If you have a strong stomach, imagine Bizarre Foods and Fear Factor combined and you are sure to delve into the weirdest foods with the ick-factor. From coffee to insects, these are some of the world’s weirdest foods with deep cultural underpinnings.
1. Kopi Luwak
Would you try to drink the world's most expensive coffee, that has a cringe-worthy production chain? Kopi Luwak is a type of coffee 'produced' from a wild cat known as civet, found in the Philippines, Indonesia, China and Vietnam. It chomps the choicest coffee cherries, and excretes the undigested beans in chunks. Since it has gone through the cat’s digestive process, the coffee made from these beans are less acidic and has lower protein and caffeine. So would you like some of that umm…cat poop coffee?
2. Panda Dung Green Tea
Pandas are cute huggable giant living cotton balls that walk. They seem to play, sleep and eat bamboo all day. However, they absorb only about 30 per cent of the bamboo’s nutrients and the rest goes into the dung which is used to make green tea. Just so you know, it’s known to have anti-cancer effects.
3. Chicha Morada
This is a very common Peruvian drink made from purple corn or maize. Though the process now has been modernised, the fermentation in the past is quite intimate and personal... for want of a better word. Back in the day, and even today in some towns that follow the authentic Peruvian method, the corn would be chewed and moistened in the chicha maker’s mouth. The natural enzymes in saliva converts the starch in corn into sugar. And no, it doesn't sound any better no matter how many times you read it.
4. Yan Wo or bird’s nest
Mainly found in the Southeast Asian regions, Swiftlet’s nest, also known as “Yan Wo," can tear one's wallet. It is considered a precious tonic soup made from the dried gelatinous saliva nests of the birds called swiftlets.
5. Balut or Duck Embryo
It’s an egg with a developing embryo boiled alive and a reputation as one of the weirdest ethnic delicacies that is native to the Philippines. We don't even want to get into what you find inside. And bringing this delicacy into the UAE is banned at all airports.
6. Crispy Silkworms Kebob
A delicacy in Southeast Asia, edible silkworms are known to have bacon flavour when cooked with chilli tomato sauce, fried or in kebobs. Want to stop reading and walk away now? We are coming too!
7. Lamb’s Brains
Insert Plants vs Zombies music here. It's brain food. The texture feels like soft tofu in your mouth or like scrambled eggs. However, you’ll have to find a local to tell you where to chow on these brains. Brain masala's with paratha or chapati, anyone?
8. Fried Tarantula
This is a regional delicacy in Cambodia. Fried with sugar, MSG, salt, garlic and chillies. It's crispy on the outside. Yummy...?
9. Frogs
These are, again, common snacks in Southeast Asia. Fancy eating fried frogs? They come grilled and steamed too. Just close your eyes and they say it tastes like chicken. They’d remove the skin, season it with salt and other spices. The brave ones who do not want to waste all the nutritious protein found in frogs would eat the skin, the eyes and all. To be honest, frogs aren't all that uncommon for a well-travelled palate.
10. Camel meat
While it may sound weird, the camel meat is very popular among the locals in the Gulf region but are not available in groceries. You will have to visit specialised camel meat butchers’ shops who get the camel meat directly from farms and in local souqs for skinned camel heads with eyes wide open, ready for the pot. Intense!
