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A weird wonderful world of exotic Asian cuisine to delight your taste buds

A weird wonderful world of exotic Asian cuisine to delight your taste buds 31

Every part of the world vaunts a variety of delicacies and cooking methods that depict their cultures and traditions. These methods are sometimes so peculiar that not everyone can adopt these ingredients and some are just too weird to even contemplate giving it a try.

It is mind-blowing that if one wanders through different places around the globe, one will be spellbound with the array of delicacies that each of these places offer; simply because they’re endless. Ranging from traditional street foods, to luxurious hotel or resto-served menus.

Despite of the fact that it’s a human nature to crave for something unique or different to eat from time to time, we can’t revoke the fact that we know less about the delicacies around the world and the myriad of cooking methodologies of today that date back to classical olden days techniques that are still preserved to the present.


Definitely not everyone is exposed to these delicacies and cooking methods due to several underlying factors; such as the distance of the places, obscurity and rarely featured over international news or simply, a mindset whereby people only care about their typical local delicacies and way of cooking. So whatever the reason may be, these are the top 3 most interesting classic cooking methods and some of the rare delicacies one might be only seeing for the first time in a complete random order.

Philippines’ Bagoong & Buro

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Bagoong Isda and Bagoong Alamang

These two Filipino delicacies will surely rock people senses and bring their tastebuds to a wholly different planet. Aside from what you are usually used to being shown as weird Filipino traditional foods, bear witness to Filipino cuisine which require really complicated processing and preparation. The Bagoong Isda and Bagoong Alamang pictured are actually commonly found in Filipino markets and are a staple among the locals.

These recipe’s are derived from fermented small fishes, krill and shrimps mixed with salt and food coloring inside a jar which will then be covered and left to ferment for 30-90 months. These can be eaten with rice alone or served as a dip for the commonly eaten local fruit in their country which they refer to as the Indian mango.

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Buro

On the other hand, the Buro, in picture above, is a fermented dish of fishes or shrimps, prepared with boiled rice, salt and mixed with several different spices inside a container or basin for some weeks or even months depending on the chef.

These dishes are unique and some might find it weird but as a matter of fact, these two delicacies shown above are actually Filipino favorites. At the very, it would offer a very different experience to explore a new kind of taste and texture for any who wish to explore the wonderful delights it can bring to your taste buds for literally only a dollar per serving.

Korean Spoon Worm (Sashimi)

A weird wonderful world of exotic Asian cuisine to delight your taste buds 34
A weird wonderful world of exotic Asian cuisine to delight your taste buds 35

Although your initial perception would be of male genitalia from just glancing at the images, these are pictures of a famous sashimi dish in Korea mainly featuring the Spoon Worm in a variety different looks and sizes. The worms are actually gathered, cleaned, and chopped into smaller pieces and served raw,

People who are familiar the dish explain that there is a fine, sticky and gooey sensation which actually combines well despite its gag inducing imagery in your mind when first tried. The dish is perfectly partnered with different dips such as soy sauce and chili mixture.

Moreover, it pairs well with alcoholic beverages to further accentuate the level the vibes brought about by such a combination.

China’s Grilled and Fried Silkworm Pupae

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China is well-known in taking visitors to an endless gastronomic experience beyond their imagination. They produce food out of a wide variety of ingredients regardless of it walking, flying, crawling, swimming our jumping; it will be easier to summarize that they will consume anything which back faces the sun. Chinese cuisine also boast a multitude of cooking styles and techniques from which they prepare their delicacies.

Due to the wide array of cooking techniques and methodologies, they have in compliment a wide variety of exotic and what many would consider strange ingredients to call upon. Who would have thought that the actual source of silk that is used in making clothing’s and fabric would itself be used as an ingredient? Yes, it would seem unthinkable to many but in most parts of China, the locals prepare these dishes of grilled and fried silkworms in their pupae form.

It is in fact commonplace to find a variety of insects and animals served on sticks on a skewer barbecued, braised or deep-fried on street stalls with long food lines. The choices are endless and be prepared to be amused by the variations that will get your stomach in a rumble.

Alfred Lee
Journalist at News Asia Today. I write about topics related to lifestyle and entrepreneurship in Asia. Feel free to reach out to me at alfred [at] newsasiatoday.com. Also a big time foodie.