Extreme Cuisine & Strange Ingredients
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umsolopagas
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Headcheese? Raw fishy other parts? Chicken poo pipes? Heathens! On your knees, [Insert a prayer of your choice]. 
Some of these are really extreme. Tripe from herbivores is fine with me but I get a bit queasy with chicken at times when I remember way back, cleaning out a store and shaking out a an old rug. I saw things like groundnuts dropping out from a fold in the rug which turned out to be many tiny, hairless baby rats. Now, picture this, it is a rural homestead and there are lots of free range chicken roaming around. I watched horrified as one the chickens came sprinting from a distance and started gobbling up the little tiny foetus-like rats, WHOLE and KICKING!
A few days later my aunt comes on a visit. She has a heavy cold, wet cough but no hanky. At some point she hacks up this thick green sputum and, remember no hanky, spits it out on the ground which one chicken sees, dashes over and gobbles up. At this point if I was not dark complexioned I think my colour would have been grass-like. That put me off chicken for a while until I could console myself that any ingested substance goes through the digestive tract.
The most extreme cuisine I've had is termites (the winged kind that come out when it is raining), they are quite the delicacy in some communities in Kenya. The termites are collected, de-winged, soaked in salted water and then dry fried for a short time. It is an interesting sight to see people hovering round a termite mound in the rain with all manner of crockery.
A general rule for me is that anything with it's belly that close to the ground is not food, so I'm not a fan. I also have issues with termites. I once joined in the huddle around a mound and was offered a live termite with the usual "it is so good" claims. I popped the thing in my mouth but it was quicker and bit my tongue as soon as I closed my mouth.
Some of these are really extreme. Tripe from herbivores is fine with me but I get a bit queasy with chicken at times when I remember way back, cleaning out a store and shaking out a an old rug. I saw things like groundnuts dropping out from a fold in the rug which turned out to be many tiny, hairless baby rats. Now, picture this, it is a rural homestead and there are lots of free range chicken roaming around. I watched horrified as one the chickens came sprinting from a distance and started gobbling up the little tiny foetus-like rats, WHOLE and KICKING!
A few days later my aunt comes on a visit. She has a heavy cold, wet cough but no hanky. At some point she hacks up this thick green sputum and, remember no hanky, spits it out on the ground which one chicken sees, dashes over and gobbles up. At this point if I was not dark complexioned I think my colour would have been grass-like. That put me off chicken for a while until I could console myself that any ingested substance goes through the digestive tract.
The most extreme cuisine I've had is termites (the winged kind that come out when it is raining), they are quite the delicacy in some communities in Kenya. The termites are collected, de-winged, soaked in salted water and then dry fried for a short time. It is an interesting sight to see people hovering round a termite mound in the rain with all manner of crockery.
A general rule for me is that anything with it's belly that close to the ground is not food, so I'm not a fan. I also have issues with termites. I once joined in the huddle around a mound and was offered a live termite with the usual "it is so good" claims. I popped the thing in my mouth but it was quicker and bit my tongue as soon as I closed my mouth.
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umsolopagas
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- Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 6:22 pm
- Location: Right here with the silly penguin
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umsolopagas
- Scholar Adept
- Posts: 1308
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 6:22 pm
- Location: Right here with the silly penguin
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umsolopagas
- Scholar Adept
- Posts: 1308
- Joined: Mon May 05, 2008 6:22 pm
- Location: Right here with the silly penguin
Here are a few backlogged photos of some extreme dining dishes I've had over the past year or so ...
Vietnamese style Pig's Ears & Tongue
Authentic Polish Pork Headcheese in Natural Casing
Peruvian Beef Heart Skewers
Deep Fried Chopped Scorpionfish
Giant Clam and Whole Baby Octopus
Vietnamese style Pig's Ears & Tongue
Authentic Polish Pork Headcheese in Natural Casing
Peruvian Beef Heart Skewers
Deep Fried Chopped Scorpionfish
Giant Clam and Whole Baby Octopus
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MidasKnight
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Please do post some more!
As for the first ones, the names would elicit from me mostly Ewwws (scorpionfish???
), but just from the look of them, without knowing what they are, most of them look rather innocuous (could habe been Deep Fried Chopped Red Mullet, at first sight, and that would elicit "ooooh" from me) , except for the whole octopus babies.
Those are definitly Eeeeeeewwwwwwwwws!
As for the first ones, the names would elicit from me mostly Ewwws (scorpionfish???
), but just from the look of them, without knowing what they are, most of them look rather innocuous (could habe been Deep Fried Chopped Red Mullet, at first sight, and that would elicit "ooooh" from me) , except for the whole octopus babies.Those are definitly Eeeeeeewwwwwwwwws!
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
Nope, not mullet ... I assure you it was Scorpionfish, which is fish with poisonous quills in its fins. Chopping up the fish and flash frying it renders most of the spiny fins crispy & edible, and poison is rendered inert.
As for the flesh ... it tastes like red snapper (mild), so having something like this is all about the crunchy texture of the quill, and being able to say you did it. It's purely a novelty dish, not something you'd order from a menu.
I've had it twice in my life so far, and that's enough.
As for the flesh ... it tastes like red snapper (mild), so having something like this is all about the crunchy texture of the quill, and being able to say you did it. It's purely a novelty dish, not something you'd order from a menu.
I've had it twice in my life so far, and that's enough.
Oh, I never doubted you! It is just that from the photo itself, one would not have guessed it. Still a bit weird. What if the oil was not hot enough, and some poison remained?Brad wrote:Nope, not mullet ... I assure you it was Scorpionfish,
By the way, speaking of "russian roulette" food, did you ever try fugu?
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
That's why I included 3 specific steps when I make my own gravlax:KeE wrote:No need for Fugu to play russian food roulette. Just get a nice batch of Listeria marinated smoked salmon...
* Before applying the cure, I rinse the pristinely fresh & well trimmed fillet of salmon with water, wipe it dry, then moisten it with 80 proof Gin (alcohol) for a minute, then brush it generously with orange juice (acid) for another minute, before applying the cure (salt, sugar, herbs & spices).
* After curing it for 36-72 hrs (as desired), I rinse it well, pat it dry, then oil it generously, and air dry it overnight at 34F (which forms an osmotic seal called 'the pellicle" ... bacteria need water, and oil and/or dried fresh act as a barrier). I keep my fridge at 34F, rather than the 40F most people do, in order to further slow bacteria.
* I then wipe and re-oil the lox again, then vaccumseal and freeze it for a full week at -10F, to kill any remaining pathogens ... even if the freezing doesnt kill 100% of any pathogens still present, it prevents multiplication so that they cant reach the critical mass required to successfully infect you.
I found this old post by serendipity, looking for horse meat 
[quote="Brad"]Ok, I know I'm gonna get abused for this, but the story is too amusing not to tell ...
RED SNAPPER “SPAMâ€
[quote="Brad"]Ok, I know I'm gonna get abused for this, but the story is too amusing not to tell ...
RED SNAPPER “SPAMâ€
Last edited by voralfred on Sun Mar 08, 2009 11:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
Well, sardines are generally small to modest-sized. I've had them flash fried whole and intact, and you eat them entire, head, bones and all. For larger ones, I've done them on my grill - just gutted, then oiled and grilled whole, and then you eat them off the bone. I've also had them as sushi, in which they're filleted, deboned, and served raw. Canned sardines are a poor substitute for fresh, but I enjoy those too, and stock up whenever they go on sale. If you have recipes of any sort, I'd love to hear and try them.
As for the snapper sperm ... "extreme" is a very relative term. Here in the USA, male 'roe' of any sort is considered extreme, and you'd be hard pressed to find it anywhere, except in asian restaurants in asian communities. As for size, there's no comparison between a sardine and a cod. The roe sack for the latter was large ... similar to an english cucumber. I only had a lime sized portion if I recall, which was plenty.
As for the snapper sperm ... "extreme" is a very relative term. Here in the USA, male 'roe' of any sort is considered extreme, and you'd be hard pressed to find it anywhere, except in asian restaurants in asian communities. As for size, there's no comparison between a sardine and a cod. The roe sack for the latter was large ... similar to an english cucumber. I only had a lime sized portion if I recall, which was plenty.
But did you think it was "extreme"? The amount you ate probably did not taste different from, say, the collected sperms sacks of a hundred or so (male, in the right season) sardines? That would be a lot of work to collect (go through many hundreds of random sardines), granted, but would not disturb me.
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
We crossed posts. As I said above, "extreme" is a relative term, and varies from country to country and person to person. One person's extreme is another person's ho hum. Anyway, yes ... at the time, for me, it was extreme, and I posted it because I had little doubt that many fellow western readers of this thread would find it unusual as well.
And what about "horse tartare"?
How extreme would that go to your point of view.
My parents did not use to buy it when I was a child, and now it is much harder to find, and I am not particularly curious. But would you try that?
How extreme would that go to your point of view.
My parents did not use to buy it when I was a child, and now it is much harder to find, and I am not particularly curious. But would you try that?
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
Horse is good meat! Unfortunately, the tradition has waned considerably here in scandinavia, and it is rather rare to find cuts at your local butcher. I blame the pet-them-and-ride-them industry, because there is certainly no lack of horses as such... We just treat them as special waste after they have done their duty, and not as a food resource. (Or, to be more precise, most of the meat goes to fur farms, dog food and suchlike.)
It is written.
Re: Extreme Cuisine & Strange Ingredients
Better late than never ...
One of the staple condiments in my kitchen for at least 5 years now is 3 Crabs brand Thai Fish Sauce. Used in moderation, it's one of my main go-to seasonings for everything from soups, sauces, stir fry, fried rice, vegetables, mushrooms, you name it. Naturally high in glutamate (which is the key chemical component behind the japanese word "umami"), it's also a great flavor enhancer (again, used in moderation) for marinating beef prior to grilling. It's also a magical seasoning if paired with a touch of sugar, for brussel sprouts.
Anyway, what makes it unusual (and thus a candidate for this thread) ? Well, I imagine most westerners would raise an eyebrow at how it's made ... take LOTS of fresh raw whole anchovy fish, combine with salt, and let ferment outdoors in the hot tropical sun under a tin lid for 12 months, then decant off the resulting liquid, strain, filter, and it's ready to use.
http://importfood.com/how_fish_sauce_is_made.html
Anyway, I adore the stuff, and use several large bottles a year ... even though I don't dare tell my wife how it's made (under the sure knowledge that she'd be gobsmacked in horror).
One of the staple condiments in my kitchen for at least 5 years now is 3 Crabs brand Thai Fish Sauce. Used in moderation, it's one of my main go-to seasonings for everything from soups, sauces, stir fry, fried rice, vegetables, mushrooms, you name it. Naturally high in glutamate (which is the key chemical component behind the japanese word "umami"), it's also a great flavor enhancer (again, used in moderation) for marinating beef prior to grilling. It's also a magical seasoning if paired with a touch of sugar, for brussel sprouts.
Anyway, what makes it unusual (and thus a candidate for this thread) ? Well, I imagine most westerners would raise an eyebrow at how it's made ... take LOTS of fresh raw whole anchovy fish, combine with salt, and let ferment outdoors in the hot tropical sun under a tin lid for 12 months, then decant off the resulting liquid, strain, filter, and it's ready to use.
http://importfood.com/how_fish_sauce_is_made.html
Anyway, I adore the stuff, and use several large bottles a year ... even though I don't dare tell my wife how it's made (under the sure knowledge that she'd be gobsmacked in horror).
Re: Extreme Cuisine & Strange Ingredients
Two questions:
- you call it "Thai Fish Sauce" and your link, below, is to a Thai maker, but the bottle you show, on the top, has a large label "Viet Huong" and, above that, Nuoc Mam Nhi. In France, this ingrediant is usually called "Nuoc Mam" (without the "Nhi") and I have always been convinced it was vietnamese (to the point that, until you actually showed a bottle some time ago, I believed that the Thai thing was different, namely, not just raw fish that was mixed with salt and allowed to ferment in the tropical heat). Then I noticed that the top of the bottle was using the characteristic Vietnamese writing (based on the latin alphabet, but with all kind of bizarre accents, above and below the letters) but on the bottom there is indeed thai letters.
So my first question: does this particular brand come from Vietnam or Thailand?
- second question: doesn't your wife ever read your posts here? Don't you fear she'll find out how Nuoc Mam is made and not just throw away any amount that remains in your kitchen, but also any instrument, cutlery, plates, that ever came into contact with the stuff, including the dishwasher and the husband?
- you call it "Thai Fish Sauce" and your link, below, is to a Thai maker, but the bottle you show, on the top, has a large label "Viet Huong" and, above that, Nuoc Mam Nhi. In France, this ingrediant is usually called "Nuoc Mam" (without the "Nhi") and I have always been convinced it was vietnamese (to the point that, until you actually showed a bottle some time ago, I believed that the Thai thing was different, namely, not just raw fish that was mixed with salt and allowed to ferment in the tropical heat). Then I noticed that the top of the bottle was using the characteristic Vietnamese writing (based on the latin alphabet, but with all kind of bizarre accents, above and below the letters) but on the bottom there is indeed thai letters.
So my first question: does this particular brand come from Vietnam or Thailand?
- second question: doesn't your wife ever read your posts here? Don't you fear she'll find out how Nuoc Mam is made and not just throw away any amount that remains in your kitchen, but also any instrument, cutlery, plates, that ever came into contact with the stuff, including the dishwasher and the husband?
Human is as human does....Animals don't weep, Nine
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]
[i]LMB, The Labyrinth [/i]