A few months away from the laptop has given me writer-idea’s block so I’ve decided to utilize The Daily Prompt question.
Mouths Wide Shut: Are you a picky eater? Share some of your favorite food quirks with us (the more exotic, the better!). Omnivores: what’s the one thing you won’t eat?
I think I’ve tried everything anyone has offered or put in front of me even if I’ve prefaced it with a “I don’t think I’m going to like this”….
I am an omnivore but as a mature adult I find I enjoy seafood and vegetables & salads way more than I do meat; red or white. Given how I eat these days a lot of people would assume that I’m almost vegetarian. It wasn’t always like that though……
I think witchetty grubs are the strangest I’ve tried (not very filling) and snake (tasted like eel); as a kid I ate liver, kidneys & brains of whatever animal was butchered that week (that sounds so feral but my family farmed). I don’t like crocodile but have had some good kangaroo steaks. Oh, and I grew up eating kangaroo-tail soup which I, even at an early age, realised was only made tolerable by the addition of red wine! Camel was okay and the strip of bison I’ve had tasted just like beef to me. I loved black pudding (blood sausage) especially if accompanied by fried eggs, bacon and a bit of bubble and squeak. I would’ve tried Rocky Mountain oysters on a recent trip to Wyoming but no-one ordered them…
There’s only been one thing I just could not swallow and which I had to spit out – much to my embarrassment. The manservant & I were in China while he worked at the Purple Mountain Observatory (Nanjing) under the auspices of the Chinese National Science Foundation. Our host & his wife took us out to dinner and ordered some typical local cuisine. I could smell the stinky tofu as it started its journey from the kitchen not realising it would soon be at our table. As the dish of fermented tofu was placed directly in-front of me our host indicated I should go first and I really did know right then and there that I was not going to like it!! Still, I stuck the chopsticks in with determination but as the laden sticks got closer and closer to my mouth I started to gag on the smell. As it would’ve looked really weird holding my nose with my thumb & forefinger I tried holding my breath but as I placed the mass on my tongue I just knew I was not going to be able to swallow. With an awful gagging noise I spat it out on my plate! I was quite mortified but also relieved that I’d avoided vomiting either all over the table or our hosts. Humongous gulps of coca cola followed in an attempt to get rid of the aftertaste but hours later I could still smell it at the back of my nose!
Aussie Emjay's Blog 
What an embarrassing episode for you! I hope your hosts were understanding!
You have certainly been adventurous with the things you have tried! 🙂
They seemed to be understanding – it helped that the manservant drew their attention away from my rudeness by telling them how delicious his piece was LOL He did not have a second helping though. I think they were probably offended but too well mannered to show it.
This proves, without a doubt, that tofu is the nastiest food of all time. Because, my gosh, you’ve eaten everything else!
LOL. I quite like “normal” tofu and Inari but until my trip to China I had never heard of stinky tofu – I suspect that now I will always recognize the smell.
I wonder if the tofu was cooked with something off? Because normally it has nothing much of its own, it just absorbs the flavours of the dish. At least that has been my experience. As for the rest, I haven’t tried half that stuff! But colleagues of mine were put in the position of eating live lobster at a business function in China. ouch!
nope; the fermentation required to create stinky tofu is what gives it the horrible smell. Emjay’s link (in text) will tell you more than you want to know.
Lots of fermented foods are notoriously reeky.
mmmm . . . I must be getting a different variety in Australia. Although I must say, I cannot stand the silky form. I mostly buy it already fried.
I think it’s like durian – either you can stand the smell because you love the taste, or you’re completely revolted. I doubt there’s any middle ground!
@ Gwen – I don’t think you can find genuine stinky tofu in Sydney. I have a friend who loves it (and has it whenever he visits Asia), he said that although you can supposedly get it at a place in Sussex Street that it is not the real deal. I think the neighbors would be very quick to complain if you were brewing up a fermentation brine in your backyard 🙂
@e2thec LOL @ “tell you more than you want to know” …. I’m pretty sure the stinky tofu coming out of the restaurant kitchen (or perhaps from the lane way out back) had been fermented in brine containing prawn heads!
Prawn heads: Wouldn’t surprise me in the least,
A mature adult?
Rocky Mountain Oysters (we call them Calf Fries around here) are okay … as long as I didn’t think too much about them. But, of course, if you’ve already eaten every other part of the poor animal, then why not nosh on those too?
LOL… I would’ve tried them if the manservant or one of our dining companions had ordered them. I didn’t want to order them because I really wanted something else on the menu. Funny thing is I don’t remember what I wanted to have so badly. Love the name “Calf Fries” –
Ha ha! and here I was thinking how come there are oysters in the Rocky Mountains! That stinky tofu sounds apty named, thanks for the link. My daughter hasn’t forgiven me for feeding her lambs brains when she was a kid. 😀
LOL – your poor daughter! I’d never heard the term Rocky Mountain Oysters until I moved here and then probably not until people were talking about “buffalo wings” which also confused me 🙂
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Yikes!! You’ve tried everything! I am a very picky eater (it’s pitiful) and cannot imagine eating all the things you’ve tried–I’m impressed!
LOL – one of my boys always, always, orders Orange Chicken when we eat Chinese. He’s been doing this for 20 years. Once I asked why he didn’t try something else and he responded: because I know I like Orange Chicken! Still makes me laugh.
That you have eaten- anything? Interesting, but fish and chicken is enough for m ;-). I laughed a lot with your description with the tofu. You write very well and often I have to laugh.
I am recovering from my climbing accident … I’m bored at home. But my house is now cleaned up 😉
I’m glad I can entertain you when you’re hurting Kerstin! I hope the injuries heal quickly so you can get back to geocaching rather than cleaning! 🙂
I’m with you, I’ll try most anything especially when in a foreign country. We’ve traveled to China many times now and there is only one dish they’ve served me that was so repulsive I simply could not grin and bear it. Pig intestine. The taste remained in the back of my throat for hours. Of course, I’ve not been exposed to fermented tofu yet. It sounds dreadful.
My mother used to cook cow intestine for many hours (I suspect it needed all-day cooking to make it “tender”) – the house smelt so disgusting!! I don’t remember ever eating it though – perhaps it was a special treat for her 🙂
The manservant (husband) ate a few questionable things from street vendors in China – some looked like rat tails…… he described them as “gristly but tasty”.
It is my thought that almost anything can be made palatable with enough garlic and soy sauce.
🙂