The strange food thread

[fndrbndr]

I made a shopping trip yesterday, and my wife looked in the fridge and asked what "those things" were.  Those things were pierogies, basically mashed potatoes stuffed in a slightly more bread-like version of a ravioli shell.  They're a common dish in Eastern and Central Europe, from what I understand, but more importantly, you can get two boxes for five bucks at Albertson's.  I didn't even know these existed until college, and they've become one of my favorite little treats.  Yeah, they're the perfect storm of comfort food, and yes, Dr. Atkins is probably rolling in his bacon-greased grave as I write this, but they're wonderful.  Does anyone else have a favorite snack food that others might not have heard of? I'm sure I've got others, but I'm equally sure others have heard of grits, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, crab rangoon, and ramen noodles, and those are the ones I can think of right now.  Again, we're not necessarily talking gourmet here.

[TheJohnNewton]

Not really a snack food but probably a lot will think strange, is a Vietnamese soup I really like, called Bun Bo Hue, which has chunks of solidified pork blood in it.  The blood itself doen't have a very strong taste and since it's solid you wouldn't really guess what it is if you didn't know.  I thought it might be liver when I first tried it.  The soup is spicy, with noodles and a bunch of meat, and is quite tasty.  Another one my gf's family likes but I've not really been too excited to try is a Fillipino dish called Balut which is a partially developed duck egg.  I don't watch Fear Factor but I've heard they used it as a challenge.   

[fndrbndr]

Bun Bo Hue sounds like something I'd try.

I wonder how much of the stuff on Fear Factor just sounds wierd to us because of cultural reasons. 

[Blooze]

Cultural or not - I got a low gag factor when it comes to some stuff...

Pimento stuff salad olives...  I got to have a large jar of those in the refrigerator at all times.

$

[TheJohnNewton]

What's weird or normal is totally cultural.  I was teaching a programming class for international employees in my company and I had a guy from Nigeria.  We took him out to dinner and he ordered a steak.  He thought it was horrible because it was "too soft."  Lol.  When I was in Nigeria eating at the company cafateria the meat was indeed very tough.  There is a fruit from Thailand called durian that has a VERY strong smell.  My gf brought it in for some guys in the office to try.  Many of the US born people almost gagged just from the smell alone but several Vietnamese and Chinese came by and ate it no with no problem as they had grown up with it and like it.  Another friend of mine sent me an im saying she thought somebody had gotten sick in the hall or something because there was a "horrible smell" lol.  It's all what you're used to.

[fndrbndr]

Blooze, we never could keep those things in the house when I was a kid.  To this day, my sister will sit down and eat a whole jar of them in a sitting.  I could take or leave green olives, but black olives....they're good on/in pretty much everything IMO.

I'm intrigued by Durian, as I tend to like things with strong (to us Americans, anyway) flavors, and my wife has basically no sense of smell, so I might be able to get away with at least bringing it into the house. Of course, I'm still yet to try curry (which is on my to-do list), so maybe I should take baby steps.  It was just in the last few months that I tried my first habanero salsa.

[JG4tr]

Once, in my youth , I took a trip to NYC and visited Chinatown. We stopped at a 'real' Chinese restaurant for lunch and I thought that bird nest soup sounded interesting so, I ordered it not knowing how literal the name was. ( I believe that bird saliva plays a key role here )

It was the closest I have ever been to becoming physically ill from just smelling something!

[TheJohnNewton]

Ohhh...  I LOVE curry!  There are many differnt kinds though.  Indian, Thai, Chinese all have variations which are all quite different.  My favorites are the Thai red or green.  Those are super tasty, can be very spicy and, to me, smell wonderful.  And my Vietnamese gf who eats all these "strange", strong smelling foods, really doesn't like the smell of curry, lol. 

That made me think of another Vietnamese dish that is really strong smelling.  It's actually a sauce you use to dip meat or spring roll type food in called mam nam.  It's made from fermented fish or some might say rotten fish.  I actually like it but the smell does take some getting used to. 

The easiest way to try durian is to find the cookies in an Asian grocery.  It has the same smell and taste as the fruit but is a bit less messy.  If you can take that then try the actual fruit which is quite big and has a squishy kind of odd texture.  You'll probably only be able to find it frozen in an Asian grocery.

Chinese have many odd food items.  I've not smelled the bird nest soup but you're right about the ingredients.  I have tried jelly fish (not much flavor just kind of crunchy) and chicken feet (more trouble than they are worth) both of which my in-laws love.

[fndrbndr]

Asian grocery, eh?  Hm....I may try that.  Thanks for the tip.

[feuerdog]

Mmmm, New Jersey Pork Roll......yummy!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pork_roll

[GBO Possum]

TJN is referring to Fish Sauce, which is relatively mild.

Durian is another story.  Many hotels even in the East will not allow guests to bring Durian into the room.  I have a poor sense of smell, but I can smell Durian from over 100 feet away.  It's not spicy, but it is pungent.  Like nothing else in my experience.  The taste is better than the smell, but that is no recommendation.  Not all asians like it, but those who do are passionate.  I have seen buyers pick them up and sniff them to find the best ones.  And this is a painful fruit to touch, being covered with spikes, and the smell...

One day in Singapore, a Chinese friend told me that there is an "old wives tale" that if one consumes durian and hard liquor together it will kill you.  "But of course this is just a story".  I said, well we have durian here, and I also have a bottle of Scotch, so let's see what happens.  He declined, embarrassed.

It seems that foods are of two types, "cooling" and "heaty".  An imbalance is bad.  "Cooling" foods include most fruits, teas and other refreshing foods.  "Heaty" foods include meats, fatty milk products, certain curries, alcohol and durian.  Durian is especially "heaty", so the combo is not seen to be too good.

So back to the idea of brining durian into the house.  My recommendation is try it outside the house!

[TheJohnNewton]

Fish sauce, or nuoc mam in Vietnamese, is pretty mild.  The one I mean is mam nam which is a much thicker and stinkier sauce.  Btw, don't quote me on those spellings, lol. 

When my in-laws get a durian they do open it up in the backyard   My gf actually can't stand it but her mom and sister love it. 

[Drift2XL]

Pierogies rock!
My grandma always has a box in the freezer. A little butter on them and its on. I prefer the cheese, but any will do, even the onion.

My supreme comfort food is marinara sauce. Just a bowl of pasta and sauce. Just warms me all over.

[fndrbndr]

Yeah, I'm tempted to do something other than boil them.  I got two boxes.  One was lunch today.  Maybe sautee the others with a bit of sausage?

[Drift2XL]

Sautee is good. I like to boil to thaw them out first. With kielbasa ... whoo that's good. The sausage has got to come from a deli. I have to order out 500 miles away to get some really good polish sausage. The Italian there is pretty good too. Center cut pork. No mystery parts. Can't be beat.

One of my other favs is a dish called Halupki. Its sauteed cabbage, onions, and potatos. MMM.. Just need a little salt.