CNN選“最惡心食物”多種亞洲食物上榜皮蛋居首(圖) 綜合新聞
美國有線電視新聞網(CNN)最近選出全球最“惡心”的食物。在他們眼中，多種亞洲食物都是惡心的，其中認為最惡心的是皮蛋。
CNN說，皮蛋的味道嚇人，外型也怪異，像是魔鬼生的蛋。其餘上榜的亞洲食物，還包括韓國的狗肉與柬埔寨的“炒狼蛛（一種外觀毛絨絨的大蜘蛛）”等。
iReport: World's most 'revolting' foods
Everyone likes to tell their friends, and sometimes the world, about the most delicious dishes they discover. But not everything is a tasty delicacy worthy of letters home.
Or are they? Do gruesome foodstuffs such as woodworms and fried frogs taste much better than they sound?
CNNGo iReporters take us through some of the culinary challenges they’ve been unlucky (or lucky) enough to chow down on.
1. Century eggs, China
Century eggs -- not as old as they sound, but they taste like it.Century eggs are popular among the Chinese as a pungent appetizer served with pickled ginger, or cooked in congee. But for others, the idea of feasting on black eggs that have been preserved in clay for months may not be appetizing.
iReporter Danny Holwerda purchased the notorious foodstuff from an Asian supermarket in Texas in April this year and was not impressed with its taste.
“It’s awful -- it tastes like the devil cooked eggs for me,” said Holwerda. “It tastes like something that used to be an egg, but made some really horrible choices."
“I'm actually in the middle of a month-long project for my blog. There have been some memorable ones so far, but none as awful as century eggs.”
Century eggs can be purchased at most Asian supermarkets in the United States, as well as grocery stores throughout China.
2. Tamilok, Philippines
How to make woodworm taste good? Smother it in vinegar, salt and lime.“The tamilok, or woodworm, is a popular delicacy in Palawan,” says Filipino iReporter Sherbien Dacalanio. “It tastes, and has the same texture, as oysters.”
He recommends diners to “dip the fresh woodworm in lime, vinegar and salt before eating.”
“But be careful not to swallow the head of the worm,” he adds. “While eating the woodworm you can feel the head as hard as a tiny stone."
Those who are interested in a taste of tamilok may want to head to Kinabuchs Grill and Bar (348 Rizal Ave., Puerto Princesa, Palawan), which, according to Dacalanio, is famous for serving the dish.
Dacalanio also recommends Kinabuchs for their crocodile meat, which he describes as “tender, tasty and tastes like chicken.”
He adds that the tourist hotspot of Taraw Beach is lined with street vendors selling tamilok.
3. Fermented chips, Indonesia
When you don't want to see what you're eating, cover it in batter.Tempeh, which is made of fermented soybeans, and oncom, a fermented food made from the by-products of tofu, peanut presscake and cassava, are deep fried as chips in Indonesia.
“Tempeh chips and oncom chips have a soybean-like taste, only a little bitter and crunchy,” says iReporter Chiu Huang.
“A well-known chips shop is Oncom Jaya, located at Gang Sumanta No.3, Pasirkaliki, Bandung,” Chiu says.
The culinary weirdness doesn’t stop there. Chiu also recommends chips made from deep-fried offal and animal parts.
“Intestine chips and tendon chips are crunchy and salty, while lung chips tastes like liver, but less bitter and springier,” said Chiu.
“Pork rinds chips and chicken feet chips are savory and crunchy.”
4. Dog meat and offal, South Korea
Dog meat disguises itself as mushroom in Busan.iReporter Melvin Francisquini recounts his experience eating dog meat in Busan, South Korea in April this year.
“I never had an interest in eating dog, but with recent countries banning the consumption of them, I figured I might as well eat it before it's illegal,” Francisquini says.
“Its texture was like tough cow beef,” he says.
“I must say, I very much enjoyed it,” he adds. “I ate it for lunch. It proved to be quite filling and I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day.”
He adds that dog’s stomach is “a bit too slimy for his taste” but that dog soup was his favorite.
5. Fried tarantula, Cambodia
Fried tarantulas -- not quite as nice as crickets.The story goes that Cambodians, starving and desperate under the Khmer Rouge rule in the 1970s, started eating fried tarantulas to stave off their hunger. Locals now consider fried spiders a moreish snack.
iReporter Lee Edward van Laer sampled fried tarantulas after purchasing them from roadside vendors in Cambodia in March this year.
“I’ll tell you honestly that crickets taste better than spiders,” says Lee.
For fried spiders Lee recommends the street vendors on Highway 7 in Cambodia, between Phnom Penh and Kampong Cham.
Read more about fried tarantulas and other deadly foods in Asia.
6. Stir-fried cicadas, Thailand
Stir fried cicadas -- taste like mini steaks, with legs.In Chaing Mai, Thailand, stir-fried cicadas are served in street markets or in the huts jungle villagers live in, according to iReporter Adam Lambert-Gorwyn.
“In the villages, larger animals are reserved for special occasions, so they collect insects to eat for their protein source,” says Lambert-Gorwyn.
As to what the stir-fried crawlers taste like, he says "The initial peanut taste from the wok oil was followed by a full steak flavor. Not too bad.”
7. Fried frog, Philippines
France has nothing on the Philippines.Fried frog is a popular delicacy in Pampanga, Philippines, according to iReporter Dacalanio, who also reported how to eat woodworms earlier in the story.
“Frog taste like chicken,” says Dacalanio. The white meat and the texture of frog and chicken are almost the same.”
Not all restaurants that serve frog do it well, according to Dacalanio, as some places serve the dish “with an aftertaste of frogs.”
For lip-smacking fried frog, frog legs and stuffed frog, the gourmand recommends Everybody's Café in Pampanga (MacArthur Highway, Del Pilar San Fernando, Pampanga).
