What, no creamy center?
If they're undercooked it's closer to mucus.
I hang out with entomologists sometimes. They're pretty entertaining, but they tend to bug out.
Snake Wine (or other 'unusual' alcohol infusions)
- Thread starter Conscientia
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If they're undercooked it's closer to mucus.
I hang out with entomologists sometimes. They're pretty entertaining, but they tend to bug out.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0PIdWdw15U[/YOUTUBE]
Sake and wine are about as similar as apples and oranges. It is one hting I have been making a steady effort to get into and have to admit, its an acquired taste and the cheap (or improperly handled) stuff is a beast.
Yes, the problem arose from sake being called "rice wine," so people thought there should be some kind of parallel.
Good sake is amazing. I had some in Kyoto several years back and the entire meal was unforgettable.
It is an acquired taste but honestly, isn't grape wine, too, or even beer? And aren't cheap versions of any of those horrible, too?
Wow. What an interesting thread.. Mentions of weird food galore. Luckily, I have tried and sampled many of the items you gentlemen are talking about through my travels in Southeast Asia.. Here's my take from an American taste buds...
Balut - Love the stuff. We all know what is. However, I was hesitant at first.. but in reality.. it tastes like a hardboiled egg. It can be a bit "feathery" if you buy one that is more "older," but fresh ones taste just like hardboiled eggs. Plus it works great for your libido.
Dog - Ate this one by default. I didn't speak Tagalog (the Native language of the Philippines) at the time. It looked like beef on the menu. I ordered it and ate it cluelessly. My cousin informed me post dinner that the Philippines didnt have any cows.. and that I ate dog. Eh. Didnt bother me. Tasted like Arbys roast beef.
Crickets - tasted this one again on the street.. reminded me of Peanuts, but crunchier.. as you would think an insect would be.
Beatles - Street tasted. Kind of creamy. Yet, a very earthier kind of flavor to them. Get's stuck in your teeth.. nothing too bad.
Cobra Heart - A waiter brought out a cobra and cut out it's heart and stuck in a shot glass with some local rice wine moonshine.. I hate snakes, but I didnt want to offend my hosts. So I took the shot.. I didnt chew the heart, but the blood in the shot tasted kinda of greasy.. plus I felt the heart beating down my throat as the shot went down. They also cooked up he snake.. as you can guess.. just like greasy, oily, chicken.
Bat - One flew into my uncles house. He killed and then grilled it. Very little meat. Tasted like a game-ier version of beef jerky. very tough.
Moral of these stories?? Try something once. You never know what might happen, you might actually like it!
Balut - Love the stuff. We all know what is. However, I was hesitant at first.. but in reality.. it tastes like a hardboiled egg. It can be a bit "feathery" if you buy one that is more "older," but fresh ones taste just like hardboiled eggs. Plus it works great for your libido.
Dog - Ate this one by default. I didn't speak Tagalog (the Native language of the Philippines) at the time. It looked like beef on the menu. I ordered it and ate it cluelessly. My cousin informed me post dinner that the Philippines didnt have any cows.. and that I ate dog. Eh. Didnt bother me. Tasted like Arbys roast beef.
Crickets - tasted this one again on the street.. reminded me of Peanuts, but crunchier.. as you would think an insect would be.
Beatles - Street tasted. Kind of creamy. Yet, a very earthier kind of flavor to them. Get's stuck in your teeth.. nothing too bad.
Cobra Heart - A waiter brought out a cobra and cut out it's heart and stuck in a shot glass with some local rice wine moonshine.. I hate snakes, but I didnt want to offend my hosts. So I took the shot.. I didnt chew the heart, but the blood in the shot tasted kinda of greasy.. plus I felt the heart beating down my throat as the shot went down. They also cooked up he snake.. as you can guess.. just like greasy, oily, chicken.
Bat - One flew into my uncles house. He killed and then grilled it. Very little meat. Tasted like a game-ier version of beef jerky. very tough.
Moral of these stories?? Try something once. You never know what might happen, you might actually like it!
Seconded on the crickets, kind of like a combination of popcorn and peanuts. I would regularly consume them if I could find a good source.
I had locusts, deep-fried, which were good beer-drinkin' snack food.
The usual dog soup...I'm not crazy about most meat in general and this was a dark meat, which I really don't like.
Little sparrows, whole, on sticks. Definitely am not crazy about crunching the little heads.
But my favorite disgusting thing to eat is "stinky tofu," a molded tofu that literally smells like crap but tastes great. It's delicious smeared on a kind of toasted corn bread.
The usual dog soup...I'm not crazy about most meat in general and this was a dark meat, which I really don't like.
Little sparrows, whole, on sticks. Definitely am not crazy about crunching the little heads.
But my favorite disgusting thing to eat is "stinky tofu," a molded tofu that literally smells like crap but tastes great. It's delicious smeared on a kind of toasted corn bread.
The furthest I've gone is turtle an aligator. They both taste like chicken with a shrimp after taste. As for sake, I had some very nice warm saki with a japanese meal while taking a nice little vacation to puerto rico. It was delicious with the meal. I couldnt tell if I'm a huge fan of it or not because I got absolutely sauced at a meet and greet at the hotel that had an unlimited supply of del sol and crown royal. I'd be up for another drunken japanese adventure though any day. No sushi though.
I would day try everything twice. The first time you really have no idea what to expect and the shock of a taste/texture/smell that is completely different than what you expect can be enough to put you off.
The second time you try something you will know what to expect so you wont get any surprises.
Seems like a waste of prefectly good alcohol.
Nemo
First off, you are a brute for punishment. Secondly, you got Balut of a much better quality than mine were. Considering the venue, they may have been chosen for their age, but definately not like a boiled egg. And Thirdly....Does Boo know you are eating this stuff?
Nemo
First off, you are a brute for punishment. Secondly, you got Balut of a much better quality than mine were. Considering the venue, they may have been chosen for their age, but definately not like a boiled egg. And Thirdly....Does Boo know you are eating this stuff?
Your right on that one. I always bought it fresh from Provinces outside of Manila. You can always hear the old women calling out Balut for sale. If you want it fresh, find a local Filipino/Asian Market and ask the locals. That's how I find it here in the USA.
Does boo know? Boo does and she thinks Im crazy. She knows that I have a food death wish. I once told a Thai chef "make it as hot as you can you son of..." He did and I paid big time. Also, she blames the intestinial parasite I got from trying street food like that (don't worry, it all cleared up after 3 weeks of meds). As long as it's not insects, she usually tolerates it. LOL. But, hey when your in a country like that, you got to go for the gusto!!
Nemo
First off, you are a brute for punishment. Secondly, you got Balut of a much better quality than mine were. Considering the venue, they may have been chosen for their age, but definately not like a boiled egg. And Thirdly....Does Boo know you are eating this stuff?
Yes Mike. I am aware of his food adventures. Just as long as I don't have to try them I'm okay with it. I would NEVER eat any type of bug or insect. BLEH!!! 
He certainly will never kiss me right after eating one.On the other hand, I have eaten fried rattlesnake on more than one occasion. They serve it in a restaurant here in Arizona. They put it on a plate next to its skeleton. Tastes like chicken!! Yum!
I couldn't agree more
Down here there is a drink made by a local winery called Purple Death. I think they just bottle the dregs after fermenting! I haven't seen it around for a while but apparently it is still available. This is what the label says:
PURPLE DEATH
An unusual 'Rough-as-Guts' Wine that has the distinctive boquet of horse-**** and old tram tickets. It is best drunk with the teeth clenched to prevent the ingestion of foreign bodies. Connoiesseurs will savour the slight tannin taste of old tea leaves and burnt cat fur. Possessors of a cultivated palate will admire the initial assault on the taste buds which comes from the careful and loving blending of animal manure and perished jock straps strained through an old miners sock. The maturing in small pigs bladders gives it a definite nose.
Marketed under the Savious Brand (9 out of 10 people who drink it for the first
time exclaim "Jee-esus Chri-i-ist").
Caution keep away from 'naked flames' (both old and new).
BOTTLED BY THE MAD SCIENTIST - JUST FOR FUN
750mls Colour and Flavour Added 18% Alc. by Vol.
Simon
PURPLE DEATH
An unusual 'Rough-as-Guts' Wine that has the distinctive boquet of horse-**** and old tram tickets. It is best drunk with the teeth clenched to prevent the ingestion of foreign bodies. Connoiesseurs will savour the slight tannin taste of old tea leaves and burnt cat fur. Possessors of a cultivated palate will admire the initial assault on the taste buds which comes from the careful and loving blending of animal manure and perished jock straps strained through an old miners sock. The maturing in small pigs bladders gives it a definite nose.
Marketed under the Savious Brand (9 out of 10 people who drink it for the first
time exclaim "Jee-esus Chri-i-ist").
Caution keep away from 'naked flames' (both old and new).
BOTTLED BY THE MAD SCIENTIST - JUST FOR FUN
750mls Colour and Flavour Added 18% Alc. by Vol.
Simon
M
modern man
Habu Sake will get ya drunk! 
How about the Sourtoe Cocktail!!
http://www.sourtoecocktailclub.com/sourtoe.html
Established in 1973, the Sourtoe Cocktail has become a Dawson City tradition. The original rules were that the toe must be placed in a beer glass full of champagne, and that the toe must touch the drinker's lips during the consumption of the alcohol before he or she can claim to be a true Sourtoer. The rules have changed in the past twenty-seven years. The Sourtoe can be had with any drink now (even ones that aren't alcoholic), but one rule remains the same. The drinker's lips must touch the toe. " You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow-- But the lips have gotta touch the toe."
The Sourtoes are actual human toes that have been dehydrated and preserved in salt. Swallowing one is not suggested.
http://www.sourtoecocktailclub.com/sourtoe.html
Established in 1973, the Sourtoe Cocktail has become a Dawson City tradition. The original rules were that the toe must be placed in a beer glass full of champagne, and that the toe must touch the drinker's lips during the consumption of the alcohol before he or she can claim to be a true Sourtoer. The rules have changed in the past twenty-seven years. The Sourtoe can be had with any drink now (even ones that aren't alcoholic), but one rule remains the same. The drinker's lips must touch the toe. " You can drink it fast, you can drink it slow-- But the lips have gotta touch the toe."
The Sourtoes are actual human toes that have been dehydrated and preserved in salt. Swallowing one is not suggested.
Nothing like waking up a long dead thread. I don't know much about the snake-in-a-jug infusions that you get in other places, but I do know a little about the habuzake in Okinawa. Awamori isn't actually sake, which turns out to be a pretty important distinction when you're halfway through a bottle. Sake is brewed from rice, so it's not wine at all--much more like beer. Awamori, on the other hand, is distilled. It's a lot like Japanese shochu. In fact, since it's traditionally made from Thai rice, it might be a cousin of Mekong whiskey--a Thai liquor that you'll never forget if you've ever drank it.
Anyway, bottles of awamori with a habu in them are popular souvenirs for tourists in Okinawa and you often see a jug on the shelf of a bar. On the other hand, it isn't all that popular among the local people. It's supposed to have various medicinal properties, including increasing male potency. It must be the treatment of last resort.
One night, I found myself in a bar with a bunch of free-spending Japanese tourists and a friendly bartender served each of us up a cup of it on the house (maybe the snake had reached his expiration date). I didn't want to spoil the party, so I drank mine. It didn't taste much different than ordinary awamori, but it had a kind of metallic tang to it. It also had a nasty feeling on my tongue--like I somehow managed to smoke a whole pack of filterless cigarettes at one sitting.
Although sake is becoming more popular in the US, it's still hard to find awamori. I've seen it in Japanese grocery stores, and you can sometimes find it on the shelf in an izakaya or other Japanese restaurants. If you haven't tried it, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Ordinary awamori is good on the rocks with a splash of water. An aged awamori is probably best served neat. I'd recommend that you pass on the snake.
Anyway, bottles of awamori with a habu in them are popular souvenirs for tourists in Okinawa and you often see a jug on the shelf of a bar. On the other hand, it isn't all that popular among the local people. It's supposed to have various medicinal properties, including increasing male potency. It must be the treatment of last resort.
One night, I found myself in a bar with a bunch of free-spending Japanese tourists and a friendly bartender served each of us up a cup of it on the house (maybe the snake had reached his expiration date). I didn't want to spoil the party, so I drank mine. It didn't taste much different than ordinary awamori, but it had a kind of metallic tang to it. It also had a nasty feeling on my tongue--like I somehow managed to smoke a whole pack of filterless cigarettes at one sitting.
Although sake is becoming more popular in the US, it's still hard to find awamori. I've seen it in Japanese grocery stores, and you can sometimes find it on the shelf in an izakaya or other Japanese restaurants. If you haven't tried it, you owe it to yourself to check it out. Ordinary awamori is good on the rocks with a splash of water. An aged awamori is probably best served neat. I'd recommend that you pass on the snake.
