10 most Unusual Cuisines Around the World
There are some popular cuisines across the world, which have already become a part of our daily lives; but there are still some more, which are rarely tried but can melt your taste buds. Do not be in awe when we say, “yes it exists”, because these are truly unusual, and one would think twice before they try.
1. Chicken’s Feet
This dish is a popular food in East Asia, Caribbean, South America, and South Africa and can be extremely delicious when it prepared with right ingredients and seasoning. It brings out the flavour rather well with all ingredients are mixed in right proportion, but the bones can really bother if one has no idea how to eat this dish. It is prepared mostly out of skin and can be gelatinous in texture.
2. Haggis
Prepared with sheep’s heart, liver, and lungs, this is a popular dish in Scotland. All these three are minced and mixed with onions, oatmeal, suet, seasoned with salt and spices and cooked inside the animal’s stomach. The description might not sound appealing, but you would not know until you try that this dish might just be your favourite too and
3. Khash
Khash is a popular dish in the Middle East, Europe, and Turkey. It is made from stewed cows’ feet and head, which was mainly considered as a staple food for the winter season. But now it has become more common and people do not mind trying it often.
4. Tuna Eyeballs
This is a very popular cuisine in Japan. It tastes like squid or octopus. It has no taste until you boil it and prepare it with right seasoning, and ingredients. It mainly takes the flavour of the spices used to bring out the taste you desire. This is so common that it is sold out in Japan stores in less than a dollar.
5. Black Pudding (Blood Sausage)
It is popular and widely available in African, American, Asian, and European cities. This dish is mainly prepared with congealed blood and various natural flavourings, thickening agents like suet and breadcrumbs and stuffed into a sausage skin. The very thought could be disturbing, but considering the places where it is served, I have a reason to ask, “is it really unusual?”
6. Spam
This famous mystery meat is a staple food in the cities of the United States. Spam is said to be made from chopped pork shoulder meat, ham, and potato starch. But you would not now until you try. The taste might just knock you off your feet.
7. Hákarl
A popular cuisine in Iceland is Hákarl, which is a rotting carcass of a Greenland shark. It is one of the most tedious and prolonged tasks to get this dish ready for serving. Since the sharks usually carry poisonous internal fluid to help them survive in the cold water, the dead shark is buried underground in a shallow pit and pressed with stones so that the deadly fluid can be drained out making the meat safe to eat.
After removing it out from the shallow pit it is then hung out to dry. It is usually cut in pieces and served and has a strong smell which is hard to swallow. Would you take a chance?
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8. Surstromming
Found commonly in Sweden, Baltic Sea, this herring is fermented with enough salt that helps to prevent it from rotting. Nicely packed in a tin container, dipped in brine, this is sold in Sweden shops. But be mindful of eating this outside as it releases pungent smell the moment the lid is removed. You may be okay with that but what about the people around you specially if they are not Swedish?
9. Jing Leed (Grasshoppers)
Jing Leed is a common dish in Thailand. It is a big old grasshopper seasoned with salt, pepper power and chilli and fried in a big wok. It otherwise tastes a little like hollow popcorn skin, except when you bite on it a little juice squirt out. Go ahead and try you might just like it.
10. Wasp Crackers
Wasp Cracker is a biscuit filled with wasps and quite popular in Japan. The biscuit contains the digger wasp, and the tastes stings. If only you can try it and do not mind shallowing insects, this could just be the kind of dish you might like.
Picking up 10 from the pool of unusual dishes was a tough choice. There are innumerable and the list keeps growing.
