Real food is the most honest cultural fingerprint a country has — the stuff locals grew up eating without a second thought, and the stuff travelers stare at wondering whether it’s a meal or a dare. These 18 real dishes are exactly that kind of delicacy: beloved and ordinary in one country, completely baffling the moment you cross a border.
A lot of food for sale at state fairs and ballparks should be considered international crimes. I present the cotton candy hotdog.
These are Rocky Mountain Oysters. These aren’t oysters, but rather deep fried bull testicles.
Mett. Minced, almost paste-like raw pork with salt, black pepper, and slices of onions… It sounds like a crime against anything culinary, but it tastes amazing when you smear it on bread (especially on bread rolls).
- Mam nem, a thicker, funkier version of fish sauce from Vietnam. It is a pain to prepare. My mom had to do it outside so she didn’t stink up the house. The flies were instantly attracted to the pungent smell.
You eat it diluted and mixed with sugar, acid, and chili. My mom also added crushed pineapple. Traditionally eaten with certain spring rolls and 7 courses of beef (bo bay mon).
Mämmi. Looks like chocolate, not sweet, served with cream and sugar. People eat it only during Easter.
- Scrapple. Traditionally you boil a hogs head and liver together, then get out all the hard bits and mix the rest with buckwheat and corn meal. Seasonings vary, but think “breakfast sausage.” You let it congeal cool in a pan, then cut it thin and fry it crispy. It gets served in place of bacon at breakfast, you can also make scrapple egg and cheese sandwiches.
It’s Pennsylvania Dutch, and most people refuse to believe that it’s good or try it. I knew my fiancé was the one when he told me, excitedly, that he’d already had scrapple and loved it.
You won’t believe it, but in Japan there’s a sashimi variation… made from chicken!
I present “Pêche au Thon.” These are canned peaches filled with tuna salad mixed with mayonnaise.
- I’m not Ecuadorian, but my husband’s coworker is from there, and my husband was asking him what food he misses most from home. He said guatita, which if you are not familiar is a stew made from potatoes, peanut butter, and bible tripe.
My husband decided we would make some and give some of it to his coworker. And y’all, that thing is delicious! We now make it regularly. Doesn’t sound like it should work but it absolutely does.
I tried cold tofu with a century egg in Japan.
I’m from Malaysia and here we eat goat tongue broth.
- In Samoa, we have a dish made from chunks of taro, boiled with onions in coconut milk until just fork tender. It’s typically a side dish, but if I’m feeling lazy I’ll eat the chunks over rice with a drizzle of soy sauce.
It generally lands poorly with non-Pasifika / SEA folks since it’s kinda sour and fruity and extremely starchy. Especially because it can appear kind of pink-purple and smells of coconut, people expect it to be sweet.
Kool-Aid pickles are pretty weird.
- In Mexico City, my coworkers treated me to an unusual dish. The flavor was creamy with nutty notes, just finger-licking good! I even asked for seconds until it occurred to me to ask the chef what kind of roe I was actually eating.
His answer made me quickly rethink the second helping and push my plate away. And even though this “ant caviar” is considered a local delicacy (and goes for the price of a plane’s wing in some luxury restaurants), I probably won’t be trying escamoles again.
I’ve seen people say surströmming is the weirdest dish, but that’s actually not it. Our weirdest dish is called “Flygande Jakob.”
It’s bacon, whipped cream, chili sauce, peanuts and chicken seasoned with Italian seasoning. This is supposed to be served with rice.
I live in Brazil, and we have a dish called “Manicoba.”
It’s made with the ground leaves of wild cassava (maniva), which are highly toxic and require long cooking (up to a week) to eliminate the poison. The dish is prepared with pork and beef, bacon and sausage, and is traditionally served with white rice.
In the UK, we have an old Cornish dish called Stargazy pie. It’s a fish pie with a unique feature — fish heads sticking out, “gazing” upwards.
A story about the first time I tried Tavukgöğsü
I took a tour around Istanbul. They brought us to an amazing place. The waiter insisted on their signature dessert. The texture was pure delight! I asked what it was made of.
And suddenly the waiter winked and proudly said with a broad smile, “I’m glad you like it! It’s our old recipe. The main ingredient is fresh chicken breast!” At first, I didn’t believe it, but it turned out that the meat is boiled, shredded into the finest fibers, and mixed with milk to achieve that perfect texture.
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