If the idea of eating something that you aren’t used to scares you, you might want to prepare yourself before reading on. Here at i-to-i, we’ve done a lot of research and found 5 weird foods from across the world that we scrunch our face up at the thought of eating, but if you end up teaching in these countries, you may just find yourself giving them a try (word of warning: if you’re eating your food, you might want to cast it aside for now!)
Surstromming –This is a Northern Swedish dish that consists of fermented Baltic Herring – and yes, people really do eat this. This delightful dish is made even better by the fact it is sold in a can which can often bulge whilst being shipped due to ongoing fermentation. Recent research in Japan found that Surstromming releases the most rancid odor of any food in the world – so no wonder it is usually eaten outside. If you’re offered this by by any of your Swedish co-workers, just smile and announce “det skulle smakar verkligen gott!”.
Stinkbugs –Surely the name of these little bugs would put you straight off… but in Indonesia, apparently not. Supposedly they taste like bitter sunflower seeds, but we imagine the stench and the crunching of tiny little bones would put most people off!
Bird’s Nest Soup
It’s no secret that China is one of the most popular TEFL destinations in the world, and you know when you move over there that you’re about to embark on a crazy experience with lots of weird and wonderful things going on! One of these weird and wonderful things is Birds Nest soup – one of the most expensive dishes on Earth, with the red nest variety costing up to $10,000 per bowl! People really do pay all that money to slurp on some bird saliva… lovely.
A-Ping – If spiders give you the shivers you may want to skip this one. Fried tarantula is considered a delicacy in Cambodia, with people gobbling the stuff like the Americans and Brits eat candy! TEFL here and you won’t be able to get away from the stuff: just give yourself a quick pep-talk before trying one.
Tuna Eyeball –If you want a cheap dinner whilst you TEFL in Japan we have the answer: for just 60p/$1, you can this appetising dish in most Japanese grocery stores. Apparently they taste a little like squid and should be boiled before eating. And you are always reminded to season them… possibly to drown out the real taste?!
Feeling hungry? We didn’t think so! But what we can assure you is that wherever you decide to TEFL, you’ll come across some local cuisine that you aren’t used to and may make you shudder, but that’s part of the fun, right?
Share with us the the weirdest food you have ever eaten and where – we are very interested to hear!
