I tell you clearly, if the sight of blood disgusts you or if you have a weak stomach you are not in the right place. On the contrary, if you want to discover the horrible dishes that Asians can eat then prepare yourself.
The images are not going to be all tender!
baby mouse wine (China and Korea)
Let’s start directly with a Chinese wine made from rice alcohol in which baby mice are immersed. The Chinese believe that this wine is a remedy for asthma and liver disease.
From the looks of it, I prefer to have a disease than to drink this wine.
It’s a good thing we don’t find baby mice in our French wines, even if it might stop the alcoholics.
Shirako (Japan)
Sometimes I wonder if all human beings are thinking the same way because I don’t see how eating bags of fish sperm is a good idea. Few dishes repulse me (I reassure you I wouldn’t eat any of the dishes on this list except insects maybe) but Asian dishes leave me perplexed.
Then when you see how the caviar is recovered it’s not much more appetizing.
Seahorses, starfish and scorpion skewers (China)
The Chinese have a gift for eating every living creature on this planet…
No, but really, how can they eat seahorses?
Scorpions can be so fresh that they still move, no comment. And then there are the starfish, I don’t think there is much food inside the shell but it disgusts me less than half live scorpions.
Do Chinese people eat dog? is a question some people ask. And indeed in some regions, not the majority, the Chinese eat certain breeds of dog.
But I find the images far too repugnant and I can’t see myself doing an article about dog meat.
So I’ll just make this little comment.
Dried lizards (Hong-Kong)
I don’t know if eating dry lizards makes you want to, but it’s a popular snack on the street and to be used in soups. They can also be marinated in alcohol and are reputed to have medicinal virtues against colds for example and many others.
Lizards have little taste and are especially crisp and crunchy.
Tamilok (Woodworm) (Philippines)
What appears to be a worm is a mollusc found inside mangrove rotting (mangrove is a marine swamp ecosystem). The physical aspect being a mix between a dead earthworm and baby snot does not necessarily give much envy!
This worm, not this mollusc, excuse me, tastes like oysters. As they say, those who look alike come together. Anyway, I like oysters but I don’t want to eat that!
Duck foetus (Philippines)
This is probably the dish that disgusts me the most!
The balut is an egg that contains an 18-day old bird fetus with feathers, beak and bones. And tell yourself that this foetus bites, yes it’s disgusting. How awful!
I’m not going to say any more about this dish and I think that’s enough for you too!
Centipede (China)
This article seems to be about China more than about Asia.
But it’s true that the Chinese eat anything and everything like pangolin for example…
Then we also had a bit of the Philippines but not to our great joy.
Something a little sweeter now (or maybe not), centipede skewers. Centipedes are fried and eaten as snacks. These skewers taste like dried spaghetti. I find this comparison weird because dry spaghetti doesn’t taste (from my personal experience) but if there are no other elements of comparison we’ll settle for that!
Fugu (Japan)
Fugu is a luxury fish in Japan, so you wonder why it is on this list?
Well, I’ll answer you. This fish is extremely deadly because it contains a poison 1200 times more deadly than cyanide. Chefs have to get a permit to cook Fugu, which is normal because the poison contained in this fish can kill thirty people in one go and there is no antidote to this poison.
Giant Tuna Eye (Japan)
You probably all know the famous Koh-Lanta test that many candidates dread, the tasting of insects and especially the fisheye.
In Japan, it is possible to find tuna eyes in supermarkets. I know it makes you dream. The eyes are very fat and surrounded by muscles. Horrible, really horrible…
Bonus
After bull’s testicles, fish sperm, here comes the yak’s penis.
There’s quite a bit of meat to eat and they say it’s good for the skin. Nothing but benefits.
Thank you for reading this article to the end!