Weird Food

[Aedilred]

The pig pickin' sounds pretty awesome...though I'd be a little concerned about the unwashed gut organs cooking along with everything else?

I imagine that the pig has been dressed before cooking. You wouldn't cook a pig without removing the organs. I'd be surprised if you can even purchase a whole hog with its organs still in place, unless you're going to slaughter it yourself.

[Razade]

You've lived in China and eaten with the locals, then, have you? G'won with yerself, aye?

My wife is Chinese from the mainland, half-hatched eggs are a thing. By and large a disgusting thing in the eyes of many, but you can buy them in regular grocery stores and open markets if that's your bag. What I wonder, do you spit out the beak, is it even formed yet, and if you were to eat it, what would that do to your esophagus on the way down?

Been around enough to know most people mistake Balut for both chicken and for being from China to the point that I've heard most attribute it to both than the actual location.

Considering Filipinos are the ones saying they "miss" their adobo, it stands to reason that they are missing their adobo and not the "Spanish/Portugese version" When cooked in "the filipino sense" it is not a marinade, you do not marinate anything, you cook it all together in a pot. It's soy sauce, vinegar, a bay leaf and your meat of choice at its most basic, my family usually has it along with rice and/or pancit.

I've had the dish cooked by actual Filipino people, in Filipino homes. They marinated the meat overnight in the mixture. Most recipes you'll find online by anyone reputable (and authentic) will also tell you to marinade the meat. Even the Wikipedia article refers to it as a marinated meat dish. The word MEANS marinade.

Philippine Adobo (from Spanish adobar: "marinade," "sauce" or "seasoning") is a popular dish and cooking process in Philippine cuisine that involves meat, seafood, or vegetables marinated in vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic, which is browned in oil, and simmered in the marinade. It has sometimes been considered as the unofficial national dish in the Philippines.

That quote is from 1001 Best Hot and Spicy Recipes where the recipe tells you to let the dish....you guessed it...marinate overnight. I was also not correcting "those Filipino" people, I was correcting the person I quoted.

[Gnomvid]

Fermented Herring traditionally eaten with boiled potatoes and a Swedish flatbread called thin bread with veggies of choise, Yes I know being a northern Swede myself that may sound odd as just about all northern Swede's mouths water at the thought of fermented herring premiere, but I've just always been of the opinion that if something smells as rotten as that it probably shouldn't be eaten.
I don't particularly care if you tell me it's fairly bland and mostly just salty, if so why are you bothering to ferment the herring before eating it? surely it carries more taste if cooked fresh?
I dislike seafood in general due to it all tasting like seaweed to me and both fish and seaweed makes me gag, I can eat shrimp especially on pizza or shrimp salad with burgers and such, I don't mind fish if it's proper battered and literally swimming in tartar sauce (because that disguises the fishy taste).

[JeenLeen]

I've tried insects. I think grasshopper. It was okay except that its seasoning was just too intense. I could see it being good with better (or no) seasoning.
I think I'd have a bigger issue eating something like roaches, or I guess some bug I see as a pest or dirty (in my mental conception.) Stuff like grasshopper, crickets, ants--those seem, if not palatable, consumable. Maybe things like beetles, rolly-pollies, etc.
I think I'd find worms too gross (plus not being able to disassociate worms like earth worms with parasitic worms).

I think most of the "weird" foods I wouldn't eat involve things like those bird eggs (usually duck or chicken) with a mostly developed embryo in it.

I don't think I could even try something like that. I remember one scene from the movie It where they have eggs, and each egg popped open to reveal something gross or monstrous. I think one of them just hatched, or hatched with a not-ready-to-be-born chick in it. That was the one that grossed me out the most.

[Honest Tiefling]

[QUOTE=Winter_Wolf;21862519@2D8HP: I won't doubt that you didn't care for the authentic stuff, but bear in mind China is huge and even divvying it up by broad regional differences you're covering a lot of different styles of cooking. [/QUOTE]

I am going to say, I think if a Chinese place serves crab rangoon, fried rice and General Tso's chicken, it might not be authentic. I live near where he does, and those items aren't hard to find in most, if not all chinese places except the crab rangoon.

Apparently, Gnomvid is not alone...

[BWR]

Apparently, Gnomvid is not alone...

One Christmas my girlfriend's grandfather bought some surströmming. Sensibly, he was not allowed to open it indoors. The dog, initially excited at the sound of a can being opened, ran away when the smell hit. If something smells so bad even a dog won't touch it, I consider that a good sign that humans shouldn't touch it either.

[Oneris]

I am going to say, I think if a Chinese place serves crab rangoon, fried rice and General Tso's chicken, it might not be authentic. I live near where he does, and those items aren't hard to find in most, if not all chinese places except the crab rangoon.

Gah! Don't get me started on the abomination that is Crab Rangoon. It's a complete mess of flavors and textures working at cross purposes. The hardness of the wrapper completely masks the softness of the filling. The tastelessness of the filling can't overcome the oiliness of the wrapper. The crabmeat is insubstantial and far too subtle to make any sort of gustatory impact; the only sign it's even in there is from the dish name. It's of an awkward enough size so if you try to fit it all in one bite, the pointy shape combined with a wrapper fried too crisp viciously stabs at the roof of your mouth, and if you try to bite it into two, the brittleness completely shatters the whole thing into a mess of pieces. And on top of this complete disaster you pour all sorts of sickenly sweet sauce so why even have the filling and crab in the first place?!

Look at any other fried food and you'll find that the fried layer is of a sufficient thinness and crispness that it easily yields to the complimentary softness within, and it's the interior that comprises the majority of the dish. That's not the deal with the crab rangoon. The only way its ingredients could be justified in a single recipe is if it was fried wonton chips with the cream cheese crab concoction as the dip.

[Razade]

Gah! Don't get me started on the abomination that is Crab Rangoon. It's a complete mess of flavors and textures working at cross purposes. The hardness of the wrapper completely masks the softness of the filling. The tastelessness of the filling can't overcome the oiliness of the wrapper. The crabmeat is insubstantial and far too subtle to make any sort of gustatory impact; the only sign it's even in there is from the dish name. It's of an awkward enough size so if you try to fit it all in one bite, the pointy shape combined with a wrapper fried too crisp viciously stabs at the roof of your mouth, and if you try to bite it into two, the brittleness completely shatters the whole thing into a mess of pieces. And on top of this complete disaster you pour all sorts of sickenly sweet sauce so why even have the filling and crab in the first place?!

Look at any other fried food and you'll find that the fried layer is of a sufficient thinness and crispness that it easily yields to the complimentary softness within, and it's the interior that comprises the majority of the dish. That's not the deal with the crab rangoon. The only way its ingredients could be justified in a single recipe is if it was fried wonton chips with the cream cheese crab concoction as the dip.

I think you're just getting crappy crab rangoon personally. I've never had any of these problems.

[Kalmageddon]

Speaking of crabs, I got another weird food for you: moeche, a Venetian specialty. Basically, small crabs, caught during moulting, when their shell is soft, which are marinated in salted egg yolk and then deep fried whole. They are amazing but probably not for the easily grossed out.

[Razade]

Speaking of crabs, I got another weird food for you: moeche, a Venetian specialty. Basically, small crabs, caught during moulting, when their shell is soft, which are marinated in salted egg yolk and then deep fried whole. They are amazing but probably not for the easily grossed out.

You can find similar in what is generally called a "spider roll" in most American sushi locales. Soft shelled crab is some darn good stuff.

[Honest Tiefling]

Yes, but the spider rolls I've seen don't have the eyes still attached. In my general experience, legs are fine, but eyes are not for Americans.

[Razade]

Yes, but the spider rolls I've seen don't have the eyes still attached. In my general experience, legs are fine, but eyes are not for Americans.

Depends on where you go really. Been to places where that was certainly the case. My go too sushi place though, no filter like that.

[tomandtish]

Yes, but the spider rolls I've seen don't have the eyes still attached. In my general experience, legs are fine, but eyes are not for Americans.

Depends on where you go really. Been to places where that was certainly the case. My go too sushi place though, no filter like that.

Which brings up the great story of the very first time my wife had dinner with my parents. We went out to a great seafood place down in Seabrook, TX, and she ordered a crab plate. They bring it, and right on top is a complete fried soft-shell crab, eyes and all.

....She screams.

We still tease her about it.

I think you're just getting crappy crab rangoon personally. I've never had any of these problems.

Good crab rangoon, is really good. Bad crab rangoon is really bad. Of course, so many places make it with krab (the fake stuff).

[Heliomance]

I'd use chocolate truffles as a good example. While some popular chocolate truffles (e.g. Lindt) are simply chocolate candies, some are coated with a dark, bitter cocoa powder. That's part of the flavor, and I think a lot of people like that. But for some, myself included, it's off-putting, because (at least for me) the first thing I want to taste while eating a sweet is sweet. I don't mind tasting something in addition to that, such as salty or savory, but when my first taste of a sweet is bitter, it throws me.

Are you kidding? The cocoa-covered chocolate truffles are the best kind.

I think it's usually considered a flaw because most of the food we eat is not supposed to be bitter. If it is, something's gone seriously wrong with the cooking, or it's gone bad. That's a particular issue with vegetables, which I think might be another big part of why we tend to avoid bitter. Some of the foods that kids are famously averse to, like asparagus or brussels sprouts, can taste very bitter if they're not blanched. There are a lot of people who don't know that, and think they can just boil and serve them (if they even care to make them at all). So people remember that bitter aftertaste and don't want a repeat.

What? Boiling is absolutely all you need to do with brussels sprouts or asparagus. You need to be careful not to overcook them, but that's all. Serve with a bit of butter, maybe hollandaise sauce with the asparagus if you want to be fancy, and they're delicious.

[Kalmageddon]

One of my comfort foods is the following:
Steamed basmati rice with a side of scrambled eggs and canned tuna, all sprinkled with olive oil and "grana" cheese.
It just hit me that it's probably a fairly unusual combo and that a lot of people may find it very unappetizing but I swear it's so filling and good!

[Honest Tiefling]

What? Boiling is absolutely all you need to do with brussels sprouts or asparagus.

I actually recommend roasting brussel sprouts. So easy, and the results are very good.

One of my comfort foods is the following:
Steamed basmati rice with a side of scrambled eggs and canned tuna, all sprinkled with olive oil and "grana" cheese.
It just hit me that it's probably a fairly unusual combo and that a lot of people may find it very unappetizing but I swear it's so filling and good!

It does sound unappetizing, but then I remembered you mentioning a lot of Italian food. Is there a chance that YOUR canned tuna is different from the US variety? Some isn't bad, but some is...Reminiscent of cat food.

Foreigners, please remember not to buy generic American brands unless you know what you are doing. My husband found this out with some very questionable cookies and then wondered why they tasted like chalk...

[super dark33]

Dark greens are good with mayonaise, Aspargaus is the perfect plant form and needs not to be tampred with except basic cooking.

[8BitNinja]

Loco Moco is something I had once in Hawaii (does non mainland count?) Basically, it's rice, hamburger, and fried eggs covered in gravy

[Heliomance]

Dark greens are good with mayonaise, Aspargaus is the perfect plant form and needs not to be tampred with except basic cooking.

You should try it with hollandaise. Seriously, it's good.

[tantric]

Southern cooking has some hidden horrors. Formost, a quaint dish we call 'congealed salad'

Jell-O salad (also called gelatin salad, jelly salad, congealed salad, or molded salad) is a salad made with flavored gelatin, fruit, and sometimes grated carrots or more rarely, other vegetables. Other ingredients may include cottage cheese, cream cheese, marshmallows, nuts, or pretzels. These salads were popular in the 1960s. The "salad" theme continues in variants containing mayonnaise or salad dressing.

you know the 'weird food' show? buddy came face to face with one of these and flat refused. no joke

[Telonius]

That's not just a Southern thing. I'm from about as close to Canada as you can get, and my mom has a battered Betty Crocker book, probably from back in the 60s, that had a ton of recipes for those. Every once in a while she would break out one of those monstrosities for us.

[8BitNinja]

Fry Sauce is something popular here in the southwest. It's ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together. You're supposed to dip your french fries in it, but it's kind of weird.

[Aedilred]

Fry Sauce is something popular here in the southwest. It's ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together. You're supposed to dip your french fries in it, but it's kind of weird.

Isn't Thousand Island sauce basically ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together?

[Bohandas]

I hate authentic! Decades later, if anyone says something is "authentic", I say "no thanks".

Same thing here

[Razade]

Isn't Thousand Island sauce basically ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together?

Well, it has them both but it also needs pickles and onion and garlic.

[Crimsonshadow97]

Can't say it was because I moved but a few summers back I was bored and experimented with food mixing, specifically things that are never mixed.

Two I remember being decent were sugar cookies and tomato soup, and mac and cheese with syrup.
Not sure why, and I'm not sure why those were available at the same meal.

[kleon]

Can't say it was because I moved but a few summers back I was bored and experimented with food mixing, specifically things that are never mixed.

Two I remember being decent were sugar cookies and tomato soup, and mac and cheese with syrup.
Not sure why, and I'm not sure why those were available at the same meal.

Funny) And was that good?

I've tried a kind of jelly with meat, it was weird but tastes not so bad as I expected

[Heliomance]

Can't say it was because I moved but a few summers back I was bored and experimented with food mixing, specifically things that are never mixed.

Two I remember being decent were sugar cookies and tomato soup, and mac and cheese with syrup.
Not sure why, and I'm not sure why those were available at the same meal.

Bourbon biscuits work pretty well with hummus

[tantric]

sasami, NOT sashimi. raw chicken

[Honest Tiefling]

sasami, NOT sashimi. raw chicken

You're not the only one to find that wierd...



(Comic done by Eva Comics, and no, she is not Japanese but Singaporean)