Food

FOOD Taste if you dare

Eight of the world’s must-try delicacies will take you out of your comfort zone—and into a new culinary adventure. By Darius Amos

To truly experience a different culture is to eat like the locals, and that can involve a larger leap than, say, a New Yorker braving a Chicago deep-dish pizza. Sometimes the cherished treats of another land sound to us—let’s face it—gross. Rotting shark in Greenland, fertilized duck embryo in the Philippines—just the thought of these tastes and textures may make us uncomfortable, but in their home countries they’re favorites. On these pages are a kind of United Nations of acquired tastes, eight dishes from around the world (some more daring than others) that cosmopolitan folk ought not to denounce without trying. Anthony Bourdain would be proud.

ESCARGOT, FRANCE.

The briny taste of scallops is difficult for many diners to pass up, and most will happily pull mussels from their shell and slurp oysters topped with a little horseradish or cocktail sauce for a delicious appetizer. But what is it about a snail, another shell-toting-animal-slash-French delicacy, that makes some people squirm? The three main species of snails—the garden snail, the land snail and the Burgundy snail—are part of the mollusca phylum, like scallops and oysters. In preparation, snails are often removed from their shells, dried, cooked in a broth, then placed back into their shells and slathered in something tasty (garlic butter, for instance). So why are people turned off? Molluscophobia, the fear of small and slimy creatures, drives some of the disdain, as does the at first unfamiliar texture. But if you can remember that escargot is meaty like a clam or shrimp and takes on the flavor of the broth or sauce in which it’s cooked, you won’t have a problem eating one.

ANGULA, SPAIN.

When dressed with chili peppers, herbs and olive oil, a serving of angulas may look like your favorite pasta or noodle dish. Oh, how looks can be deceiving! Angulas are baby Atlantic eels, and they’re among the most popular seafood delicacies in Spain. They’re much unlike unagi, the eel roll you may have had the courage to try at your local sushi restaurant—that version is a small sliver of fresh-water eel wrapped with avocado and rice and smothered in a sweetened soy sauce. When you eat angulas, you’re stuffing forkfuls of 3-inch-long, worm-like fish into your mouth. Think of it like eating spaghetti, except that each spaghetti strand doesn’t have a pair of little black eyes staring back at you. True, angulas don’t have much flavor on their own. So what makes them worthy of a bucket list? They’re scarce, for one thing. As overfishing once decimated the sardine industry, it has had the same impact on angulas, driving up the price of the baby eels. Angulas can be canned and jarred and packed in salt and oil, and they can cost as much as $500 a pound (beware of imitation angula). Toss angulas with spicy olive oil and chilis and serve with bread—and get past the idea that you’re eating crunchy eels—to determine if they’re worth the price. BLOOD SAUSAGE, ENGLAND.

Many carnivores love a medium-rare steak, meat the perfect shade of pink in the middle with juices and runoff a mix of red and brown. We desire trace evidence of blood when we cut into a filet mignon or ribeye, but what about skipping the meat altogether? Unlike sausage, which is made of ground meat and seasonings, blood sausage boasts a main ingredient that’s, well, blood. In most cases, it’s the blood of pig or sheep that’s been cooked, mixed with fillers and stuffed inside a natural casing (read: animal intestines) until the liquid is thick enough to harden when it dries. Fillers include fat, bread, barley, rice and buckwheat. It’s more commonly known as blood pudding in the United Kingdom and Ireland and is part of a traditional breakfast. It can be eaten cold, grilled, fried or boiled and, as part of an English breakfast, is served sliced with traditional sausage, bacon, baked beans, tomatoes, mushrooms and toast. If you’re thinking of trying blood sausage for the first time, prepare yourself for a slightly savory, slightly sweet meat with a metallic aftertaste. And despite its name, it doesn’t seem “bloody”—it has a creamy texture and gets crispy when browned in fat. HAGGIS, SCOTLAND.

If eating blood sausage isn’t for the faint of heart, consuming an actual heart (of a sheep) is probably out of the question. But those who dare try haggis are doing just that—this national dish of Scotland is made of mutton offal, organ meats such as heart, lungs and liver, as well as onion, oatmeal, spices and stock. The ingredients are mixed into a grayish pudding that’s crammed into a round natural sausage casing. When it’s time to eat, haggis can be boiled or steamed, then served as an open crumble of meat with a side of potatoes and rutabaga. When fried, haggis can be sliced and eaten as part of a filling breakfast. You’re not wrong to think that it’s similar to blood sausage, but the main difference is that haggis actually tastes like meat. Extra spices, pepper and fat give it more flavor and help cut down on any metallic aftertaste. In fact, a recent poll conducted by The National, a Scottish daily newspaper, revealed that haggis is the most hated food in the U.K. despite most respondents’ never having tried it. Our logical tip: If you want to keep hating it, don’t try it.

BASASHI, JAPAN.

The idea of eating raw fish once perplexed Americans, but that’s so 1970s. These days you may even have a weekly sushi night with family and friends when you order your favorite pieces of sashimi. Ah, but Japanese cuisine is more than fresh tuna and salmon—and it goes beyond steak tartare as well. In select kitchens on the island of Kyushu, you’ll find basashi, the name given to raw horse meat. This red meat is common in many cultures around the world and is revered for its minerals and sweetness. And in Japan, you can get it as fresh as can be. Good horse sashimi is thinly sliced and usually divided into three categories: lean, fatty and something in between. You’ll pay a premium price for the fatty stuff, just like tuna. It looks like the fish too, so it comes as no surprise that one eats basashi the same way: dipped in soy sauce with a side of—you guessed it—horseradish. It’s usually served near frozen because the cold temperature keeps certain bacteria at bay and fosters a taste similar to venison. BEONDEGI, SOUTH KOREA.

On the streets of Seoul, people enjoy cups of beondegi, which look like large coffee beans and, when cooking, sound like steaming veggies. Alas, this snack food served in paper cups and eaten with a toothpick is silkworm pupae that’s been boiled or steamed. Market vendors cook them in large pots over an open flame and toss on salt and spices to add flavor to the chewy outer shell as well as the soft and juicy insides. (Careful, the hot juices can squirt!) Prefer your insects sweet? Beondegi is available in candied versions too. Bugs are known to be low fat and high in protein, but we admit that for Westerners, the idea may take some getting used to. SALO, UKRAINE.

We have a love-hate relationship with fat. Food tastes better when we cook with it, but eating a lot of it (some kinds, anyway) doesn’t do our bodies good in the long run. So going out of your way to chow down on salo—slabs of salted pig fat—may seem a questionable move. But Ukraine’s national fatty food is having its moment thanks to a worldwide foodie craze for all things lard. And salo is in the middle of it—Ukraine even holds two annual festivals dedicated to these thick chunks. It’s made when the pork rind is cured with salt then chilled in a refrigerator or frozen for months. When you have a hankering, snack on a few frozen pieces or spread some like butter on bread with garlic, onion and pickles. Chase it with a shot of vodka to indulge like a Ukrainian. Some restaurants in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, even smother salo with chocolate and caramel and serve it as a dessert. Those concerned about calories should limit the amount of salo they consume, but need not avoid it completely. Moderation is key, especially for this 770-calorie-per-serving (3.5 oz.) treat. It’s nice to have a different reason to ponder Ukraine—even a fattening one.

CHICKEN FEET, CHINA.

From legs and wings to breasts and livers, nearly every part of a chicken is edible—even its feet. The issue, at least in America, is that chicken feet aren’t as palatable as the animal’s meatier parts sold in supermarkets and as entrées at restaurants. Though chicken feet and chicken paws (the foot without a portion of the leg) can be found at select markets and eateries in the States, they’re quite commonly sold across Europe and Asia—in China, for instance. In fact, chicken feet are a classic Cantonese delicacy often cooked with a fermented black bean sauce that is utterly delicious. The gelatinous texture, however, is something that takes getting used to, particularly if you’re accustomed to eating the bird’s white or dark meat. Those wanting to get all the benefits, such as the abundance of skin-healthy collagen, without eating a chicken foot may cook down the soft bones, cartilage, tendons and skin to make rich stock and bone broths.