Many people believe that food and travelling go hand in hand. After all, trying out different cuisines from across the globe can be as eye opening an experience as it is mouthwatering! With this in mind, here are 10 of the most original dishes we’ve come across on our travels – try them if you dare!
1. Chicken feet – China
Served up at eateries throughout China, these gelatinous delicacies are popular with adults and children alike. They can be easily found throughout Chinese supermarkets, vacuum-packed and often seasoned with chili. The texture of feet is very different to the meaty parts of the chicken, and they have to be carefully nibbled around the bone when consumed.
2. Fertilised duck egg – Phillipines
Known locally as ‘Bayut’ this Asian delicacy consists of a duck embryo, boiled alive and eaten in the shell. A common street food snack, they are often served up with beer and seasoned with garlic, chilli and vinegar.
3. Mexican Caviar
Also called Escamoles, Mexican caviar is, to put it bluntly: the larvae of ants. Harvested from the roots of the Algave plants, the dish has a scrambled egg-like consistency and is described as having a nutty flavour. Will you give it a go on your next holiday in Mexico?
4. Casu Marzu (rotten cheese) – Italy
This traditional Sardinian cheese made from sheep’s milk is no ordinary cheese – unless you like your crackers with a side of insect larvae that is! Usually served with red wine, this maggot-filled cheese (often eaten while they are still wriggling) is believed to be an aphrodisiac.
5. Fried Tarrantulas – Cambodia
Arachnophobes beware. These fried, crunchy eight-legged delights are popular with both locals and tourists in Cambodia.
6. Khash – Middle East
Khash is a broth found in the Middle East and made from cow’s feet or sometimes cow’s head. In Iraq, the dish is made up of a sheep’s head, feet and stomach; all boiled slowly and served with dunked bread.
7. Kiviak – Greenland
A traditional Inuit hunter food, Kiviak is created from stuffing around five hundred birds into a seal which is then buried and left to ferment underground. Delicious!
8. Sannakji – Korea
This dish consists of octopus served raw – very raw. The live octopi are swiftly chopped into small pieces and seasoned with sesame oil and dished up still squirming on the plate!
9. Puffer fish, Japan
The deadly puffer fish, or fugu as it’s known locally, has the potential to be lethal, unless prepared properly. Filled to the brim with Tetrodotoxin – a potent poison with no known antidote, this Japanese delicacy is unsurprisingly one of the country’s most notorious dishes.
10. Wasp Crackers, Japan
Also originating in Japan, from Omachi, a village 120 miles northwest of Tokyo, these fiery crackers are filled with dried wasps. Known locally as ‘jibachi senbei’ this strange cheese accompaniment can be bought in packs of 20 in Japanese supermarkets for as little as a (sting-free) pound!
