What weird or exotic foods have you eaten?

[SWTXBelle]

. . . wish I was in Tijuana, eating bar-b-cued iguana.

[tinydancer]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

. . . wish I was in Tijuana, eating bar-b-cued iguana.

I'm on the Mexican radio
I'm on the Mexican whoa-oh radio


(I just couldn't help myself)

Originally Posted by epchick

Cow Stomach--in Menudo
Intestine--Tripe...or "tripas"
Pigs feet --another common occurance in Menudo. It gives it 'flavor' hoof and all
Tounge--DELICIOUS!! It's really popular here, so restaurants sell out of it quickly. When I can get a burrito or sandwich w/ lengua I feel like i'm in heaven!
Octopus--delicious with onions. I always like it when the suction cups stick to your tounge. lol.
Brain (i think it was cow)---my grandma used to make it. The thought of it still grosses me out. I never could stomach it.
Ox tail--not as bad as I though it was gonna be.
blood (cow's blood)--again, another thing my grandma used to cook (when she was alive). It's really good when fried with onions, tomato, garlic and a few other things. It has a special name, but i can't remember it at the moment.

Love love love Tripe. Mom makes Tripe Stew all the time and it's absolutely delish! Menudo's similar to a Filipino dish called sankutsar, I think. The intestines are my favorite part.

Speaking of intestines, I love em fried. Dip em in vinegar and chili pepper-water and mmmm. Same with fried cow ears.

Octopus is best when it's smoked. Although seasoned with soy sauce, onions, and sesame oil is great, too.

My all time favorite is yet another Filipino dish, dinuguan. Not sure of its spelling. It's pork sauteed in pig's blood, ground pepper, and bay leaves served over a mound of rice.

[catiebug]

Why am I suddenly not hungry anymore...

Originally Posted by OTW

Love love love Tripe. Mom makes Tripe Stew all the time and it's absolutely delish! Menudo's similar to a Filipino dish called sankutsar, I think. The intestines are my favorite part.

Speaking of intestines, I love em fried. Dip em in vinegar and chili pepper-water and mmmm. Same with fried cow ears.

Octopus is best when it's smoked. Although seasoned with soy sauce, onions, and sesame oil is great, too.

My all time favorite is yet another Filipino dish, dinuguan. Not sure of its spelling. It's pork sauteed in pig's blood, ground pepper, and bay leaves served over a mound of rice.

[PeppyGPhiB]

Caviar
Foie Gras
Pate
Octopus
Beef tartare
All kinds of sushi
Venison
Boar (a restaurant nearby has an awesome preparation!)
Truffle stuff
Squid
Seaweed
Kelp
Ortolan (had it in Paris when I was 12, and I was really upset when I read more about it afterward!)

[33girl]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Ortolan (had it in Paris when I was 12, and I was really upset when I read more about it afterward!)

Wow, that is upsetting. Yuck.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by PeppyGPhiB

Foie Gras

Have you ever had a partial lobe of this before? I am very fond of foie gras, but most places you just get a few thin slices or it is crammed into a terrine.

There is one fine restaurant I visit periodically where they serve a big chunk of an entire lobe in one course- and it is incredibly delicious, but I cannot look at it as I am cutting and eating it.

Served in so large a piece (8 ounces or so- enough saturated fat to last you a month), the very light cooking process means what you get is pretty much raw, and all the internal linings and fluids in there are more than I can stand to watch.

But very, very tasty...

[epchick]

Originally Posted by OTW

Love love love Tripe. Mom makes Tripe Stew all the time and it's absolutely delish! Menudo's similar to a Filipino dish called sankutsar, I think. The intestines are my favorite part.

Speaking of intestines, I love em fried. Dip em in vinegar and chili pepper-water and mmmm. Same with fried cow ears.

Octopus is best when it's smoked. Although seasoned with soy sauce, onions, and sesame oil is great, too.

My all time favorite is yet another Filipino dish, dinuguan. Not sure of its spelling. It's pork sauteed in pig's blood, ground pepper, and bay leaves served over a mound of rice.

I've always wanted to try Filipino food. That pork dish does sound pretty good.

I've never tried smoked octopus, at least I don't think so. I've eaten the little octopus (or squid, i dont remember right now) that they have at the local chinese restaurant. I might have to try smoked octopus one of these days.

Originally Posted by epchick

I've always wanted to try Filipino food. That pork dish does sound pretty good.

I've never tried smoked octopus, at least I don't think so. I've eaten the little octopus (or squid, i dont remember right now) that they have at the local chinese restaurant. I might have to try smoked octopus one of these days.

It really is. A lot of people are so disgusted by it, but I'd wager a guess that they've never had it. They just judge based on what their eyes see.

With such a large amount of ethnic foods here, it's kinda hard not to be exposed to the weird and exotic. Most of them aren't all that bad.

I will draw the line on balut and natto, though. I've had both and vowed never again.

[pbear19]

Originally Posted by OTW

I will draw the line on balut and natto, though. I've had both and vowed never again.

Oh, I forgot all about natto! I don't think it's that bad, I'd eat it again. But I'm a pescetarian, so there are a lot of things listed above that I won't eat, so it's only fair that I eat the weird/gross vegetable items.

[AznSAE]

Originally Posted by OTW

I will draw the line on balut and natto, though. I've had both and vowed never again.

i didnt know what balut was until i clicked on the link. turns out i have eaten it before. i just didnt know what it was called. i dont eat the chick though, just the yellow part.

i have tasted fried grasshoppers and fried june bugs before.

[FlaGirl07]

i feel like i'm reading a forum version of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmeran. Ew.

[Dionysus]

Does sheep milk count? I've eaten a few pesto dishes that had it as an ingredient.

[Senusret I]

Just looked up durian fruit..... EW it looks gross too!

[pbear19]

I'm tickled by the fact that the lists seem to be all animal foods (obvious exception Durian). There are a lot of really weird fruits and vegetables out there, but I guess they don't seem as exotic.

I haven't tried too much, probably the most 'exotic' would be
-tomatillos
-plantains
-jicama
-about every kind of leafy green and mushroom you can think of
-quinoa & bulger (neither of which are exotic, but not too many people eat them nonetheless)

On the animal end, I've had various kinds of
-sheep cheese
-every type of sushi under the sun (it feels like, although I'm sure there's something I haven't tried)
-escargot (which I don't think are exotic because I've had them too often)
-shrimp that are so tiny they don't get peeled and you eat them whole, eyes and all
-the grossest was a tapa in Spain that was some kind of pig item with the skin still on, with the hair still on the skin. That was hard to eat!