“Have you ever eaten frog?”
Recently I was asked this by the vice principal of my elementary school.
“Frog?” I said. “No way!” He smiled. “It’s delicious!”
Well, I didn’t quite agree with him there. Actually, it was
surprising that he said frog, and not some sort of strange tentacled fish
you’re more likely to encounter in an island country such as Japan. Seriously,
they don’t even have turkey in japan – where did he get frog?
Anyway, this got us started on a conversation about weird
foods people eat around the world, starting with Japanese foods I find
appalling (of course I didn't quite put it that way). Yes, some countries consume dogs, ravens, guinea pigs, crocodile,
kangaroo (which I hesitantly tried once – and it was surprisingly okay. Just like
beef.), insects, innards, unborn bird embryos, even reproductive parts! I’ve
watched my fair share of Bizarre Foods
with Andrew Zimmern. And yes, I do distinctly remember him eating a live,
beating frog heart on the Japan episode and drinking fresh snake blood. But
while each country has its own peculiar cuisines, some of it is quite commonplace for
locals. Excluding the mystery meat that is hot dogs, I’d say Americans are
pretty unadventurous when it comes to choosing what meat to have for dinner.
Coming to live in Japan two years ago, I thought I loved Japanese food – that
is until I encountered real, off-the-menu fare. Now I've known for a long time
about natto and made a point to avoid it at all costs, but there are some
things I had no idea were standard food in Japan. Eating school lunch forces
you to get brave in trying new foods as the portion sizes are so small, but there
are still some things I just can’t stomach. Here’s my top 10 list of weird
things Japanese people eat.