Natto, durian, what else?

February 29, 2008 1:33 PM

What are some unusual/bizarre/gross foods that are suitable for vegetarians? Non-vegetarian examples include wriggling octopus, alligator, chocolate-covered ants and l'ortolan.

Lacto/ovo foods are fine.

I've been vegetarian for over half my life, but during my meat-munching childhood I loved trying weird foods for the sake of novelty. It would be fun to have similar food adventures, but taking a break from vegetarianism is something that I'm unwilling to do at this point.

posted by hyperfascinated to food & drink (47 comments total)

Beets in any form, but most especially pickled-- both in the eating and the aftermath.
posted by jamjam at 1:37 PM on February 29

Stinky cheeses?
posted by Soliloquy at 1:37 PM on February 29

A durian? An asian fruit that tastes like heaven (so they say) but smells like hell (and onions).
posted by crickets at 1:37 PM on February 29

Oh damn. Just noticed the title of the post, sorry.
posted by crickets at 1:37 PM on February 29

If you didn't grow up with it, okra can be pretty weird. Prickly on the outside, slimy on the inside... yum! If you don't feel like cooking it, buy a jar of pickled okra. Artichoke's an adventure, too.
posted by moonmilk at 1:40 PM on February 29

Birds nests? I believe they are created from the birds' saliva.
posted by Melismata at 1:40 PM on February 29

How about Century Egg? Looks totally gross and seems to be rather stinky as well.

Pickled eggs are delicious, btw.
posted by Sassyfras at 1:42 PM on February 29

*and pickled beets are delicious as well (which is what I really meant).
posted by Sassyfras at 1:42 PM on February 29

Corn smut.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 1:48 PM on February 29

I grew up with fermented tofu and love it, but many people who have never eaten it before describe it as one of those "weird" eating experiences. It has a very powerful, acquired taste similar to moldy cheeses. Look for it at an Asian grocery store; my favorite brand is Hwang Ryh Shiang(黄日香).

Kimchi is pretty mainstream these days, but there are still people who haven't tried it and find it a novelty. It's pretty delicious.
posted by pravit at 1:49 PM on February 29

Hen of the woods mushrooms look strange but taste delicious.

Crosnes look like tiny warped fingers but are crunchy and refreshing! More unusual vegetables.

Could you get your hands on some kuzukiri? It's a Japanese dessert noodle made from arrowroot.
posted by kathryn at 1:50 PM on February 29

Beat to the punch on Kim Chi. Maybe you should just work your way down this list?
posted by Gimpson at 1:52 PM on February 29

Bitter Melon.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 1:53 PM on February 29

Casu marzu (as long as you don't eat a maggot)
posted by mkb at 1:58 PM on February 29

I hear miracle fruit makes things taste pretty weird.
posted by Plug Dub In at 2:06 PM on February 29

mkb: Casu marzu (as long as you don't eat a maggot)

Oh my god... I haven't laughed this hard in a long time. From the Wikipedia article:

When disturbed, the larvae can jump for distances up to 15 cm (6 inches). ^{[citation needed]}

Yeah, I'd definitely want a citation on that. Hilarious image though.
posted by loiseau at 2:15 PM on February 29

Natto, would surely qualify. An acquired taste and smell.
posted by TryTheTilapia at 2:25 PM on February 29

The Wikipedia Fermented Food article might be a place to start. People tend to find ferments they didn't grow up with pretty damn exotic, and most of the options are lacto/ovo at least. (Steer clear of the salami and fish sauce, obviously...)

Don't forget the exotic drinks, either. There are lots of oddball soft drinks out there — Cel-Ray? Moxie? — and lots of odd liqueurs too.
posted by nebulawindphone at 2:30 PM on February 29

For ovo-lacto types, Morbier cheese has a layer of ashes in it. Mimolette and some other cheeses get their distinctive flavor from cheese mites.
posted by gimonca at 2:30 PM on February 29

You could buy some of those coffee beans which are eaten and pooped out by a civet before roasting! Kopi Luwak coffee is what you want, but I gather its ridiculously expensive.

P.S. If you do try it then please report back if it was worth the money :)
posted by Joh at 2:31 PM on February 29

For a more American take on things, poke salad can be a bit of an adventure if not cooked properly.
posted by gimonca at 2:39 PM on February 29

Anything made with mare's milk? (Kumis)
posted by Leon at 3:00 PM on February 29

Try Poi. Remember eating paste in kindergarten? It's like that but without the pleasant taste.
posted by hihowareyou at 3:03 PM on February 29 [2 favorites]

Sweets! At least a few types of Indian mithai that are made with milk and nuts also come decorated with an ultra thin layer of silver foil which you are indeed supposed to eat.

How familiar are you with Asian food in general? Have you already had bubble tea, or some of the more complicated Chinese and Vietnamese drinks made with various beans and puddings? Grass jelly drink? Mochi? Jalebis? I think a trip down the snack aisle of an asian food store would probably be interesting. Then there are all of the specialty ice creams - from garlic to rosemary. (Also, how does squid *ink* rate for a vegetarian? A good Italian restaurant might be able to serve you squid ink pasta...)
posted by synapse at 3:18 PM on February 29

kohlrabi.
posted by markovitch at 3:19 PM on February 29

Vegemite is typically considered to be quite an acquired taste.
posted by bunyip at 3:24 PM on February 29

Indian lime pickles ... I have one on my counter right now - it'll be ready to eat in about a month.

Random link to a recipe here.

I used a recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East Vegetarian Cooking.

It's pretty unique.
posted by gyusan at 3:26 PM on February 29 [1 favorite]

As other people have said Natto is so freaking nasty.
It is the _only_ thing as a vegetarian have not been able to eat when I ordered.
I tried to imagine it was the inside of snickers bars (the peanuts in caramel) but i couldn't even bring it into my mouth.

so nasty.
posted by bottlebrushtree at 3:44 PM on February 29

have your way with the asian 'mock' meats. i've seen mock: turkey bacon, chicken ham, escargot, tripe...
posted by markovitch at 4:30 PM on February 29

aloe chunks
belle waring on weird (the good, the bad) asian desserts
posted by LobsterMitten at 4:59 PM on February 29

What a great thread!

Casu marzu FTW, in my opinion--any time the culinary advice includes, "be careful not to eat a maggot," it's just gagworthy.

As for other suggestions: cloud ear fungus has a strange, jelly-like texture. Personally, I think it's quite tasty.

Dried bean curd stick (what an appealing name, I know) is made from the skin that forms on the top of boiling soy milk. I also think this is delicious, but when I was a kid, my brother and I called it "rubbery stuff." We meant that affectionately.

And finally, I have heard that Mongolian yak butter tea is quite the acquired taste.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 7:08 PM on February 29

Finger limes, black carrots, corn smut.
posted by mds35 at 8:13 PM on February 29

Ackee is a poisonous tropical fruit that is a ubiquitous dish in Jamaica and is eaten elsewhere in the Caribbean and Central America. I believe that it is illegal to import it into the United States.

Buah keluak is a poisonous "meat" from a seed that is relatively popular in Southeast Asia - especially in Malaysia and Singapore.

The leaves and roots of the rhubarb plant contain a lot of oxalic acid and the stem - the only edible part of the plant - is extremely bitter.

Flowers such as dandelions, chrysanthemums (there is a chrysanthemum tea sold in a can, but you can brew your own), violets, lavender, etc. make good additions to salads.

There are pleanty of other exotic sodas and teas that can be found in ethnic grocery stores...

Also, ever had hominy grits? You can probably by a commercial version in your local grocery store. (Well, you can here in the Deep South.)
posted by cinemafiend at 8:43 PM on February 29 [1 favorite]

umibudou, litteraly Sea Grape is a speciality of Okinawa it's an edible seaweed.
posted by SageLeVoid at 9:59 PM on February 29

Remembered another one: dogh (sounds like "doe") is a yogurt/cucumber drink from Afghanistan that is flavoured with mint and salt. I happen to like it, but I know other people whose first taste of dogh nearly caused them to vomit.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 10:17 PM on February 29

Salty yogurt drinks are common in Turkey too (packaged ones are a typical thing to grab and drink in a gas station convenience store), and you can get salty lassi s in Indian restaurants in the US. It's very weird at first but then nice.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:00 PM on February 29

The berries and berry juice of the açaí palm has been popular in Brazil for quite some time, and is becoming more popular in the States. A friend tried one of the Naked Juice smoothies that employed the juice, described the sensation of drinking it as "pointy", and promptly dubbed it "garbage juice".
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 12:38 AM on March 1

geitost. It's evaporated, caramelised goat's milk that tastes, well, terrible actually. Certainly unique.
posted by kjs4 at 12:45 AM on March 1 [1 favorite]

I know many people whose palates don't do well with the large number of yogurt-based foods that middle eastern cultures eat. Doogh/ayran/tahn/whatever you want to call it is one example. I grew up also eating a tahn-ish soup called tahnabour which had barley and spices in the warm, watered-down yogurt. Sadly, I crave it whenever I get sick, which is exactly when I don't want to make it.

My grandpa (who also liked to eat peanut-butter and red onion sandwiches) was overwhelmed with pride when my little sister, at the tender ago of three, voluntarily ate sukhtor madzoon, which as far as I know just is made by mixing garlic with yogurt.

Oh! This might be mainstream in some regions but not others, but definitely my friends fifteen years ago looked at me weirdly when I brought stuffed grape leaves in my lunch. And my Taiwanese boyfriend was definitely leery not over a year ago.

One of the few things I couldn't stomach as a vegetable was, for lack of knowledge of a more scientific term, slimy jicama. I don't know what kind of weirdo variety of jicama this is, but the creepy mucus just put me off. Which was bad, because my boyfriend's parents had just served it up to me with the understanding that I had claimed to like jicama. I thought they meant the crispy, dry jicama they serve in school lunches! I'm sure you can get it at Asian markets because that's where they got theirs. If you manage to get down more than a few bites, you are more badass than I am.
posted by crinklebat at 1:22 AM on March 1

Stinky tofu seems pretty gross. My wife just tried it while in Beijing and says it's awful, so it should be along the lines of what you're looking for. Apparently it has blue veins in it like blue cheese.
posted by louigi at 1:40 AM on March 1

Oh god, also, canned okra. Yack.

It looks like the "slimy jicama" I was subjected to may be a yam called nagaimo, whose slime was once used as sexual lubricant. Sounds right up your alley, even if it isn't what I had!
posted by crinklebat at 1:41 AM on March 1

I had never heard of l'ortolan and was driven to Google for further info, where this thread on the now-defunct* Google Answers popped up. (Totally SFW but not safe for those who like to avoid food porn or graphic descriptions of meat eating)

And I'm left with far more questions than answers. Did "Tryxie" go to Paris? Did she wear the mask? Did she and Bryan have the rendez-vous l'ortolan they were planning? Inquiring minds want to know!

Vive le AskMe!*
posted by pineapple at 3:23 AM on March 1

Bunyip beat me to the punch with the vegemite suggestion. Use it sparingly; it should be spread very thin, preferably on crackers or hot buttered toast. Also goes well as a sandwich filing with chopped celery and walnuts, though that may be outside your bordering-on-gross brief.
posted by Coaticass at 3:51 AM on March 1

Never underestimate the power of combining tastes.

Durian not enough? What about a yak-buttered durian/marmite sandwich with a kimchee puree and pickled egg side , served with a pureed okra/acai milkshake to wash it down. Followed by a natto sprinkled with a little geitost as a chaser.

If you have tasted at least three out of the ten ingredients listed above and don't feel a little nauseous upon contempating their terrible synergy, then you have a stronger constitution than I.
posted by lalochezia at 3:18 PM on March 1

Also, slightly offtopic, but no discussion of weird foods would be appropriate without mentioning lutefisk and what it is like to eat it. (Not veggie).
posted by lalochezia at 3:23 PM on March 1 [1 favorite]

YES! Seconding dogh/ayrun, it's really nice and refreshing. Also try durap if you ever get a chance; a lot of people don't really like dogh, but everyone likes durap; it's yogurt with shaved ice and sweet syrup.

Is tempeh still considered weird? You could try that.
posted by pravit at 9:02 PM on March 1

I once consumed a Japanese gummy candy that had a center of sweet syrupy soy-sauce. At the time it weirded me right the hell out, but I kind of want to revisit it now and see if I'd like it. The closest thing I've found mentioned online (with minimal searching) is mitarashi dango.
posted by dorothy humbird at 2:05 PM on May 16