Euroasia: Language, Culture and Travel

How many of you have tried pig’s blood cake? Or Durian? These delicacies are on VirtualTourist.com’s list of the Top 10 Most Unusual Foods in the World. In this Reuters report, they have explicitly stated that “Reuters has not endorsed this list”. Hmm… I suppose they don’t want to be seen as recommending the consumption of these foods…

Here’s the list:

1. Pig’s Blood Cake; Taiwan.

Also known as Ti-hoeh-koe, Pig’s blood cake is made of pork blood and sticky rice. steamed for a snack. You dip pig’s blood cake with a layer of peanut powder and spread some cilantro/coriander.  Apparently, the aroma of the chewy rice cake makes everyone’s mouth water. In case you were wondering, yes, the pig’s blood is literally that.

2. Live Octopus; South Korea – If anything this is fresher than the usual calamari so I don’t think I have huge issues with eating this. I wonder how long they stay alive after you cut them up.

3. Grasshopper; Uganda

4. Pigeon; France – yummy, but don’t think you can order this in a New Zealand restaurant.

5. Durian; Malaysia – my favourite fruit from my home country; I can never have enough of this. Just looking at the picture makes me drool…

6. Lutefisk; Norway – Marinated in lye, this gummy fish takes days to prepare and is described as one of the most vile-tasting foodstuffs ever created.

7. Grubs; Australia – These white, high-in-protein snacks are actually the larvae of moths and an important insect food of the desert, once a staple in the diets of some Aborigines.

8. Snake Wine; Vietnam

9. Donkey; Italy

10. Ostrich; South Africa – what so unusual about this? If ostrich meat is on this list, surely crocodile meat and kangaroo meat should be too…