10 animals that people eat alive
Exotic dishes, which are considered delicacies in different countries, are sometimes completely different from what we are used to seeing on our dinner table. Although some dishes of Russian cuisine may also seem strange to residents of other countries - for example, Europeans are very surprised by dishes such as pickled cucumbers, jelly or, say, jellied meat, but be that as it may, our culinary traditions are much more humane in relation to eaters and ... dishes. Why - you will find out from this collection.
Octopuses
In Korea, this delicacy is called sannakji. The dish is a live octopus seasoned with sesame seeds and sesame oil. Just before serving, the animal is cut into small pieces, and then the still writhing tentacles are eaten.
The muscles of the cooked octopus retain the ability to contract for some time, therefore, when eating the dish, special attention should be paid to ensure that, in its death throes, the animal does not catch on the tongue or oral cavity with its suckers and does not block the human respiratory tract. There have been cases when gourmets died from suffocation while carelessly eating live octopuses.
frogs
Eating live octopuses is not the only Asian food tradition that can seem disgusting. In China, Japan and Vietnam, a dish is quite popular, the main ingredient of which is a live frog. You can admire how the Japanese masterfully cracks down on this gourmet dish, but you should not watch the video during your lunch break - you risk ruining your appetite.
Most often, the “delicacy” is prepared from specially grown frogs, the process of its preparation is simple - the frog is skinned, gutted, then cut into pieces and laid out on a plate with a side dish, the main decoration of the delicacy is a still living frog head. Sometimes a beating heart is served separately as a "highlight".
tarantulas
Sophisticated gourmets can hardly be surprised by delicacies, say, deer testicles or bull penis, but the gastronomic addictions of the British Louis Cole will shock even experienced gluttons.
Cole regularly records videos of him eating various "foods", including live tarantulas and scorpions. The Briton has already shot 36 videos, one more disgusting than the other, you can see them on his official channel in the youtube.com service. However, you'd better not see it.
fruit bats
Again Asia and again - culinary delights, the preparation and eating of which is just right to equate to cruelty to animals.
Members of the bat family are one of the most popular Asian delicacies. Fruit bats, which are also called flying dogs (not to be confused with bats!), are eaten in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries of the Asia-Pacific region, and the cooking methods are very different - they are stewed, boiled soups, deep-fried and cooked Grilled. Those who have tasted flying dogs claim that their meat is similar to chicken - there is practically no fat in it, but there is a lot of protein and it is easily digested.
I must say, in almost all Asian countries, fruit bats are killed before cooking, but there is an exception: one of the dishes of the national cuisine of the island of Guam is live fruit bats in coconut milk. Animals are caught, washed (and thanks for that), and then the whole, along with wool and wings, are immersed in vats of boiling water, making sure that the fruit bat is alive when it is served. The finished dish is seasoned with coconut milk, vegetables are used as a side dish.
If you are ever “lucky” to cook this dish yourself, keep in mind that fruit bats emit a specific smell of urine and feces - bats spend most of their lives upside down, so there is always a certain amount of feces on their body. To get rid of the “wonderful” aroma, fruit bats should be washed thoroughly, and during cooking, you can add garlic, onions, chili peppers or ... beer to the water.
snakes
Eating live snakes is still exotic even for India. Farmer Sutari Nayak, a resident of the Indian state of Orissa, is considered the main specialist in "snake cuisine". In 2007, the farmer, then 46, became famous for eating live snakes — in his own words, “just for fun.” The man admits that he started eating reptiles as a child after his friend was bitten by a poisonous snake: "If snakes bite us, why can't we bite a snake?"
Nyak eats snakes alive, without any heat treatment. For several years now, the farmer has been considered a local "star" and even manages to earn money thanks to his gastronomic addictions.
Larvae
Casu marzu is one of the most unusual delicacies that you can enjoy in Italy, it is considered a specialty of the island of Sardinia and is popular among tourists and locals alike. The food is nothing more than cheese made from sheep's milk, in which live insect larvae swarm. The larvae contribute to the rapid breakdown of the fats contained in the cheese, making the product remarkable for its amazing tenderness and softness. During the decomposition of fats, a liquid is released from the cheese, which is called lagrima (translated from Sard. - “tears”). Before eating, you can clean the cheese from a specific “seasoning”, but true connoisseurs of Sardinian cuisine leave everything as it is, trying to enjoy every larva.
Ants
If you are not too squeamish about food and you happen to travel around Denmark, be sure to check out the Noma restaurant in the capital - they serve a delicacy of lettuce leaves seasoned with chilled (to crawl more slowly) ants. The delicacy is not cheap - about $ 300 per serving, the institution positions it as a gluten-free (proteins present in cereal plants) alternative to toast. Judging by the reviews of restaurant visitors, the taste of ants is similar to ginger, cilantro or lemongrass (a genus of cereal plants).
Shrimps
What do the Japanese dish "odori ebi" (translated as "dancing shrimp") have in common with the Chinese delicacy called "drunken shrimp"? In both cases, shrimp are served on the table alive, only in Japan, children are used to prepare this type of sashimi - animals are fried over low heat so that they do not die, and they are immediately eaten, dipped in sake, and in China the dish is prepared from adult shrimp and served in a warm "soup" of baijiu - a strong Chinese spirit.
To fully enjoy a Chinese or Japanese delicacy, you need a fair amount of skill - the animals are quite nimble, actively move their paws and even try to get out of the plate. It is also necessary to thoroughly chew each shrimp, otherwise they will continue to move in the stomach.
cockroaches
As you know, in the United States, speed eating contests are often held for various dishes, and American eaters are ready to absorb in huge quantities not only Big Macs and hot dogs, but also, say, insects. Such competitions are not only disgusting, but also life-threatening - for example, 32-year-old Edward Archbold, a participant in one of such events, died after eating several dozen worms and a whole bucket of giant cockroaches.
In some ways, Archbold's death can be considered heroic - he hoped to win the main prize of the competition - a live python to give to his friend. An autopsy showed that the American died of suffocation - his airways were clogged with the legs of cockroaches.
Acne
Japanese national cuisine is famous for its originality - in addition to frogs and shrimp (see paragraphs 2 and 8, respectively), the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun eat eels alive. According to Raymond Blanc, a celebrity chef, while traveling in Japan he had to try this unusual delicacy - to set off the taste, eels are seasoned with vinegar and sake, and then swallowed whole.