One man's delicacy could be another man's disaster on a platter, and that's what brings me to foods that could scare a genuinely hungry soul. Cooked in the most primitive of ways, the entire point of these dishes seem sadistic. And that's an understatement.
1. Balut
Country of origin: Philippines
Sold as street food along the sidewalks of Manila, it is basically a fertilised and developing duck embryo that is boiled and then cracked open. Seasoned with garlic, chilli sauce and soy sauce, the albumen is often discarded for being too rubbery. The age of the egg before it can be cooked is a matter of local preference. In the Philippines, the ideal balut is 17 days old, at which point it is said to be balot sa puti ("wrapped in white"). The chick inside is not old enough to show its beak, feathers or claws, and the bones are undeveloped.
2. Feng Gan Ji
Country of Origin: China
Literally translated as 'wind dried chicken', this cooking method employs prison torture and creepy surgeries. Unconscious chickens have their intestines removed and replaced with a rich dose of herbs and spices. The stomach is sewed back up and the animals and hung upside down to die a slow and agonizing death.
3. Foie Gras
Country of origin: France
This element of haute cuisine is a delicacy worldwide. But the fatty liver of duck and goose is prepared in the most cruelest of ways. The ducklings and goslings live a life of comfort until they become healthy adults. That's when hell begins.
Force fed buttery mixtures of corn feed by hose-like contraptions, they are restricted to small spaces where they can easily move or get any kind of exercise. This causes their livers to expand by 6 times their normal size.
4. Unborn grilled lamb
Country of origin: South America
A pregnant goat is char-grilled on an open fire until golden brown. The cook then cuts open the mother goat's abdomen and pulls out the unborn lamb who's meat is soft and tender.
5. Ikizukuri
Country of origin: Japan
Literally translated as 'cooked alive', the preparation of this dish is much like how a bear hunts for salmon, but with a flair of Japanese sophistication. The chef catches hold of a squirming live fish, slices it into fillets while still leaving the head, gills and heart alive.
The diner can relish the fish gasping for air at the throes of death while pieces of its body lie neatly decorated like a jigsaw on the plate.
6. Ortolan
Country of origin: France
While eating pigeon, partridge and sparrow are common in some countries, rural Frenchmen have a fondness for a certain olive green and yellow bird called Ortolan. Blinded and fattened on a diet of figs, grapes and grains while still alive, the innocent songbird (maybe) is drowned in brandy or Armagnac. After a good soak, it is dry roasted.
Diners eat it feet first as this makes the head pop off. The highlight though, are the lungs of the bird, which when bitten releases sweet brandy into your soul. As part of all the fun, it is still eaten like it was in medieval times with napkins over the heads (and mouths) of the diners, as part of a belief of hiding one's gluttony from God.
7. Dojo Tofu
Country of origin: Japan
While blue cheese is injected with bacteria to create live cultures, the Japanese have a novel method of getting seafood into their tofu. Adding a slice of tofu along with some live baby eels or dojo loaches in a pan, boiling water is poured over. To escape the heat and the prospect of being boiled alive, the loaches make a beeline for the cool tofu. Water seeps into the tofu, it gets cooked and so do the loaches.
8. Chaprah
Country of origin: India
In three words: Red Ant Chutney. Eaten by the tribals of Chattisgarh, this is used as a condiment for traditional meals and is made of red ants and their eggs. After being dried out, the remains of the insects are mixed with spices and sweeteners.
9. Cobra Heart and Blood Wine
Country of origin: Vietnam
Let Met near Hanoi is known as the 'village of snakes'. Before a meal, diners are expected to sacrifice a snake and have its fresh entrails as part of the meal. The most preferred choice here: Cobra.
An agitated cobra is lured out of its cage and quickly sliced at its belly. While the snake handler offers fresh blood into the diners' rice wine, the beating heart of the serpent is scooped out and offered as an appetizer.
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Posted by: Fereshteh Jamshidi <fayjay81@yahoo.com>
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