Yuck!

[Guest thaiworthy]

 

Thai foods my boyfriend loves:

 

Fermented eggs-- YUCK!

Boiled pork over rice-- YUCK!

Bread with Carnation Sweetened Condensed Milk smeared on it-- YUCK!

 

But he hasn't eaten any bugs recently-- DOUBLE-YUCK!

 

How can people who look so good eat things that are so disgusting? Anybody got others? Or the reverse: farang foods Thais find equally yucky. My bf thinks tomato sauce over spaghetti is YUCK!

[Guest xiandarkthorne]

I'm Chinese and old-fashioned so I find very few kinds of food, Asian or Farang, yucky but I draw the line at eating cats. I have eaten dogs, bugs, snakes, all kinds of cheese (including roquefort - hope I spelled that right), and before I became serious about being Taoist (and avoiding beef) steak tartare, too. But I wouldn't eat rotten shark no matter how much of a culinary cultural icon it might be in the farthest reaches of farang-lands.

[KhorTose]

but I draw the line at eating cats.

 

Me too, I have not, nor want too, to ever eat pussy.

[Rogie]

Oh dear, the older I get the more I turn my nose up at new-fangled things like sushi - I don't ever eat that and I can't ever recall going to a Japanese restaurant simply because 1) I don't like sushi or more accurately cannot be bothered to try it, so rather pathetically I have made my mind up without ever trying it, and 2) they didn't have Japanese restaurants around in my part of the world when I were a lad. It's just a repeat of what happened in my grandparents generation, they never took to Chinese or indian food because they didn't eat that kind of food when they were younger. As for me, I love Chinese and Indian food. But the 'westernised' Chinese in Britain and other countries is safe for people like me. I have eaten in China and some of the food was a bit 'rougher' shall we say, but being in a foreign country my adventure button turned on I'm game for most 'local delicacies'.

 

I wouldn't touch shark fin soup though. It might well be delicious, so perhaps not yucky in that sense, but I strongly object to the way the fins are harvested. Not nice. Maybe bird's nest soup is delicious too, but I don't think I'm interested in trying that one either.

 

So my YUCK award goes to:

 

Shark fin soup

[Guest fountainhall]

Rogie, not to have even tried sushi - or better still sashimi - is to miss out on one of life's great joys! Isn't getting to know its cuisine one of the great ways to know a little more about a country, even though you have never ventured there? When I moved to Hong Kong, all I knew about Chinese cuisine was the Egg Foo Yung and fortune cookies served at my local Chinese restaurant (which I rarely visited). I had zero knowledge of the many regional cuisines of China and their differences, and that was one of the great excitements of living there.

 

Similarly with Japan and Thailand, many of whose dishes I sampled before living in those countries.

 

Like xian, I will perfectly happily take snake soup and some other exotic fare. But abalone, supposedly a delicacy, I just loathe! Yuck!

[ChristianPFC]

For reasons of protection of animals I would not eat shark fin soup, bird nest soup, foie gras and whale.

 

Everything else, unless it smells disgusting, is fair game. Even there are exceptions, Durian does not smell inviting, but I tried it (and the taste is so-so).

 

I recently learned about a Thai salad that contains life baby prawns, this is on my wish-list for my next holiday.

[Guest timmberty]

thaiworthy ... i have no idea what you look like, but i have a question for you ..

if you wasnt you - and your boyfriend had a picture of you on his bed side table .. would you look at it and go .. yuck !!

sometimes its a good thing these people have strange tastes ... that goes for most of us too id imagine.

[Guest thaiworthy]

would you look at it and go .. yuck !!

 

Yes.

 

Joan Rivers says she had teflon surgery done to her face, not plastic surgery. That way, if someone throws an egg at her face, it will slide right off.

[Guest fountainhall]

Christian, birds' nest soup is not made from birds! Certain birds who live in caves make their nests not from twigs and leaves but from their own saliva. It is these nests that are used for birds' nest soup. So you are harming no creature by eating them.

 

You mention live baby prawns. If it is the Chinese dish we call "Drunken Prawns", I expect you may wish to avoid it, delicious though certainly tastes. For this, a bowl of live prawns is brought to the table. A strong liquor is then poured all over them, rendering them quite drunk before the whole bowl is set alight at the table. But I guess since that is how many shellfish are cooked in the kitchen (minus the alcohol), it's not as barbaric as it may sound.

[kokopelli]

As for YUK, that awful smelling Thai salad that is prepared with a mortar and pestle must be the worst. No,never tried it and not likely to do so.

But sushi/sashimi is quite a taste treat although the taste is quite mild unless one eats mackerel which is yuk. Even the bf has become an aficionado of this fare; goes well with champagne.

[Bob]

As for YUK, that awful smelling Thai salad that is prepared with a mortar and pestle must be the worst. No,never tried it and not likely to do so.

 

Somtam? Although I limit it when I can to one chili and ask for it without the dried shrimp, I rather like it....and don't think it has a bad smell at all. Probably close to the number one dish in Thailand.

 

As for raw fish....regardless of any fancy name.....yuck!

[Guest fountainhall]

As for raw fish....regardless of any fancy name.....yuck!

 

Like a lot of foods, raw fish as sushi or sashimi on its own is OK but it needs something to go with it to make it special. Dip it in soy sauce laced with a decent amount of wasabi, then pop a thin slice of ginger on top and - WAAAAHHHH! (Just pray the wasabi does not get from the back of your mouth into your nose!). Then its WAAAAHHHtishoo!

[kokopelli]

Somtam? Although I limit it when I can to one chili and ask for it without the dried shrimp, I rather like it....and don't think it has a bad smell at all. Probably close to the number one dish in Thailand.

 

As for raw fish....regardless of any fancy name.....yuck!

 

The yuk salad I am speaking of smells like SHIT at least to me.

[Guest snapshot]

Most Thai food is fine for me and I find the flavours amazing but there's a couple of dishes where the smell just gets a bit too pungent for my liking.

 

Of course, I don't eat bugs or anything like that but neither does my BF. I never did ask any of my Thai ex's if they ate bugs. 

 

Some of my ex's who grew up in the more rural parts of Thailand had a thing about needing to eat Thai food more when they were hungry. They were fine were Italian, Japanese, Vietnamese etc. but if they were really hungry, it needed to be Thai food. I think all the other cuisines just don't have enough flavour. 

 

Oh dear, the older I get the more I turn my nose up at new-fangled things like sushi - I don't ever eat that and I can't ever recall going to a Japanese restaurant...

Sushi/Sushimi is beautiful but even if you don't like it there are tonnes of other delicious dishes to have at Japanese restaurants... terryaki chicken and gyoza (fried meat dumplings) are easy to like. 

 

 

I wouldn't touch shark fin soup though. It might well be delicious, so perhaps not yucky in that sense, but I strongly object to the way the fins are harvested. Not nice. 

I've had shark fin soup many times in the past when I was younger but I agree and I would not eat it now because I think it's unethical. I've even had a few instances recently where I was served it and had to do my best to turn it down without offending the host or seeming strange. 

 

It has no taste. In fact noodles have more taste than shark fin. When it's served in soup, I think the flavour comes from the chicken soup, scallops or whatever else they put in it.

 

The only intrinsically appealing factor is that it has an interesting texture, which makes it enjoyable to eat. People serve it more for the prestige value. 

 

 

[Rogie]

 

. . .  People serve it more for the prestige value. 

 

If I seem to have a bit of a downer on East Asian cuisine (China and Japan), as you can imagine I was 'disgusted' to come across yet another cringe-worthy example of overkill: 

 

A single bluefin tuna has sold in Japan for 155m yen ($1.7m; £1.05m), almost triple the record price set last year.

 

High bids traditionally mark the year's first auction at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market.

 

Even the buyer, sushi chain owner Kiyoshi Kimura, who also paid out the record price last year, said the cost was "a bit high".

 

The sale came amid continued warnings from environmentalists that tuna stocks are dwindling and overfished.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20919306

[Guest abang]

As a Singapore born and bred Chinese, there are still alot of food that I have yet to master the guts to sample.

Even in Thailand, there are some pungent/foul-smelling dishes that I stir clear off.

 

Of course, now that we are so (politically and morally) correct, consuming shark fins and meat from endangered species is out of the question. 

Dont even bother to ask me to sample fried insects ( a common sight in Thailand)!

 

Rogie, I reckon RAW food just isnt right for you... sushi is actually boiled rice with a different topping. 

You may want to try tomago (egg roll), california roll.

However, you should avoid sashimi (raw fish) unless you down it with a glass of SAKE.

 

On an equal footing, I personally dislike eating RAW vegetables in salads.

Just a personal preference, lah.

[Guest thaiworthy]

However, you should avoid sashimi (raw fish) unless you down it with a glass of SAKE.

 

On an equal footing, I personally dislike eating RAW vegetables in salads.

Just a personal preference, lah.

What is it about SAKE that makes it okay to eat raw fish (sashimi)? I'm not going to try this, but I'm interested to know.

 

Aren't most salads RAW? (Lettuce, tomato, carrots, cucumbers, radish, etc.) Unless you are talking about pasta or potato salad? A trip to the salad bar will have mostly raw vegetables.

[Guest fountainhall]

It's perfectly acceptable to eat raw fish as long as it has been properly cleaned and prepared. And many people, not just Japanese, much prefer to drink sake with sushi/sashimi rather than beer or wine. It's almost as though they compliment each other. Sometimes it is drunk chilled, sometimes warm. Rather like whisky, there are hundreds of different types of sake.

 

If someone was to offer me just a few small slices of that bluefin tuna Rogie mentioned, sake would be the only drink to do it justice! 

[Rogie]

Rather like whisky, there are hundreds of different types of sake.

 

If someone was to offer me just a few small slices of that bluefin tuna Rogie mentioned, sake would be the only drink to do it justice! 

I admit I am 100% ignorant concerning sake, so it's clearly more subtle than I imagined it to be. I suppose I imagined it like vodka (now somebody will tell me there are hundreds of different types of vodka!)- an awful drink I steer well clear of.

 

I'm happy to think of FH enjoying his blue fin tuna and sake. As for me I'd prefer a nice juicy steak - Aberdeen Angus - well cooked, but not well done - with a glass of Chateau Mouton Rothschild (which I have never tasted but would definitely go for, to use Snapshot's term, 'prestige value'). I am a steak tartare-free zone.

[Guest fountainhall]

Spot on! In the US state of Idaho alone, there are 450 different varieties on sale! Americans purchase more vodka than whiskey and gin combined.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18360315

 

with a glass of Chateau Mouton Rothschild

 

I fear it is never sold by the glass, so you’d have to drink the whole bottle! In the UK, a vintage ready for drinking about now will set you back at least £450 off the shelf – nearly double in a restaurant! Enjoy!   But I guess it means you won’t be coming back to Thailand anytime soon! 

[Guest Jovianmoon]

I must weigh in here regarding sashimi - it is absolutely my favourite of all dishes - particularly tuna (maguro). 

 

Both when I was in Japan and here in Australia I sometimes go to fish shops and buy steaks of raw tuna and slice it myself as one meal - not a balanced meal I admit - but I love it. Cooked tuna to me is ruined tuna.

 

Just my preference. The whole fish is used, and as far as I know when it is harvested it dies quickly.

 

Which is more than I can say for some fishing methods, which brings me to the comments on shark's fin soup. It is worthless as a dish for taste. Texture is negligible. When it was unaffordable to the Chinese proletariat masses it was traditionally about prestige and today I understand it has some lily-livered significance of having a quality of virility among some ethnic peoples. Such nonsense is worse than useless. To slice the fins off a shark and then throw it back into the sea is analogous to hacking the limbs off a cow and then leaving it in a paddock to die. Unconscionable. I will not patronise a restaurant which serves such an atrocity and here in Australia I report those that do to the Anti-Shark Finning Alliance

 

Rant complete.

[Guest fountainhall]

sashimi - it is absolutely my favourite of all dishes - particularly tuna (maguro).

 

Nothing finer! Accompanied by wasabi, soy sauce, sliced ginger - and of course sake! Heaven!

[Guest timmberty]

Nothing finer! Accompanied by wasabi, soy sauce, sliced ginger - and of course sake! Heaven!

for gods sake surely ?

[Guest Jovianmoon]

for gods sake surely ?

 

Indeed yes - the food of the gods! 

[kokopelli]

I have learned to love sushi and sashimi as does the bf but have not developed a taste for sake although have not drank the good stuff. However there is the risk of infection especially with certain types of worms present in the fish plus bacterial infections.