Eating habits 3/3

Today I will talk about the most disgusting dishes in the world. I' d like to show you some of them which I regard as the most interesting.

Baby mice wine

Baby mice wine is a traditional Chinese and Korean “health tonic” .Supposedly it tastes like raw gasoline but I have never tasted. Little mice with eyes still closed, are dropped into a bottle of rice wine. What is important they are still alive. Dead mice don't give that special flavour. Some time ago when I had opportunity to drink original tequila with small worm I thought that it was disgusting but now when I look at it I really think that tequila must be really delicious.

Cooked dog

Dog meat is eaten in some countries for an example in China. Proper breeds of dogs are raised on farms and killed like a chickens for their meat. Apart from unique taste it is believed that dog's meat brings specific medicinal benefits. Cultural attitudes, legalities, and history regarding eating dog meat varies from country to country. There is little statistical information about consumption of dog meat due to general taboo in western countries.

Hákar

Hákarl is just fermented shark. This specific dish came from Iceland. It is shark which is cured with a particular fermentation process and keep to dry about 4-5 months. Hákarl has a very particular aroma-rich smell and taste, similar to very strong cheese like Gorgonzola. Hákarl is possibile to eat it in pubs or even to buy in Icelandic stores all year round. Fermented shark is eaten in all seasons. Although it is a traditional Island meal many of the inhabitants have never ate it.

monkey’s brain

Eating this Chinese meal is just a insanity. Monkey transmits a very dangerous disease. It may causes high risky Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other similar brain diseases. In parts of China, the monkey’s brain is eaten raw. I heard very likely an urban legend in which some time ago people ate monkeys’ brains from the head of alive animal.

I found a description: "The monkey’s head was supported by its neck in a bracket, two pieces of wood with a semicircular hole on each side such that when you put them together, they form a complete circle around the animal’s neck, allowing the head to be exposed above the plank. The hair around the head is smooth-shaved with a shaving razor. A small chisel and a hammer is used to quickly chisel a circle around the crown, and the top part of the skull is removed. A teaspoon is used to scoop up the brain, which is immediately eaten. This has to be done before the monkey dies".

Isn't it horrible?

“Three Squeaks”

This is the next traditional Chinese dish which contained something alive. The main ingredient of this dish are newly born mice. They are still hairless and barely able to open their eyes. It is generally served like nachos with some kind of cold sauces. The reason why it is called “Three Squeaks” is disgusting. The name is due to the sounds made when this dish is preparing and eating. The first squeak is when the mouse is picked up with the chopsticks. The second is when the mouse is dipped into the sauce (temperature changes causing the squeak). The last one is when the mouse is put into the mouth and the temperature changes again.

Balut - Boiled egg

In Cambodia people love to eat duck-egg called balut. In fact it is not just an egg. The way of preparing balut is to let the embryo inside the egg to develop until the bird inside is nearly ready to go out. When the embryo inside is ready, the egg is boiled and served with a bit of salt on top. It is really cruel method of preparing the most famous breakfast meal.

In the world there are thousands of disgusting dishes. I described only a few of them but I hope that you heard or even eat something interesting an you will share with us your experiences.