You may have noticed over the years that I love writing about food. So far, I’ve covered the best things we’ve ever eaten and lots of things we’ve discovered about the cuisines of the countries we’ve called home (most recently, Canada), but this month, I thought I’d round up a list of the most interesting things we’ve eaten. You know, just in case you were looking to make your next holiday meal a little more adventurous. Bon appétit! 

Aiyu jelly

One of the first things that came to mind when compiling this list was a strange little snack we first sampled in a Taiwanese night market. Of course, I had to search my Facebook archives to find its true name because in our house, we usually refer to it as “that weird jelly stuff we had in Taiwan”, which isn’t the most flattering description, but to be honest, aiyu jelly is tough to describe! I actually also had to re-google what exactly it is because somehow “a clear, plant-based jelly made from the seeds of the creeping fig plant” just didn’t stick. Overall, super interesting texture (sort of like melty Jell-O), efficient form (slurped through a straw out of a plastic bag), and surprisingly familiar taste (somewhat like an Arnold Palmer).

Alligator nuggets

The next item on this objectively, alphabetized list is something we tried out of pandemic boredom. For almost a year, we found ourselves trapped in central Florida in various states of lockdown with one of our only forms of entertainment being our weekly take-out order. We made it a point to try as many different cuisines as possible within an hour drive of our apartment/bunker, and one of the most interesting meals we had came from a Cajun restaurant. There were all sorts of things I’d never seen or tasted on the menu there, but the most interesting dish had to be the fried alligator nuggets. A bit chewy and absolutely nothing like chicken, I can’t say these were my favorite, but at least I can say I tried them.

Chapulines

Chapulines are toasted grasshoppers and are a popular snack in Mexico and Central America. They’re very crispy and well-seasoned, making them a great street food snack or sometimes even offered as a topping for tacos or tlayudas. I think there’s now a stadium in the US that even serves chapulines at its concession stands, which makes sense because they’re super high in protein, extremely sustainable, and actually pretty tasty so long as you can get past the whole “I’m eating bugs” thing. Regardless, they’re a pretty interesting treat that isn’t as hard to find as you might imagine!

Cream egg stuffed cookies

Interesting has so many connotations. There’s interesting as in “huh, I didn’t know that existed”, interesting as in “hmm, no thanks”, and interesting as in “wow, that’s so cool”. I think the Cadbury cream egg stuffed cookies we came across in Newfoundland definitely falls into that last category. The conception was very interesting, the cross section was incredible, and the taste, exactly as you’d expect: delicious. But I think the most surprising thing was the fact that this unhealthy fusion was found in northeastern Canada and not a state fair in the southern US next to the deep-fried Oreos where it clearly belongs.

Czarnina

The next interesting dish on my list is one I’ve talked about before. It lives rent free in our (and several others’) minds since we accidently tricked a few people into enjoying it with us back when we were blissfully unaware. Czarnina is a dark, fruity soup that is commonly enjoyed in Poland. Its name clearly refers to the color of the soup as “czarny” means “black” in Polish, but I think we assumed it was beets or something equally pigmented that made the soup that color. Of course, it didn’t take us long to realize czarnina is actually made of duck’s blood. Surprisingly sweet and velvety smooth, this is another dish that is really more of a mental hurdle, at least for me. Definitely interesting though!

Dadinhos de tapioca

The newest addition to our interesting foods list, dadinhos (or cubes) of tapioca is a snack we recently tried in Brazil. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, often made with added cheese and served with a tangy sauce, they were nothing like the only tapioca dish I had for comparison (tapioca pudding, obviously). In fact, without Google, I’d have been really hard-pressed to tell you what exactly was inside the dadinhos we scarfed down with our afternoon coffee. All I knew was that they tasted good, and that was enough for me!

Frog legs

French cuisine is famous for a reason. Their chefs surely know what they’re doing. With enough butter and garlic, anything tastes good. These are the things I told myself as we worked our way through a plate of frog legs, which look strangely similar to chicken wings by the way. The comparison stops there though, because while their flavor was good, the texture was absolutely nothing like chicken (or any meat that I can remember trying). I’m really not a fan of seafood though, and maybe we were just getting a little too close to the water for my tastes. Anyway, another interesting dish checked off my list. 

Hairy tofu

Honestly, this one almost has to be seen to be believed, and oddly enough, it looks exactly as it sounds…like a block of tofu covered in hair, but in this case, the “hair” is actually a fungus. Okay, I know that doesn’t sound very appetizing, but I love mushrooms and blue cheese, and maybe you do too. Sometimes I think it’s just branding that decides whether foods lean interesting-good or interesting-bad, and unfortunately, the name “hairy tofu” definitely skews bad. In reality, the taste is pretty mild, a lot like a cheese actually, and so incredibly organic, which has to be a plus, right?

Happy pizza

On our very first night in Cambodia, after a long day of travel, we decided to pick up a pizza on the way to the hotel for a relaxing, dinner-in sort of evening. The place we went to was called Happy Pizza, and as Tucker usually does, he got the dish they were proud enough to put their name on. But then they started asking questions about the amount of “happy” we wanted, which definitely threw us off. Turns out, “happy pizza” is pizza with cannabis added among the various toppings. While I can’t say the taste was everything I wanted and more, it was definitely an interesting pizza experience to say the least!  

Hot chocolate with cheese

We had our first hot chocolate served with cheese cubes in Quito, Ecuador, but it’s actually pretty common in Colombia and other South American countries as well. As I deeply love both chocolate and cheese, I was very excited to try this combination; however, my brain just couldn’t compute. Was it sweet or savory? Dessert or salty snack? Drink or food? In the end, we were left saying “that was interesting”, and so it makes the list. I do feel like this one has the potential for a lot of variation though, so we might just need to try again with different chocolates and cheeses.

Huitlacoche

Time for another round of fungi! Huitlacoche is a fungus we encountered regularly while living in Mexico. In fact, it’s so common, they sell it at Walmart! Huitlacoche has a lot of similarities to mushrooms, and you’ll typically find it in the same sorts of dishes: soups, omelets, tacos, etc. Again, I can’t help but think about branding here because a lot of gringos shy away from huitlacoche, but maybe that has less to do with the taste and more to do with the fact that it’s called “corn smut” in English. Or maybe it’s the bulbous-y, blueish-green lobes that turn people off…I guess we’ll never know.   

Pastitsio

Two words: Greek lasagna. Already interested, aren’t you? I can tell you I certainly was after reading the description of pastitsio: pasta, cheese, beef, tomato sauce, cinnamon, clove, and a thick top layer of béchamel. It’s everything I love about lasagna plus a few really interesting additions. After having several versions of this homey dish, I’m not really sure why it hasn’t made it to the top of the Greek food pantheon (with the likes of gyros and spanakopita) because I found it to be much more interesting and easily just as tasty!

Uni (sea urchin)

One of the rarer things we’ve eaten would probably be uni (or sea urchin). It’s a little expensive because, I mean, have you seen the creatures? It doesn’t look there’s much “meat” to be harvested there. But that being said, of all the things I’ve ever eaten from the ocean, for me, this was by far the least offensive. There is absolutely no seafood flavor whatsoever. It’s really more like buttery sea water, which really pushes this one beyond interesting and into bizarre. Sometimes I wonder about the person who first discovered that there were tiny, squishy, edible pieces inside those spiky balls at the bottom of the ocean…

Rainbow corndogs

Japan clearly has a lot of fun with food. If I extended this list, I imagine several more entries would be from Japan, often, like this one, purely for their whimsy. And it doesn’t get much more whimsical than cheesy, rainbow corndogs, does it? As a kid of the 90s, I love me some colorful food (purple ketchup, color-changing milk, etc.), and these corndogs were just as fun! Luckily, they were pretty tasty as well – crispy crust, flaky interior, slappy cheese, even the hotdog paired surprisingly well with the colorful condiments. Overall, a playful take on a fast-food classic.

Yak yogurt

And last but not least, a little dessert in the form of yak yogurt. We had a beautiful bowl of this tart, yet creamy concoction out in Qinghai, one of China’s larger, western provinces. I actually think we had just eaten when we came across these, but they looked so pretty, and there was a line of people eating them on the sidewalk, so we had to have a try. I’m so glad we did too, because they were, as you should be expecting by now, very interesting. It was similar to yogurt, but also not. Maybe like a thicker, sweeter kefir? It actually reminded me more of flan than Yoplait, but however it compares, it was definitely still unexpected and delicious.

And that’s my list! So many interesting finds over the years, and I’m sure there will be plenty more to come! Hope you found something to add to your must-try list, even if only for the experience because honestly, that might just be the best part!