freak, what fear factor "delicacies" have you tried?
6 comments:
I've tried #2, 3 and 4 from your list. Never been offered Pai, but a dear Chinese friend once brought pigs feet to a potluck. I didn't have the stomach for it.
I actually like Bhaija (brain) stir fried with lots of garlic. It has the consistency of fatty liver. Of course, I was in my teens then - when the body can process vast amounts of junk. If I try one now, I'm pretty sure I'd drop dead from a choked artery. Brain is mostly fat - specifically cholesterol.
Alligator DOES taste like chicken. I had some friend gator "tenders" in New Orleans once.
The weirdest meat I've had is Ostrich. It's red, dense and chewy. Didn't care for it too much.
One thing I refuse to eat is eyeballs. My food cannot stare back at me.
For a true food fear factor experience, I've been recommended the markets in Guangzhou (Canton). I had a little preview in Hong Kong, but never made it to the mainland.
ditto on the eyeballs Ameet, that would truly gross me out. Remember Raiders of the Lost Ark, that scene where Kate Capshaw passes out after seeing eyeballs in the soup? that would be my reaction too.
Okay - the grossest thing I've ever eaten was "Sea Cucumber" while I was in Japan. It was stir-fried in a sauce and when I tried to pick it up with chopsticks, it literally slid through them. It tasted like crap too...
ewww karmyn, it sounds like it might still been alive!
"Kat a Kut" sounds almost like Haggis. I'll eat Haggis but Cow Brains? No, don't think so.
As a child in Tennessee, my grandmother's brother-in-law used to bring us something called sous, I think that is the way it is spelled, anyway, it was really good and I always loved it--then I grew up and discovered it had another name: headcheese. Yes--it was brains. I haven't been able to eat any since.
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