Have you ever tried the horrifying food that makes you gasp? These 6 dishes that we introduce to you today will shock you.
1. Raw Fresh Blood Soup (Tiet Canh)
Fresh Blood Soup or in Viet Nam, called Tiet Canh, is a dish made with the raw blood of ducks, geese, or sometimes swine, fish sauce, meat, topped with peanuts, and herbs (Vietnamese coriander and mint).
The finished dish should be kept cool in the refrigerator for the blood to solidify. It’s a favorite dish of local people in Northern Vietnamese because of its delicious flavor. However, from its red hot appearance, it can be intimidating to some with the fear of bacteria infection.
2. Bat soup
Bat soup is a Palau delicacy made with small fruit bats that reside in forested areas on the top of trees. The processed bats are boiled in water before being cooked with ginger, coconut milk, vegetables, and a variety of other spices depending on one’s preferences.
It is said to have the effect of curing diseases related to the respiratory system and is good for your eyes. Fruit bat soup has historically been the staple of the locals’ diet in Koror, Palau but you can only find it in some local restaurants now.
3. Guizhou Dong “Cow Dung” Hot Pot
By just hearing the name of this dish, you may think this dish is inedible. Despite its name, it is not really a hot pot cooked with cow dung. It is also known as “Niu Yi Hot Pot” or Hundred Herbs Soup, a specialty of Southeast Guizhou, and the most authentic one can only be eaten here. The cow dung actually refers to a special beef intestine made by the Dong people of Guizhou.
The cow is fed with high-quality grass and herbal medicine the night before slaughter and then the broth is made with beef intestine, salt, spices, and pepper. This hot pot is a seasonal delicacy that is only available during the Spring Festival. Despite its unique appearance, it has the effect of invigorating the stomach and helping digestion.
4. Surstromming
Surstromming is a fermented Baltic herring and a traditional Northern Swedish dish. This dish is known to have one of the smelliest and worst tasting food in the world. It can make you sick from the smell because of the 6 months of its fermentation process. Despite its strong smell, Swedes still love and use it to make different dishes for their meal.
5. Casu Marzu (Maggot Cheese)
Casu Marzu, also known as Maggot Cheese or Rotten Cheese, is a cheese made in Sardinia, Italy. They have a rather peculiar way of making this cheese because they have maggots in the process of fermentation. The cheese is also illegal to sell and consume this cheese due to health risks. So it is served at special occasions such as weddings, birthdays, and bachelor parties in Sardinia.
6. Balut
Balut is common street food in Asian countries, especially in the Philippines and Vietnam. It is a fertilized egg that gets incubated for two or three weeks. There are some different ways of cooking this egg but the most popular one is boiling.
In Vietnam, fertilized duck egg is a favorite light meal, beer food, and nutritious food for pregnant, children, and elderly people. It contains vitamin C and beta carotene, both of which are powerful antioxidants that help clean free radicals from your bloodstream and support your immune system.