Comments on: Natto, durian, what else?

Question: Natto, durian, what else?

hyperfascinated — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:33:12 -0800

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.

By: jamjam

jamjam — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:37:08 -0800

Beets in any form, but most especially pickled-- both in the eating and the aftermath.

By: Soliloquy

Soliloquy — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:37:20 -0800

Stinky cheeses?

By: crickets

crickets — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:37:35 -0800

A durian? An asian fruit that tastes like heaven (so they say) but smells like hell (and onions).

By: crickets

crickets — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:37:48 -0800

Oh damn. Just noticed the title of the post, sorry.

By: moonmilk

moonmilk — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:40:06 -0800

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.

By: Melismata

Melismata — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:40:31 -0800

Birds nests? I believe they are created from the birds' saliva.

By: Sassyfras

Sassyfras — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:42:05 -0800

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

Pickled eggs are delicious, btw.

By: Sassyfras

Sassyfras — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:42:28 -0800

*and pickled beets are delicious as well (which is what I really meant).

By: Cat Pie Hurts

Cat Pie Hurts — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:48:54 -0800

Corn smut.

By: pravit

pravit — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:49:11 -0800

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.

By: kathryn

kathryn — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:50:42 -0800

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.

By: Gimpson

Gimpson — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:52:31 -0800

Beat to the punch on Kim Chi. Maybe you should just work your way down this list?

By: kuujjuarapik

kuujjuarapik — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:53:52 -0800

Bitter Melon.

By: mkb

mkb — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:58:02 -0800

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

By: Plug Dub In

Plug Dub In — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:06:16 -0800

I hear miracle fruit makes things taste pretty weird.

By: loiseau

loiseau — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:15:31 -0800

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.

By: TryTheTilapia

TryTheTilapia — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:25:01 -0800

Natto, would surely qualify. An acquired taste and smell.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:30:12 -0800

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.

By: gimonca

gimonca — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:30:39 -0800

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.

By: Joh

Joh — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:31:15 -0800

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 :)

By: gimonca

gimonca — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:39:24 -0800

For a more American take on things, poke salad can be a bit of an adventure if not cooked properly.

By: Leon

Leon — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:00:09 -0800

Anything made with mare's milk? (Kumis)

By: hihowareyou

hihowareyou — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:03:41 -0800

Try Poi. Remember eating paste in kindergarten? It's like that but without the pleasant taste.

By: synapse

synapse — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:18:55 -0800

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...)

By: markovitch

markovitch — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:19:43 -0800

kohlrabi.

By: bunyip

bunyip — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:24:46 -0800

Vegemite is typically considered to be quite an acquired taste.

By: gyusan

gyusan — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:26:30 -0800

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.

By: bottlebrushtree

bottlebrushtree — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:44:55 -0800

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.

By: markovitch

markovitch — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:30:49 -0800

have your way with the asian 'mock' meats. i've seen mock: turkey bacon, chicken ham, escargot, tripe...

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:59:14 -0800

aloe chunks
belle waring on weird (the good, the bad) asian desserts

By: hurdy gurdy girl

hurdy gurdy girl — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 19:08:06 -0800

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.

By: mds35

mds35 — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:13:36 -0800

Finger limes, black carrots, corn smut.

By: cinemafiend

cinemafiend — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 20:43:10 -0800

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.)

By: SageLeVoid

SageLeVoid — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:59:15 -0800

umibudou, litteraly Sea Grape is a speciality of Okinawa it's an edible seaweed.

By: hurdy gurdy girl

hurdy gurdy girl — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 22:17:43 -0800

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.

By: LobsterMitten

LobsterMitten — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 23:00:39 -0800

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.

By: the luke parker fiasco

the luke parker fiasco — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:38:06 -0800

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".

By: kjs4

kjs4 — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:45:09 -0800

geitost. It's evaporated, caramelised goat's milk that tastes, well, terrible actually. Certainly unique.

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:22:09 -0800

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.

By: louigi

louigi — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:40:06 -0800

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.

By: crinklebat

crinklebat — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 01:41:30 -0800

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!

By: pineapple

pineapple — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 03:23:05 -0800

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!*

By: Coaticass

Coaticass — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 03:51:03 -0800

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.

By: lalochezia

lalochezia — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:18:53 -0800

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.

By: lalochezia

lalochezia — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:23:22 -0800

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).

By: pravit

pravit — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 21:02:53 -0800

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.

By: dorothy humbird

dorothy humbird — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:05:39 -0800

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.