Food from Thailand

Would you like to try a taste of Iguana? How about some cow udder?

Let’s talk world cuisine.   We have seen some pretty crazy foods around the world.

Here in the United States we are deprived of the opportunity to try foods that are considered delicacies around the world. Imagine being served up some turtle soup, or dog. Possibly we might be able to find a restaurant that serves cow udder, but I haven’t been to that restaurant yet.

Next month I will be going on a blog trip with Compassion to El Salvador, so I did a little research on their local foods. In El Salvador some locals enjoy the tasty treat of Iguana. I suppose it might taste something like chicken. I guess Iguana is not that weird when you consider some people in the U.S. eat rattlesnake.

Food from East India

I would like to consider myself to be an adventurous eater, and I always try to appreciate the meals that are served to me, but the truth is I am not very adventurous when it comes to meats. I also like to stick to the meat that comes from cows, pigs, turkeys and chickens. Eyeballs, tongues and organs don’t appeal to my taste buds; however, I can enjoy a good hotdog which I am reminded by my children that they are made with meat by –products.

My husband will eat anything he is served with a simple prayer, “Lord, I will get it down if you keep it down.” He has traveled extensively and has been served some interesting dishes in small villages around the world. In China he ate turtle soup and unfamiliar fish products, in Ecuador he ate the guinea pigs, in Bolivia he ate cow udder, in the Philippines he ate fish head stew, and in Africa he ate zebra and gazelle and other animals we see in the zoo. He will try just about anything. Let’s just say cooking for him is really easy. You go boy….

Turtle soup

My husband is adventurous, but I give the most adventurous eating awards to my nieces. Cacie (age 11) and Sarah (age 16) live in Indonesia, and have been served many interesting items, such as dog. I know this sounds gross and disgusting to us but in parts of Indonesia they raise a certain type of dog for food. While attending a celebration, Cacie and Sarah graciously accepted the dish and ate it so they would not offend their host. What troopers. A few years ago my family visited them in Indonesia and had an opportunity to go to the outdoor meat market in Tomohon. This was truly a cultural experience between seeing fried bat, rat, and dog.

Fried bat

I confess there are times when I am overseas and served something that I can’t swallow. This is what I do. I put it in my mouth, I pretend to chew, and then, when nobody is looking, I casually wipe my mouth while spitting the food into the napkin. Later, I try to get to the bathroom to dispose of the product. I don’t have to do this very often, but once in awhile I just can’t get it down.

So what is the most adventurous meal you have had? And…. What do you do when you are served something you don’t like?