Many people love eating adventurously, and to such people, ordinary and commonly served food simply won’t cut it. Indeed, daring food enthusiasts travel the world to explore exotic dishes they could never source locally. Exotic cuisines may look weird and intimidating at first but often they’re considered staple delicacies served on a daily basis to locals. Listed below are 12 of the world’s weirdest foods.
1. Balut, Philippines
Balut looks like a regular egg at first glance but when you crack it open it becomes apparent that is definitely one of a kind. A common streetfood in the Philippines, balut is a developing duck embryo that is boiled and eaten in the shell which offers a juicy yet distinct taste as they are usually consumed a little seasoning of chili, garlic and vinegar.
2. Fried Spider, Cambodia
There has been a history of people eating insects as food from the likes of grasshoppers, cicada, ant eggs, locusts and more. At Cambodia however, fried spiders are served in deep fried garlic oil producing a crunchy yet gooey taste.
3. Scorpion, China
Speaking of weird insect food, China serves scorpion dishes in several varieties. Looking for a one of a kind kebab? You will find an abundance of scorpion kebabs that are grilled to perfection in the streets of Beijing.
4. Live Octopus, South Korea
If you live in the Orient, you are probably familiar with sushi and other raw delicacies that are served on a regular basis. That being said, eating a live octopus is perhaps something that you haven’t heard about. Sannakji consists of live small octopus that has been cut into small pieces and served fresh which is usually still squirming on the plate.
5. Nopal, Mexico
One will probably have a hard time trying to eat a cactus on your own with its prickly thorns covering most of its parts. Mexico has perfected the way of serving cactus dishes with Nopal as it is served as a type of salad.
6. Fugu, Japan
Putterfish is considered to be a deadly and poisonous making it dangerous for consumption. That being said, only professional chefs that have undergone years of training are allowed to serve Fugu making it a risky endeavor to take.
7. Frog Porridge, Singapore
For a weird dish, frog porridge looks really good as it is well prepared along with a variety of herbs and spices along with that distinct Cantonese style of cooking as it is well marinated and juicy.
8. Haggis, Scotland
Haggis is a mixture of sheep’s heart, liver and lungs along with onion, oatmeal, spices and salt, mixed with stock. Considered to be Scotland’s national dish, Haggis is a great source of iron and fibre.
9. Snake, Vietnam
You can’t make a list of weird and exotic foods without including the snake. Snakes are prepared in a variety of dishes but marinated fried snakes seem to be growing in popularity.
10. Escamoles, Mexico
At first glance, this dish may look like a regular salad though its ingredient is what makes it one of a kind. Escamoles is served with the edible larvae and pupae of ants.
11. Chicken Feet, East Asia
Chicken Feet is weird in a way that it is quite hard to trace its origins. A lot of countries serve this delicacy be it grilled or marinated in sauce.
12. Hakarl, Iceland
Also known as an Icelandic term for shark, Hakarl is hanged dry and is cut into strips and served though it gives off a strong smell and a fishy taste.
Have you eaten any of the above bizarre dishes? Or do you have a completely different example of the world’s weirdest cuisine that you can tell us about, or even include a photo that you’re happy for us to publish as part of this article? If so then feel free to jump on our HQ Facebook page and tell us about it!
