“Weirdest” Things I’ve Eaten
I probably baseline eat a lot more food that people would consider weird. Asian ingredients tend to have that reputation. Basically anything fermented is going to repulse some percent of the population, and Asian people eat a lot of fermented foods.
Weird is pretty subjective. It always feel odd to hear people almost fetishize? -idk if that’s the right word, but like… glamorize? - eating things that I’ve considered normal my whole life. Like, you’re not cool and adventurous for venturing “all the way” to Chinatown and “discovering” all the “weird stuff” (that millions of people eat every day as staples). You don’t get to brag about that. Certainly not to a Chinese person’s face. That food is not weird to me. It’s my culture.
I’m not trying to brag either or do the same to other people’s cultures. But people ask me this question a lot for some reason. I always take it as “what foods have I eaten that you would consider weirdest.” And to be fair, some foods do seem to be more polarizing than others. Controversial, even to people where it originated.
So here is the list. “Weird” foods… but by whose standards?
Balut Eggs
Vietnam 2013 was the most eye-opening and life-changing food experience of my life, and thinking back, I don’t know if I would have taken a path toward cooking professionally had I not spent five weeks going to all the random corners and alleys of Saigon eating amazing food. Thank you to my friend Mary and her classmates, who took me everywhere on the backs of their motorbikes and watched with delight as I took bites of their favorite foods for the first time.
Out of everything, balut was certainly the most memorable. That night, I didn’t even know what I was eating. Mary just stopped at a place on the street side as usual and ordered whatever.
An egg arrived on a tiny stand, accompanied by a small plate of herbs, salt and pepper, and teeny Vietnamese Limes.
Mary then showed me how to ever so gently crack open the fatter end of the egg, dollop on a bit of the salt+pepper+lime mixture, and drink the intensely flavorful chicken broth in the cavity.
Then, I dug my way through the rest of the egg with a tiny spoon, seasoning it to my liking and chasing it with bites of herbs. There are all sorts of fun textures and flavors in there - rubbery egg whites, dried rubbery egg yolk, crunchy cartilage.
…I can see why it’s not for everyone. But I was hooked by such a delightfully transient eating experience. So I ordered another, and another, and another. I couldn’t get enough of this weird egg thing. The eggs must not have been very developed, and it wasn’t very obvious these were fertilized eggs without feathers and bones. It wasn’t until I went back to my room with wifi that I looked up what “hot vit lon” meant. I am still eager to try a more developed version.
Durian
Durians are a bit polarizing, so I guess they make the list. My first experience eating durian was a package from a supermarket in Nanjing. It was… very stinky. My aunt made me throw out the unfinished leftovers in a trash can several buildings away.
But it’s beloved by so many people that I spent almost 10 years continuously trying to understand why, always thinking that I just haven’t had it in its best form.
I’ve sought out durian experiences in various versions all over the world - frozen, ice cream, with sago, freshly cracked open, etc. While it’s undeniably creamy and sweet, the pungent odor always overwhelmed all of the positive qualities.
The first time I could truly understand the appeal was at a roadside stall in Singapore, when a durian had been cracked open just seconds prior to me eating it. It was the only time it didn't smell overwhelmingly of rotten garbage and/or onions and/or literal shit to me. Just creamy, sweet, with a hint of a bitter finish. That durian was truly a revelation. Unfortunately, an experience like that is hard to find, and I don’t find myself missing it or craving it.
Pig brain
Can’t believe no one took a picture of this dish from Immm, one from our favorite Thai restaurants in Chicago. A new item appeared on the menu on one of our trips back to town - steamed pig brain in banana leaf. Our friends weren’t ones to ever turn down a new eating adventure either, so the four of us ordered it out of sheer curiosity.
I truly do not remember how it tastes, not even a little. It was kind of mushy and not that flavorful? Not sure what I was expecting from brains though; I guess I’m always hoping for another eye-opening, transformative experience like the balut egg. This was a little underwhelming in that regard.
The most memorable part of the experience was the chef actually coming to see who on earth would actually order this dish that he only put on the menu to honor his grandmother (it was her recipe). Apparently, he didn’t even like eating it.
Brains have sort of become a group inside joke since that day. I’ve seen it on different menus a couple of times but am waiting for the whole group is together to try them.
Fried scorpion
If I didn’t take a pic of this one, what would have been the point?
Not much to tell here. Just a tourist in Beijing doing tourist things. This thing had been fried to a crisp. No flavor, just crisp. Entirely pointless except that I can now say I've eaten one. Woo.
Natto
When the topic of bizarre foods comes up, for some reason natto is always the one people ask me about. I tried it once at Santouka in Mitsuwa as a side to my ramen. It smelled like rotten garbage. I didn't mind the texture and the flavor was pretty neutral. Once again it’s the smell that gets me. I would probably try this again just to rule out the possibility I just had a bad version of it before.
I have never done one of these types of posts before. It’s not really what the blog was for. I wrote this months ago actually, after yet another iteration of the “weirdest foods” conversation. Mostly for that oddly specific rant in the intro - not based on (at the time) recent events at all!! But then again, this is such a repeatedly visited topic for me, so I figured why not just publish it after all.
Really hope I can visit more interesting places, open my eyes more, and keep challenging my personal idea of “weirdness.” Really hope this list is entirely different in a few years.