Red Ant Chutney To Snake Wine; Heard Of These Strange Dishes From Around The World

By Aanchal Mathur

Balut

Balut is a duck egg consumed mainly in Southeast Asia where it is boiled in the shell just before hatching. It is considered an aphrodisiac food and consumed as street food. 

Escamoles

Also known as "tequila with a worm." The escamoles are the larvae of the blue agave plant from which tequila is distilled precisely.  

Bat Soup

Unlike other recipes, in the typical one from Palau, Indonesia, where the bat is cooked whole with teeth, wings, hair and claws.  

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers are the staple food of many. However, if you haven’t tasted them yet, they are said to taste similar to sun-dried tomatoes or popcorn. 

Fried Spiders

Yes, you read that right! Fried spiders are a real delicacy, served skewered and seasoned with pepper and lemon juice. 

Casu Marzu

The casu marzu is typical of the Sardinia region however it has been considered illegal by the EU for not meeting sanitary standards. Soft and creamy, it is served with bread. 

Snake Wine

Vietnamese wine or liquor, of snake wine is believed to be an excellent restorative. It is made by infusing the whole body of the reptile or its bodily fluids into alcohol. 

Fugu

More dangerous dead than alive, handling this pufferfish requires special knives and a special license, and if the poisonous parts are not removed properly, they can lead to death. 

Witchetty Grub 

A source of protein for Australian Aborigines, these larvae are usually eaten live and raw. They are white, mushy and rather large wood grubs. 

Shiokara

Straight from Japan, this dish is made from squid fermented with its own innards. The smell is so strong that it is consumed on par with a shot, accompanied by a shot of whiskey.  

Red Ant Chutney

Also known as Chapda, the Red Ants Chutney is quite famous in the Bastar region of India’s Chhattisgarh where locals make it with Red Ants and their eggs.