10 strange foods that will make you squirm
You may consider yourself an adventurous eater, but in the end of the day there’s adventurous and there’s adventurous. Some parts of the world have strange food customs, and if you’ve tried any of the foods on this list we take our hat off to you!
From fried tarantula to wasp crackers, these are 10 of the oddest delicacies from around the world. You can view these strange dishes in the gallery above.
The images in the gallery correspond to the description below.
1. Fried Tarantula (Cambodia)
Definitely not one for any arachnophobes out there, but fried tarantula are considered quite the delicacy in Cambodia. These spiders are generally fried in oil with spices.
2. Guinea Pig (Peru)
As you may have guessed, these rodents are not pets in Peru. An Andean staple since pre-colonial times, guinea pig are cooked whole and sprinkled with garlic and salt.
3. Live Prawns (Thailand)
Well, seafood doesn’t get much fresher than this! Dancing shrimp or “goong ten” is a traditional dish in Northeast Thailand which is essentially a plate of live prawns.
4. Lamb Head (Morocco)
Lamb meat is popular in many parts of the world, and in Morocco not a piece gets wasted. Boiled in a large pots, practically everything in lamb heads is used but the eyeballs.
5. Ant Larvae (Mexico)
Otherwise known as “escamoles”, ant larvae has been around since Aztec times and are pan-fried in butter then served alone or in omelettes with tortillas and guacamole.
6. Baby Eels (Spain)
This traditional Basque dish has been around for centuries. While they’re called babies, these eels are actually a few years old and are considered an expensive delicacy.
7. Hákarl (Iceland)
Not for the faint of heart, hákarl is a traditional Icelandic cuisine where shark has been buried to ferment in its own fluids for a series of months, then hung up to dry.
8. Rocky Mountain Oysters (US)
The name may conjure up different images, but this favourite of the American West’s cowboys is nothing more than bull’s testicles that have been deep fried and seasoned.
9. Beondegi (Korea)
You’ve probably never felt compelled to try silkworm, but that’s exactly what Beondegi are. These insects are served boiled or steamed and lightly seasoned all over Korea.
10. Wasp Crackers (Japan)
If you’ve ever bemoaned the lack of wasp in your chocolate chip cookie, these cookies might just be the thing you’ve been waiting for!
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