One of the best parts of travelling is not just seeing the world but getting a chance to taste it, too. From gourmet insects to animals you held dearly as a child, the menu for five of the most strange foods will astound – and perhaps entice – you.
You’ll want to be an adventurous foodie while you’re on holiday, but it’s also important approach your culinary quest with balance to avoid holiday illness. After taking the necessary precautions, grab your fork and take a trip around the world with these strange foods.
1. ‘Hot Brown’ sandwich in Louisville, United States. You’ll have to be Stateside to get a taste of one of the weirdest foods in North America, but you won’t find it in any metropolis like New York or Los Angeles. The Kentucky Derby, an annual horse racing event held in Louisville, has spawned more traditions off the track than on the track. One of them is the event’s signature sandwich, the ‘Hot Brown.’ The sandwich is open-faced, most often consisting of turkey and sliced bacon. Normal accoutrements, such as tomato and peppers, are commonplace on a Hot Brown, but what makes it a weird food is the Derby’s unique addition of canned peaches. This puts a new twist on combining sweet and savoury together in one dish.
2. Fried honey bees in Beijing, China.
Heading far east to the worlds most populated city, you’ll find more than a few strange delicacies. But one of the most consumed is deep-fried honey bees. Sweet and crunchy, this tasty little morsels are the best of the nest, and locals love them. Contrary to the perception of eating wild bees as a snack, they are actually a very simple food, often only seasoned with salt and pepper.
3. Horse sausage in Munich. Once you’ve been drinking beer every day for two weeks straight, things are destined to get a little crazy. If you show up at Oktoberfest in the Bavarian capital of Munich, you can treat yourself to the strangest variety of wurst–horse meat. Hugged in a slice of fresh bread, you’d hardly know the difference, but it’s best to have a few drinks before you head to this kind of food vendor.
4. Balut in the Philippines. There’s no dressing this one up. Balut is a duck egg cultivated until the embryo is all but developed, meaning that when you crack open the shell, a small animal awaits. The egg is boiled, and then consumed with a mix of spices such as chilli and garlic. And in other parts of Asia, it is served in a broth, or pan fried minus the shell.
5. Guinea Pig in Peru. These adorable little rodents may spark childhood memories of your first pet, which makes the favoured Peruvian dish even more startling. An authentic Andean cuisine, cuy is prepared and plated whole, which means that your lunch is staring back at you as you eat. If you’re brave enough to try this dish, forget the fork and knife. The tough skin and lack of meat means you’ll fare better eating with your hands.
Still not satisfied? Ah well, you can always fall back on conventional recipes, over 14 000 here.
It’s strange how living abroad for a while can change your tastes. Suddenly you find yourself loving dishes that your visiting friends think are absolutely revolting! Reading this article did remind me of the monkey brains scene from the Indiana Jones film though and the Balut very much crossed my line in the sand! Enjoyed to read about it though.