What Daring Animals/Foods Have You Eaten While Travelling?

[Formless Tao]

Hi All,

 

Amazing and not so amazing animals/foods I have tried on my travels thus far;

 

* Australia: Kangaroo, rabbit, jelly fish, birds nest soup and crocodile

 

* Cambodia: Tarantula

 

* Indonesia;: Frog, sea cucumber, snails and dog (stray)

 

I have a Vietnamese friend who said she ate rat and snake in Vietnam...

 

I'd love to hear what others have tried on their travels...

 

Peace,

 

FT

Edited November 23, 2013 by Formless Tao

[BaguaKicksAss]

Camel soup in morocco.

 

Pufferfish, at a local sushi place here. Also had live lobster sashimi... which was uhm, interesting, poor lobster .

 

Some really odd and interesting fish in albania, but I doubt that counts, although one of them apparently tastes so good the queen of england has flown over to her on a regular basis!

 

That's about it, unless of course one beleives the local rumors about the chinese restaurants here:

 

 

[Stosh]

Anonymous 'Meat on a stick' in manhattan

 

 

[BaguaKicksAss]

I got food poisoning while in Manhattan years ago, now you are making me wonder!

[Brian]

Nothing too exotic for me -- squirrel, rattlesnake,alligator, termites, etc.

[Stosh]

I have what often gets called a cast-iron stomach , but when I lived up thereabouts I got sick more often . I think its a combination of things , viruses , improper food handling and basic crowding issues, but then again you can have really great dining experiences up there. I wonder if Wo Hop is still in business? OH, AND KNISHES! :) BLUE CRABS SNAILS IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE oh my ! And I rather liked the sun dried squid for breakfast in Thailand.

Edited November 27, 2013 by Stosh

[h.uriahr]

Fried scorpion. Similar to stale peanuts.

[Marblehead]

I was told that I ate dog once during one of my tours in Korea. I never checked it out for truth, I just said, no, it was beef.

 

Edit to add:

 

Oh, yeah, fried alligator tail but that was right here close to where I live. And yes, it does taste a bit like fried chicken.

Edited November 27, 2013 by Marblehead

[BaguaKicksAss]

This thread makes me think perhaps I would like to learn the word "vegetarian" in a few different languages .

[Stosh]

This thread makes me think perhaps I would like to learn the word "vegetarian" in a few different languages .

Nah. BKA, we all survived , what new is there to turn you away? Gator snake buffalo snails dog squid bugs scorpion etc etc all can make for good eats prepared right . One of the most cherished food memories I have is one that many might find yuccky. Its called kishka , a blood sausage made with barley I believe. I was crazy about it as a kid better even than cold ravioli centers !

[BaguaKicksAss]

I was definitely joking about the "vegetarian" bit . Actually eating non of that would bother me. Though the whole monkey brains thing I might pass on if I were ever offered.

 

The blood sausage sounds good, closest I have come is hagis, and it is good.

[Nungali]

I knew I shouldn't have opened this thread

 

Okay the worst was not just goanna but the 'best bit' . a fat pocket from ... it ... cruncked like a prawn and released this oil that seeped in through my ... everything .... into my .... everything oh ! Bleeerrrrgh

 

WRONG! ... to the core of my being

 

 

... of course, back then I didn't realise I was a goanna myself ....

 

First of all the Kooris were a bit insulted as they saved the best bit for me .... I escaped that by saying I was having such a bad reaction ... maybe goanna is a totem

 

That changed things ... offering someone their totem to eat is probably one of the biggest insults ! They were apologetic and extra nice to me after that

 

.... until the business with the green stinging ants

Edited November 28, 2013 by Nungali

[h.uriahr]

Are bull nuts exotic? I've had those two/too lol! I eat my steak RARE but my nuts well done AHAHAHAHAHA

[Marblehead]

The blood sausage sounds good,

The Germans make a blood sausage that I tried but just didn't care for.

[Marblehead]

Are bull nuts exotic? I've had those two/too lol! I eat my steak RARE but my nuts well done AHAHAHAHAHA

Reminded me of Mountain Oysters. (I have never eaten any.)

[h.uriahr]

Reminded me of Mountain Oysters. (I have never eaten any.)

 

Needless to say but the Bull didn't get a Happy Ending....

[Marblehead]

Needless to say but the Bull didn't get a Happy Ending....

Reminded me again. Hehehe. There is a joke about bull balls served after the bull fights in Spain but I have forgotten most of the joke so I can't share it.

[Taomeow]

The title says animals/foods but everyone is focusing on animals?

 

So, animals -- don't know how exotic crawfish I caught with my own hands sounds, but I ate that, cooked in a bucket of beer. And ceviche of raw unidentified critters from the Amazon (the river, not the online market). And horse and bear baliks (raw cold-smoked prime cuts). And smoked omul, a rare, commercially unavailable fish from Lake Baikal (which may have been the best tasting thing I ever had.) I think that's it for animals.

 

I also ate two dozen varieties of Eastern European wild mushrooms, thousand-year-old eggs, cheese set on fire, ice cream set on fire (you splash pure ethyl acohol over it to accomplish this), a dozen varieties of edible wild plants (including some flowers), and aguaje, a rain forest fruit that tastes like grilled cheese. And a dozen varieties of wild forest berries.

 

But the most exotic thing I ever ate turned out to have been inedible. It was a cactus pear that looked like those I saw in supermarkets here, but this one was growing wild, and being an adventurous and somewhat reckless eater, I decided that I might as well take a bite, see what happens. Big mistake. It was a variety that proved to have ink-colored juice inside, which stained my teeth a deep purple that for a while seemed quite permanent, but the worst part was that it created a kind of tactile hallucination in the mouth and throat, that of having swallowed a large handful of cactus needles. This lasted for a couple of hours. If you ever see a cactus pear that looks like something you might want to sample -- don't. Otherwise, happy gastronomic exploration everyone!

[Marblehead]

So, animals -- don't know how exotic crawfish I caught with my own hands sounds, but I ate that,

Reminded me:

 

There is an annual Cajun Festival close to where I live and one particular year I was there and decided to get something to eat. Cajun Crawfish was my desire. I took my plate and sat down at a table.

 

Moments later two couples, all with Crawfish sit down and prepare to eat. One of the guys feels the need to tell the ladies how to eat Cajun Crawfish. He says you pick up the Crawfish and holding it tightly you break the head off and suck out the juices.

 

One of the ladies responds, "I'm not sucking anyones head!"

[BaguaKicksAss]

Not all that exotic, but it did seem like it the very first time I tried it, those deep fried shrimp heads you get with your sushi! Those are sooo good!

 

I have found that many people are not very adventurous when it comes to wild food. I have had people worried i was going to die after I picked a bunch of berries and ate them, and I even mean the times where they were berries I'd eaten my entire lives. Then there are mushrooms; I've had people refuse to eat things I have cooked with mushrooms I picked (obviously I wouldn't have picked them if I didn't know what they were!) Also the time that I was on a biology weekend field trip with my college. It was on a beach on a small island. So I harvested a bunch of different types of seaweed. Everyone thought that was pretty gross. I didn't tell anyone it had made it into my dish for the potluck dinner that night, until after they had all tried it and said they liked it <grin>.

 

Even sushi though, I had first tried it in 86, and it wasn't so well known back then. We only had one local sushi restaurant then. (now we have several hundred here). Everyone thought I was crazy and wouldn't try it!

 

I'm pretty much for trying anything that others haven't gotten sick from . Well OK accept perhaps those "prairie oysters" mentioned above...

[Marblehead]

Thing about being out in the wild and not being sure what is edible, watch the birds and other animals. Whatever they are eating is likely edible by humans.

 

I sometimes buy dried seaweed and use it as wrap for different kinds of rice dishes.

 

I have never learned about collecting mushrooms so I wouldn't do that myself.

[Stosh]

Exotic is a matter of perspective, is it not? I always figured the first folks to find a crawfish, pick one up , look it over , and stick it in their mouth .. had a good helping of mountain oysters.

[BaguaKicksAss]

Fun food experience, I'd been drinking some fancy imported juice that was my fave for a few years. Guanabana juice. They had a photo of the fruit on the cover. So there I am in Mexico and I come across a guanabana tree! I was pretty excited . I think my friend thought I was a little crazy lol. It was also fun running into a pomegranate tree over in Albania. My friend from there couldn't believe I didn't have those back home. I have to say I wouldn't mind finding a mangostein tree next...

 

Oh and olives right off the tree aren't very good ;(.

 

For mushrooms, I went out with friends who taught me how to identify them, and was also a member of a mycology club for a couple of years. It was fate I guess lol, my friends had wanted to set me up with this guy they knew... so they brought both of us on one of their weekly mushrooming trips, in the pouring rain! Got a giant bag of chantrelles and a few dates out of the deal lol. (don't most people usually set these sort of things up at movies or restaurants? :>) That was about 25 years ago, haven't gotten sick off of a mushroom yet. As an amusing aside all the mushroom clubs call their yearly potluck feast (best food ever!) the "survivor's banquet".

 

This thread..... makes my breakfast of mandarin oranges and almonds seem boring .

[BaguaKicksAss]

Reminded me again. Hehehe. There is a joke about bull balls served after the bull fights in Spain but I have forgotten most of the joke so I can't share it.

 

If I ever visit spain: http://www.happycow.net/europe/spain/ LOLOLOL

[Marblehead]

Well, okay. Hehehe. Just don't be running with the bulls.