Many world travelers are more than anxious to experience diverse cultures and take on challenging outdoor adventures; but will they take on the dare of tasting the world’s weirdest foods? From rotten eggs to tarantula snacks and staring fish eyes, here are a few of some of the world’s weirdest foods.
Cambodia
Tarantulas aren’t generally considered for the dinner table, but starving Cambodians under the rule of the Khmer Rouge created a snack considered tasty in Cambodia to this day. Crispy tarantulas are a deep-fried snack that resembles crab.
Philippines
Visitors to the Philippines may find a dish called Balut on the menu. It’s a fertilized duck egg with a developing embryo inside. It’s boiled alive and served with salt, chili, and vinegar.
Japan
Shirako is a Japanese dish with a sweet taste and custard-like texture. Shikaro translates into “white children.” In this dish, it refers to the sperm sacs of the puffer, anglerfish, or cod. The Japanese also make good use of the tuna fish. They boil or steam the eyeballs and season them with soy sauce or garlic.
Greenland
Every country has there traditional dishes. In Greenland, it’s Muktuk, an old Inuit dish of frozen whale skin and blubber. It’s served either raw or pickled. It’s said the skin tastes like hazelnuts.
Canada
Adventurous Canadians came up with a recipe for jellied moose nose. The noses are boiled with onions and spices, the hair is removed, and then they’re boiled again. The moose noses are then sliced and covered with a broth that sets and turns to jelly.
China
Someone from Ancient China is to thank for pidan, also know as hundred-year eggs. This dish is basically rotten eggs with a dark green yolk that smells of sulfur. They’re created by covering eggs with clay, salt, and ash for several months.
England
Sheppard’s pie, mince pie, or stargazey pie? The later is a pie served with the eyes of baked-in whole fish heads gazing out of it. Originating from the Cornish village of Mousehole, it’s backed up with a legend that claims a sixteenth-century sailor rode the seas in high storms and came back with a big catch to feed the starving townspeople.
Weird Foods Around the World
