If
anybody has seen the TV show “An Idiot Abroad” with Karl Pilkington there is a
scene in Beijing when he visits a food market to find caterpillars and
cockroaches being barbecued. From my experience I would say that food such as
this isn’t commonly eaten and is a bit of a novelty/tourist attraction with
most Chinese people agreeing that these types of food are also disgusting.
Having said that two of the most popular things to eat in Wuhan are Duck’s neck
and Chicken’s feet which aren’t much better. Duck’s neck is fine I suppose,
it’s a bit tough and there isn’t exactly a lot of meat but it tastes perfectly
acceptable but as for Chicken’s feet I simply cannot understand the appeal.
There is absolutely no meat on it and I cannot see how it’s comparable to a
wing or bit of breast. Chinese people also proceed to spit the majority of it
on the floor but they speak of a wonderful flavour that cannot be replicated in
any other part of the Chicken…unless you like nibbling on toenails though I would
give it a miss.
One extremely
palatable surprise is Bullfrog, if you ever see them in the tanks in the
supermarket they look revolting, I actually can’t even bring myself to go near
them. I unknowingly ate bullfrog on a staff dinner during my first year and was
a little shocked when somebody told me what I was eating but it’s become a local
favourite of mine. I still can’t bring myself to buy a live one in Wal-Mart and
take it home to prepare but I often order it in restaurants.
Without
a doubt the most disgusting thing I have eaten in China is a type of egg know
as Pi Dan 皮蛋. I have been told by my Chinese friends that it’s made by
preserving eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, quicklime, and rice hulls for
several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing. I have
seen it done with duck, chicken and quail eggs all leaving equally awful
results. The yolk changes a greyish colour while the egg white changes to a
dark brown and it gives off a sulphur smell….It gets a right pong circulated
the room.
Don’t
let any of the above put you off because Chinese food is brilliant, my only
criticism is there isn’t a lot of variety so you will find yourselves eating similar
ingredients cooked in similar ways frequently but for value and flavour there
isn’t anything in The UK that compares to it. You can eat out at very cheap
prices and their attention to flavour isn’t compromised at all.
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