One food you have never had... but are curious

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Hunan fish head such as this was my favorite dish while living in Changzhou. I had colleagues who would fight for the eyeballs. I never joined the fray though.View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445738170.330364.jpg

The best part was after the flesh was gone, the pan would be put over a burner and noodles tossed into the chilies and oil to heat up, taking on the flavor. That was the true delight.
 
I've enjoyed "freshwater clam" since age 16 (now 68) no oral cancer, only a couple off flavor experiences, nothing toxic.
I'm told I'm invited back to Thailand again in March, stayed away from the street food last time, might be a little more adventureist this time. Anyone with recomendations/ tips?
 
Hunan fish head such as this was my favorite dish while living in Changzhou. I had colleagues who would fight for the eyeballs. I never joined the fray though.View attachment 311724

The best part was after the flesh was gone, the pan would be put over a burner and noodles tossed into the chilies and oil to heat up, taking on the flavor. That was the true delight.

Quick note: I totally read human fish head the first time I read this.
 
Seen it mentioned back a few pages, by I've always wanted to try rattlesnake.

I've had most game meats and even alligator and ostrich. Snake has always interested me though
 
I take it freshwater clam is a new invasive species from Brazil that has almost eradicated the native bearded clam?

I've eaten almost everything Ive ever been curious about except for the horse penis in chocolate that Ewan McGregor tried when he did Long Way Round.
 
I take it freshwater clam is a new invasive species from Brazil that has almost eradicated the native bearded clam?

HA! I was never a big fan of bearded clam anyway, I like this new Brazilian variety a lot though.

Any Asian street food, make sure you go to whomever is busy. No line = no go. I've never had issues when sticking with that rule.

That's just a good rule to live by when traveling anywhere. If a restaurant/street vendor/food truck etc. isn't busy, skip it. If it's full of tourists and no locals, skip it. Eat where the natives eat and you'll always have a good meal.
 
Hunan fish head such as this was my favorite dish while living in Changzhou. I had colleagues who would fight for the eyeballs. I never joined the fray though.

View attachment 311724

The best part was after the flesh was gone, the pan would be put over a burner and noodles tossed into the chilies and oil to heat up, taking on the flavor. That was the true delight.

Yeah! I had Changsha fish head with green chilies in Changsha several years ago. It was HOT - probably a top three spicy food I've had here - but the chilies and broth were so delicious that my buddy and I drank the dish dry, in between copious amounts of ice cold Snow beer to keep from breathing fire. I've had fish head dozens of times since, but in most places they tend to use red chilies like in your picture, and it's got about a quarter of the heat and half of the flavor of the real deal in Changsha. Still a delicious dish, but when you pop your cherry on Pliny it's hard to get excited about Torpedo, to use a forum-appropriate metaphor.

The eyeballs, though? Not really a fan. The only way fish eyes taste like they've been cooked is is the whole fish has been fried to a high degree of crispiness. Any other cooking style and they're relatively flavorless gelatinous balls with a little bony white ball in the middle. Like swim bladders or pig brains, I'll eat them if they're in the dish, but I don't really care for them.

I had abalone and a couple sea cucumbers two days ago when some wealthy friends invited my wife and me to dinner (yes, that's a grammatically-correct use of "me"). I've had them before on a couple occasions, but they're still not something you eat every day. Abalone's quite tasty but doesn't live up to the price tag, although maybe it would be tastier grilled or stir-fried rather than boiled in a fairly bland seafood broth like we were eating. Either way, the shells are beautiful and my wife will be displaying some of them around her kindergarten classroom. Sea cucumber is fairly slimy and tasteless and I'm convinced the only reasons people eat them in China are because somebody has convinced them they have health benefits and because they're expensive, so eating them in a big restaurant is a good way to demonstrate your wealth and magnanimity.
 
Yeah! I had Changsha fish head with green chilies in Changsha several years ago. It was HOT - probably a top three spicy food I've had here - but the chilies and broth were so delicious that my buddy and I drank the dish dry, in between copious amounts of ice cold Snow beer to keep from breathing fire. I've had fish head dozens of times since, but in most places they tend to use red chilies like in your picture, and it's got about a quarter of the heat and half of the flavor of the real deal in Changsha. Still a delicious dish, but when you pop your cherry on Pliny it's hard to get excited about Torpedo, to use a forum-appropriate metaphor.

The eyeballs, though? Not really a fan. The only way fish eyes taste like they've been cooked is is the whole fish has been fried to a high degree of crispiness. Any other cooking style and they're relatively flavorless gelatinous balls with a little bony white ball in the middle. Like swim bladders or pig brains, I'll eat them if they're in the dish, but I don't really care for them.

I had abalone and a couple sea cucumbers two days ago when some wealthy friends invited my wife and me to dinner (yes, that's a grammatically-correct use of "me"). I've had them before on a couple occasions, but they're still not something you eat every day. Abalone's quite tasty but doesn't live up to the price tag, although maybe it would be tastier grilled or stir-fried rather than boiled in a fairly bland seafood broth like we were eating. Either way, the shells are beautiful and my wife will be displaying some of them around her kindergarten classroom. Sea cucumber is fairly slimy and tasteless and I'm convinced the only reasons people eat them in China are because somebody has convinced them they have health benefits and because they're expensive, so eating them in a big restaurant is a good way to demonstrate your wealth and magnanimity.

I used to pick up sea cucumber when diving in Puget Sound. Slice them long ways and there were 5 or 6 strips of white meat running the length of them. (they were essentially a hollow tube as they would eject their guts when you picked them up). Strip out the strips of meat and grill them like you would bacon and that was tasty. Perhaps the grilling got rid of the slimy. Oh and everyone should eat at least one geoduck. (they are actually very good with a little pasta and garlic.)
 
I used to pick up sea cucumber when diving in Puget Sound. Slice them long ways and there were 5 or 6 strips of white meat running the length of them. (they were essentially a hollow tube as they would eject their guts when you picked them up). Strip out the strips of meat and grill them like you would bacon and that was tasty. Perhaps the grilling got rid of the slimy. Oh and everyone should eat at least one geoduck. (they are actually very good with a little pasta and garlic.)

I think we had a geoduck at the table, but I'm not sure - there was some kind of fairly large clam (the shell is about four inches across) that had already been sliced into tiny little strips for our hotpots when they brought it out. It was the second best thing we ate that night, behind only the super-thin slices of beef sashimi dipped in some kind of delicious brown paste that included soy, wasabi, and I don't know what else. That was my first time eating any kind of raw meat that didn't spend its life underwater, at least as far as I can recall.
 
Very different flavor profile. Both are delicious, though.

Agree on the vastly different flavor profile. Disagree on generalized deliciousness.

Some sauerkraut is just nasty!

And I do not like Kimchi that includes any fish or shrimp for the flavoring.
 
See and I like the anchovy heavy kind. But then I could put anchovies on just about anything.

Anchovies. There is another one that I havent had but am curious about.
Ive never seen anchovy kimchi.
Maybe I need to head to Pizzeria Lola and have the Kimchi pizza.
 
Anchovies. There is another one that I havent had but am curious about.
Ive never seen anchovy kimchi.
Maybe I need to head to Pizzeria Lola and have the Kimchi pizza.

Have you had a true-to-recipe caesar's salad? In my opinion thats a better place to start if youve never had anchovies.
 
The "I've never eaten anchovies" statement always makes me smile because I remember a n occasion when an ex and I were at a party and this topic came up. Her answer was "anchovies" and I had to explain to her that I grind anchovies to a paste with some tomato purée and use that as an umami seasoning in all sorts of sauces that she ate so had been eating anchovies since she met me.
The fuss she made you'd have thought what I actually said was "I regularly use your toothbrush to clean the toilet" lol
 
Anchovies. There is another one that I havent had but am curious about.

Anchovies are very salty & rather fishy, but are also quite tasty IMHO. Many brands of worcestershire sauce contain anchovies, and I think all fish sauces do. They're good on pizza & even wrapped around an olive as a garnish in a martini.
Regards, GF.
 
Anchovies are very salty & rather fishy, but are also quite tasty IMHO. Many brands of worcestershire sauce contain anchovies, and I think all fish sauces do. They're good on pizza & even wrapped around an olive as a garnish in a martini.
Regards, GF.

Fresh roasted red bell pepper. Olive oil. Anchovy filets. Roasted Garlic. Crusty bread. Glass of the biggest red you can find. Serbian even.

Egads.
 
Oh, I know ive had anchovies cooked in things, or in things likle Caeser dressing. That doesnt bother me. What I was talking about was just grabbing a fish from the can and pop that in your mouth.
 
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