Unusual Dishes

[MANICHAEAN]

The current thread on celebrity chef Jamie Oliver recently went off tangentally to consider; Keith Floyd, Gordan Ramsey & kangaroo tail soup. I take full responsibility.

But it raises the prospect of a new thread!

Lit Net comprises members from across the globe. What are some of the most unusual dishes you have come across, or which other countries' inhabitants might be reluctant to try?

Let me kick off:

1. France. Horse steak (Delicious).

2. Nigeria.
(a) Flying insects caught in the rainy season & then fried in honey (Good with a beer & makes a change from nuts & crisps)
(b) A dish called "suya" which is like a kebab, highly peppered. Normally beef & chicken, but on one occasion, dog.
(c) Bush rat. (I declined).

3. Philippines. "Balot". Half formed chick embryos in their shells that you swallow like oysters. (Declined)

4. Canada. Moose & buffalo meat. Delicious. Very lean. In fact no apparent fat.

5. China. I came across a recipe once for Chrysanthemum Soup. It started with Step One: Simmer a chicken for two hours. Step Two: Discard chicken!

6. Ireland.
(a) Pigs head soup. To die for!
(b) Not unusual if raised on it, but to other cultures: gizzards, stuffed hearts, cow leg, pigs trotters, tripe & onions.
(c) Soda bread.

7. UK.
Once again, unless brought up on it, many other countries might have difficulties with: mushy peas, faggots, bubble & sweak, scotch eggs and savaloys,

[OrphanPip]

Hmm, idk not too much weird.

It really does depend culturally. I've had foreigners remark that quiche was an odd dish, but that's just ridiculous.

The only thing I consume somewhat regularly that might seem odd to those not use to it is frog legs.

I've eaten seal before as well, which isn't something we normally eat in Montreal, but it was being done at a barbecue in solidarity of the Quebec fishermen in Gulf Saint-Laurent.

Also, we call them bison in Canada, not buffalo. I don't much care for Moose, or most game meat like Venison. I agree horse isn't half bad.

On the insect side I've had locust and meal worms cooked in a variety of ways, as well as encased in dark chocolate. I also once had rice crispy squares accented with beetle shells of some kind.

Although, I haven't had to leave Canada to get any of these things.

[MANICHAEAN]

One I forgot that I had once in Taiwan, "pigs blood cake"
Actually not as bad as it sounds, especially if you are familiar with UK "black pudding"
But the snack in question is comprised of rice & pigs blood served on a stick & eaten like one would ice cream.

[iamnobody]

forgive my ignorance, what is "bubble and sweak"

[MANICHAEAN]

After the traditional UK Sunday lunch, the remnants of the: meat, brussel sprouts, potatoes etc were served up Monday evening, mashed together & pan fried in a little dripping. Some HP brown sauce on top. When being cooked it was supposed to bubble & sweak. Hence the name.
Cheers
M.

[Silas Thorne]

Get a large glass of orange juice. Put a raw egg into it. Drink it down. A Taiwanese girl told me about doing this. Stir the egg in and you won't know it's there.

Oh, I've had Chicken Blood, and Ducks Blood Soup with Wontons in China. The blood congeals...chewy! :)

[OrphanPip]

Don't eat too many raw eggs though, it will cause a biotin deficiency, which is reversible but not very good for your health.

[Silas Thorne]

wow, didn't know that OrphanPip.Thanks! :) Now, thanks to Pip and the World Wide Web of Confusion, do. Have suffered from Pine Mouth from pinenuts though...not much fun!

[MANICHAEAN]

Never heard of that one Silas.
What are the symptoms?

[Silas Thorne]

food tastes bitter, for days!

[Propter W.]

Two years ago I went to a insect food exhibition, or something like that. It's the food of the future, you know. Anyway, I remember fried ants with rice and crickets with rice. There were also roasted locusts. And I also ate some live insects.

I also had horse, but that's not so unusual on the Continent. Of course I've tasted frog legs and snails too.

[katelbach]

It's Bubble and SQUEAK btw. Though i'd love to eat a 'sweak'. Sounds like some kind of beef candy.

Culinary delights in Britain include the CRISP BUTTY (sandwich whose primary filling is potato chips, often supplemented by a suspicious spreadable cheese product such as Dairylea) and the PIE BAP (a pie of the savoury ilk in a bread roll). These 2 foodstuffs constitute 85% of the working class British diet. 95% if you include POP.

Oh, i once tasted that rotted, urinated-on shark meat that they cut into cubes and serve up like frickin hors d'oeuvres in Iceland, in Iceland. Tastes like it sounds. I ate a sheepses eyeball on that trip too, which tasted like WATER! :sad:

[LitNetIsGreat]

Culinary delights in Britain include the CRISP BUTTY (sandwich whose primary filling is potato chips, often supplemented by a suspicious spreadable cheese product such as Dairylea) and the PIE BAP (a pie of the savoury ilk in a bread roll). These 2 foodstuffs constitute 85% of the working class British diet. 95% if you include POP.

:lol: Excellent, too true, include chips and that's 100% of the working class diet detailed - serve with a can of Carling, yuk...


Oh, i once tasted that rotted, urinated-on shark meat that they cut into cubes and serve up like frickin hors d'oeuvres in Iceland, in Iceland. Tastes like it sounds. I ate a sheepses eyeball on that trip too, which tasted like WATER! :sad:

No way, there's no way that I'd eat anything like that, not a chance - the same goes for insects.

[TheFifthElement]

Culinary delights in Britain include the CRISP BUTTY (sandwich whose primary filling is potato chips, often supplemented by a suspicious spreadable cheese product such as Dairylea) and the PIE BAP (a pie of the savoury ilk in a bread roll). These 2 foodstuffs constitute 85% of the working class British diet. 95% if you include POP.

That's just totally wrong. For a start it's slappy or a pie barm or pie butty or at a stretch a pie muffin. No true pie butty eater would refer to it as a 'bap'. Baps are what ladies have attached to their chests. You don't consume them with pie (well, not normally anyway).

(....blue touch paper lit. Sits back and waits for the bap v barm v muffin v bread roll (?!) v cob debate to begin.)

Secondly, since I know of no Southerner that has or would entertain eating a pie butty even though they're delicious, one wonders what the 'working class' Southerners eat, or perhaps there are simply none? Hmm, I smell cliche. For shame, lass. By 'eck ;)

Neither would Dairylea spread come within 5 miles of a crisp butty. That's just wrong. Totally wrong. And what are these 'potato chips' of which you speak? Chips are chips. Crisps are crisps. French fries are an abomination. Nuff said :D

[MANICHAEAN]

Meanwhile, back in the pie and mash shop.

[katelbach]

That's just totally wrong. For a start it's slappy or a pie barm or pie butty or at a stretch a pie muffin. No true pie butty eater would refer to it as a 'bap'. Baps are what ladies have attached to their chests. You don't consume them with pie (well, not normally anyway).

(....blue touch paper lit. Sits back and waits for the bap v barm v muffin v bread roll (?!) v cob debate to begin.)

Secondly, since I know of no Southerner that has or would entertain eating a pie butty even though they're delicious, one wonders what the 'working class' Southerners eat, or perhaps there are simply none? Hmm, I smell cliche. For shame, lass. By 'eck ;)

Neither would Dairylea spread come within 5 miles of a crisp butty. That's just wrong. Totally wrong. And what are these 'potato chips' of which you speak? Chips are chips. Crisps are crisps. French fries are an abomination. Nuff said :D

a) 'Barm' i will accept, as i use it interchangeably with bap. In fact no, i probably use it more often than bap so i stand (slightly) corrected on that point. However, i will not accept the use of language such as 'cob', 'muffin' or 'bread roll' to be associated with the pie barm/bap.

b) The translations are for the benefit of non-British forumites, although in principle i believe they should all be forced to use the word 'crisps', even when it's completely out of context e.g. "This year we holidayed CRISPS Switzerland."

c) It may surprise you, as it did me, that Southerners consume an enormous quantity of pies and pasties as well, including in its sandwiched form.

d) If you've never seen Dairylea on a crisp butty then you're clearly not the gourmand you profess to be. Or perhaps you just didn't grow up in Wigan.

e) Where are you from that you call a pie barm a 'slappy'? That's hideous.

[TheFifthElement]

a) 'Barm' i will accept, as i use it interchangeably with bap. In fact no, i probably use it more often than bap so i stand (slightly) corrected on that point. However, i will not accept the use of language such as 'cob', 'muffin' or 'bread roll' to be associated with the pie barm/bap.
Bap's just wrong. Cob more so and bread roll would be unforgivable. Muffin...well we may have to agree to disagree on that one ;)


b) The translations are for the benefit of non-British forumites, although in principle i believe they should all be forced to use the word 'crisps', even when it's completely out of context e.g. "This year we holidayed CRISPS Switzerland."
Crisps! That's a crispylicious plan!


c) It may surprise you, as it did me, that Southerners consume an enormous quantity of pies and pasties as well, including in its sandwiched form.
I've never met one that did. That being said, most of the Southerners I know do make considerable effort to point out how much posher they are than me. Maybe they're secret pie butty eaters. Must investigate.


d) If you've never seen Dairylea on a crisp butty then you're clearly not the gourmand you profess to be. Or perhaps you just didn't grow up in Wigan.
No, that's just wrong, though not as wrong as peanut butter and cheese which is one of my hubby's favourite butties (on an oven bottom muffin no less).

I will accept crisps on a cheese, egg & beetroot butty. That's nice :D


e) Where are you from that you call a pie barm a 'slappy'? That's hideous.
'slappy' is a Wigan term (scroll a lot): http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/s.htm

[katelbach]

though not as wrong as peanut butter and cheese which is one of my hubby's favourite butties (on an oven bottom muffin no less).

I will accept crisps on a cheese, egg & beetroot butty. That's nice :D

'slappy' is a Wigan term (scroll a lot): http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/s.htm

It really isn't. Don't know where they got that from.

Your creation sounds pretty good though! Tell me, would you be fond of marmite and cottage cheese on a crumpet perchance?

And, re: peanut butter, i concur once more. The most digusting thing i ever ate was one of those chocolates with peanut butter inside (Hershey's Kisses i think). I spat it out and scraped my tongue. It's also that terrible American chocolate that tastes like NOTHING WHATEVER!

[OrphanPip]

And, re: peanut butter, i concur once more. The most digusting thing i ever ate was one of those chocolates with peanut butter inside (Hershey's Kisses i think). I spat it out and scraped my tongue. It's also that terrible American chocolate that tastes like NOTHING WHATEVER!

Peanut butter goes great with chocolate, especially as a peanut butter cookie with chocolate chips. Peanut butter cheese cake is surprisingly good too.

[katelbach]

Peanut butter goes great with chocolate, especially as a peanut butter cookie with chocolate chips. Peanut butter cheese cake is surprisingly good too.

:out: I shall forever doubt your motivations, sir, despite your learned insight re: Okonkwo and chums.

[JuniperWoolf]

(c) Bush rat. (I declined).

Hmm... I'd eat rat. Especially bush rat, a rat that lives in the woods would be just as likely to be diseased as, say, a squirrel whereas in a city where they eat trash they might be kind of... toxic.


4. Canada. Moose & buffalo meat. Delicious. Very lean. In fact no apparent fat.

Other places think that's weird? They have deer and elk in other countries, do they eat them?

I once had dried blubber. It was gross to me, apparently it's "candy" to the natives though. They eat a lot of things that you'd never think to eat.

I eat dandelions and pineapple weed. That's kind of strange.

[OrphanPip]

I eat dandelions and pineapple weed. That's kind of strange.

Oh ya, I've had dandelions too. I think that's not that uncommon.

I don't know if the natives eat anything all that strange, not anymore strange than the French-Canadians at least. I have a feeling the French will eat anything as long as its expensive.

[TheFifthElement]

Tell me, would you be fond of marmite and cottage cheese on a crumpet perchance?
Never tried it. I went off cottage cheese the day I saw my daughter produce it from her own stomach. Never quite appealed after that.

Butter and marmite on a crumpet though. Yummee. Delicious.

Back on topic, I've had kangaroo, ostrich, shark, swordfish and alligator meat. They were all pretty good. And rabbit and pigeon which were once fairly standard meats in UK but becoming less so. When we holidayed once in Romania we ate sausages (or hamburgers or meatballs, they were all the same) made from jellied pigs ears and they were okay. Oh and I've had smoked eel which was nice though not jellied eels.

At a recent slap up dinner hosted by my employers I had bee pollen as part of my dessert. Weird and pointless.

[Helga]

Here on the ice there is a lot of haggis, or it's similar to it, blood, fat, liver and a few other intestines mashed together and stuffed into the sheep's stomach and sowed together. A sheep's head, eyes and tongue and all. liver, hearts and kidneys are popular too. there are probably a few more I can't remember...

[kiki1982]

In Belgium there are still a very few places where you can get stewed water rat...In the west of the country I believe. They call it 'water rabbit'. It used to be farely common until modern cookery came along...
It alegedly tastes like a cross between rabbit and chicken.
I don't think it would repell me...

As to elk and what-not, in Sweden Norway and I would imagine Finland they eat it. Not so strange. Why would you have your cows freeze to death if raindeer are happy?

[MarkBastable]

one wonders what the 'working class' Southerners eat, or perhaps there are simply none?

At one time I would have protested loudly and at some length that there are plenty of working class southerners, thank you, and I'm one of them.

Then I went to Burnley.

[dafydd manton]

And what was wrong with Rochdale?

[Scheherazade]

Kokoretsi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokoretsi).

Did not know what it was exactly when I first had it and by the time I found out, I was too hooked on to give up.