The cuisine of each country is fundamentally different from each other, each nation has its own traditional dishes that they love to cook in all corners of our world, but there are also very unusual, interesting dishes that are prepared exclusively in some restaurant or city, which are different their originality and ingredients, and will be discussed today.

In the first place, it would seem, are traditional dumplings, but it is these dumplings that are prepared in the only restaurant in New York, "Golden Gates" bluish glow. Anyone can taste such a dish in this restaurant for only $ 2,500.

The second, more product that attracted attention is the macadamia nut, which is found exclusively in Australia, earlier this nut was a common dish of the "local" aborigines, but for some time now the production of this nut has significantly decreased, to 40 tons per year, so for a kilogram of this a wonderful nut will have to pay $ 30.

Believe it or not, there is also the most expensive sandwich in the world - it is a platinum club sandwich, which is served in the restaurant of the Von Essen hotel. And the composition of this dish includes - the most important thing - bread, but cooked with a special sourdough, white truffles, quail eggs, tomatoes from Italy.


If you are not such a gourmet of exotic and expensive food, I suggest you apply for the delivery of ready-made meals through special online services.

Since we are talking about products, I would like to highlight the most expensive spice in the world - this is saffron. This product is interesting in that saffron is the stamens of plants of the crocus family, which, among other things, are collected by human hands, and as they say, manual labor is especially valued in order to collect at least 0.5 kg. saffron has to devastate 500,000 plants. And a kilogram of this good is worth $ 6,000.

Well, I can't help but tell you about the truffle, although everyone knows that the truffle is very expensive in itself, the white truffle stands out from the family, the price of which reaches 30,000 EURO.

Now it's the turn of the sweet tooth - chocolate. The most expensive is Chocopologie by Knipschildt, which is produced exclusively in the USA. You will not find such chocolate on store benches, but only in elite restaurants, because 0.5 kilograms of this miracle costs $ 2,600.

I can't tell you about the most expensive coffee in the world - "Kopi Luwak", which has an unusual method of production. Luwak is a small beast that loves coffee beans very much. After eating and digesting them, the grains acquire an unusual aroma and taste. For a kilo of this good you will have to pay 400 US dollars.

Asia is renowned for its gourmet food, delicacies, spices and flavors - but some countries can offer you weird, if not creepy, foods that you’re unlikely to ever try. However, some of the presented dishes can be found in Europe and America.

Tuna eye.

This miracle of cooking can only be found in Japan. This is probably the most gigantic fisheye you will ever see. And, of course, there is no saliva in the mouth at the sight of this delicacy. The only way to eat this thing is to quickly swallow it and forget it, otherwise the consequences are very predictable.


Blood broth.

These bloody chunks are common food in Laos culinary workshops, but if you still can't wait to try broth, then you can always find it at Phousy Market, in Luang Prabang.


Bovine eggs.

It is the most common household food in southern China; very often you can see how bovine eggs hang in the butcher's shop along with other types of meat. As the Chinese say, we are open to any food.


Bat.

The boiled bat is a very valuable dish in Asia. And this dish is not very cheap and is a real delicacy. You can try it in Fiji and other Asian countries, they say that it tastes like chicken.


Pork brains.

Although this dish may not seem super unusual to you, you are unlikely to find it in every restaurant.
One company has even gone into production of canned food, in which pig brains are soaked in milk, a product for those who want to experience the full range of Asian flavors. According to the label, there are 150 calories in one can, 5 grams of fat. And also 3500 mg of cholesterol, which is 1170% of the recommended daily value.


Balut.

A boiled duck egg, in which a fruit with plumage, cartilage and beak has already formed. It is eaten mainly by the peoples of Cambodia.
Those who have tried this dish report an especially crunchy taste (possibly due to half-formed bones)


The mice are in the wine.

This wine is made as follows: a bottle of rice wine is filled with young three-day-old mice and the wine is left to “languish” for a year in order to combine the flavors, so to speak. It is believed that this wine is very healthy and is a real medicine in some parts of Korea. Wine tastes like kerosene.


Hakarl is rotten shark meat.

Hakarl is nothing more than the meat of a harmless Greenland giant shark, rotten to the last muscle cell. Ambre hakarla resembles the smell of unkempt public toilets. And hakarl looks like cheese cut into cubes.

Hakarl comes in two varieties: from a rotten stomach and from rotten muscle tissue. For shops, hakarl is packaged, like our squids for beer from a stall. Inexperienced eaters are advised to plug their nose at the first tasting, because the smell is much stronger than the taste. It looks like a very spicy white fish or mackerel in Hebrew. In Iceland, this delicacy is included in the compulsory program of festivities at Christmas and New Years. Eating rotten shark means being tough and strong, like a real Viking.


Kiwiak.

Kiwiak is a seal stuffed with gulls. Here is a recipe for one super-delicious Christmas dish from the cuisine of the most northern peoples living in the subarctic from Greenland to Chukotka. Take one decapitated seal and stuff dead, plucked seagulls into its belly. Hide the dish for seven months in the permafrost. During this time, the enzymes of the decaying gulls will work properly with the intestines of the seal. Then they dig up the kiwak and eat, expecting favors from Santa. The synecrosis of poultry and pinnipeds tastes like very old and rather spicy cheese.


Lutefisk.

The dish, popular in Norway and Sweden, is prepared relatively simply: dried fish, most often cod or haddock, are soaked for three days in a solution of caustic soda, and then for several more days in water. Due to a chemical reaction, the fish flesh becomes almost transparent, acquires a jelly-like consistency and a rather unpleasant pungent odor. Well-known culinary critic Jeffrey Steingarten described this dish as follows: “Lutefisk is not food, but a weapon of mass destruction. This is an example of food, the taste of which is unlike anything, but at the same time evokes such strong emotions that it literally knocks out a person. "


Surströmming.

Surstroemming - (Swedish. Surstroemming) Swedish national product, which is a canned fermented herring.


Casu marzu

Casu marzu is a type of cheese produced in Sardinia, best known for its live insect larvae,. Translated from Sardinian casu marzu means "rotten cheese", colloquially the expression "wormy cheese" is also used.


The larvae are small (8 mm) worms. When disturbed, they are able to jump up to 15 centimeters. For this reason, those wishing to taste Kasu Marzu are advised to protect their eyes while eating. The taste burns the tongue, a smelly liquid called lagrima - tears - flows out of the cheese, and the larvae are not digested and can begin to multiply, causing vomiting and bloody diarrhea.


Haggis

Haggis or mutton tripe. This is the name of the famous Scottish national dish, which is the heart, lungs and liver of an animal crushed and cooked in a lamb's stomach.


Escamoles.

The national Mexican dish is the eggs of the giant black lyometopum ants that live in agaves. The consistency of eggs is about the same as cottage cheese. They are usually eaten in tacos with guacomole sauce.

Sannakji

Sannakji is a live octopus. It is considered a great delicacy in Korea. You can see and choose an octopus in large aquariums, which are usually located at the entrance to a restaurant.


A live octopus cub is still cut and served, sprinkled with sesame seeds. At the moment of eating, the tentacles continue to move and, if they do not work their jaws more actively, they can stick to the tongue and palate.


Roasted guinea pig

Roasted guinea pig (known as guinea pig). Guinea pigs were originally domesticated for consumption by the Andean people. Until now, they are an integral part of the diet of the inhabitants of Peru and Bolivia, especially in the highlands of the Andes. Also fried carcasses of guinea pigs are served with pleasure in some regions of Ecuador and Colombia. This breed of pig takes up much less space than the usual one, requires less nutrition and reproduces faster, which means it is more profitable.


Guinea pig meat is rich in proteins, low in fat and cholesterol, and tastes like rabbit meat.


Silkworm

Silkworm on skewers. Beware of fakes, the real silkworm is shown in the photo.

Deep-fried scorpions.

The most common product in Asian markets (China, Cambodia, Bangkok). However, scorpions are eaten not only in Asia. In high-end restaurants in New York and Amsterdam, the audience, spoiled by exotic delights, is treated to a scorpion snack on a cheese pillow surrounded by lettuce leaves.

Scorpion Recipe: Remove the scorpion stings and claws. Marinate in white wine, honey and lemon for 30 minutes. Fry in the oven at 250 degrees C for 5 minutes. Rub the carcasses with garlic, pepper and salt. String several carcasses on a skewer and serve.


Fried tarantulas.

Spiders are like spiders, only fried and poisonous. Of course, the poisonous fangs are removed before cooking. Spider legs, abdomen and poisonous jaws separately insist on rice wine - a dark brown cloudy liquid is obtained, which raises the general tone. In Cambodia, by the way, fried tarantulas are considered a noble delicacy, almost like black caviar in the West.


Grasshoppers.

One of the most popular dishes in Cambodia is the specially prepared grasshoppers. And grasshoppers are also adored in the USA, in the state of Missouri. Grasshoppers are eaten fried, preferably hot, in soy or fish sauce, sprinkled with plentiful red hot pepper. It is better to separate the head and legs immediately together with the stomach. The legs are a food for everyone, they are edible, but they are unusually long, so they cannot be swallowed without first biting each one in half. The taste is somewhat reminiscent of fried potatoes with a kind of creamy, slightly sweetish aftertaste.


Deep-fried cockroaches.
The same as grasshoppers, only cockroaches ...


Bee larvae.

In China, beekeepers eat bee larvae. Therefore, beekeepers are distinguished by their strength and courage. The larvae are eaten raw directly in the combs with honey. Fried with salt and pepper, they serve as an excellent beer snack. And they are also used to make pate. Taste: raw, they have a very sophisticated sweet creamy taste.


Reindeer placenta soup.

A very good remedy for male potency and kidney function. If it is not possible to find it in its natural form, they say it can be bought in pills.


Lamb eggs.

They are also used to make sote with spices and lemon juice.


Ox penis.

The main reason for making food from the genitals of animals attractive to humans is testosterone, a sex hormone produced by the testes. Recipes of this kind are still widely used today, especially in Asia, where, in particular, the belief that soup from a tiger's penis can transform intimate life contributed a lot to the catastrophic decline in the number of this predator. The ox, unlike the tiger, is not yet on the verge of extinction. Om-Nom-nom)))

Monkey brain.

It's not just a tourist myth or a scene from Indiana Jones: there are people who regularly eat raw monkey brains. Although there is little faith in the famous story about a restaurant dish "the brains of a living monkey". In Cambodia, at the bazaar, you can easily and inexpensively buy a kilo or two of monkey brains and eat right there on the spot. Nobody will find it strange or ugly.


And finally - a crocodile.

Where to go for the thrill-seekers

There are people who eat in foreign trips exclusively at McDonald's and who are competently talking about the merits and demerits of burgers in different countries. But, fortunately, there are also curious travelers, in pursuit of new impressions, courageously trying the strangest, if not scary, local dishes.

Spiders and company

It is not surprising that Asian dishes are leading in various ratings of strange foreign dishes. The most frequently honored mentions are:

Balut (balut)- a boiled duck egg, in which the fruit has already formed, with plumage, cartilage and beak. This dish is popular in Cambodia and the Philippines, where it is considered not only nutritious, but also beneficial to the libido. Balut is usually prepared with salt, lemon juice, black pepper and coriander, although some prefer vinegar and chili. It is customary to eat balut like this: break the shell, suck out the liquid, and then eat the yolk and the embryo.

Fried tarantulas - food is clearly not for those with arachnophobia. These large spiders, whole fried, are on offer in Cambodia. The inhabitants of the city of Sukona, namely, these creatures are found in the surrounding jungle, did not eat them because of a good life. But today, tarantulas are an additional source of income for local residents, although they cost only a few cents. Passing buses make a special stop in Sukone so that passengers can eat spiders. Tarantulas are fried with garlic and salt. They are said to taste like fried chicken - crispy on the outside and sweet on the inside.

Other. A wide variety of insects are eaten in many Asian countries. On the stalls of street vendors you can find scorpions, locusts, water cockroaches, meal and silkworms, swimming beetles ... Although insects seem to be a strange food, it is still worth trying, you see, they will soon enter our diet. For example, recently, as reported by the BBC, the UN raised the issue of increasing insect consumption in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farms. Thais, on the other hand, consider insects to be a snack like chips, only much healthier.

Live food. Many foods are consumed raw, eating alive is less common, but still occurs. In Japanese restaurants, you can try frog sashimi. The chef opens the amphibian before your eyes, takes out the beating heart, which the client should eat first. The rest of the meal consists of cold, raw frog flesh. It is believed that such a dish has a positive effect ... Guess what.

And in Korea, you can eat live octopuses, you don't even have to come to a restaurant - they are sold right on the street. Small individuals are cut into pieces, sprinkled with sesame oil and immediately served - the tentacles should move. Eating this dish requires skill - even a dismembered octopus is not going to give up. The tentacles must first be peeled off the sticks, and already in the mouth from the teeth, tongue and palate, and chewed very carefully.

Other unusual Asian dishes include smelly tofu and gourmet swallow's nest soup. The first is tofu cheese, soaked in a broth of vegetables and shrimps “aged” for up to six months, and then fried until golden brown. The first part of the name of this dish is due to the marinade, the smell of which even fans of the dish compare to rotting waste. Served with spicy vinegar and sesame oil sauce, cucumber and sauerkraut salad. The taste is said to be similar to cordon blue. We will not go into detail about swallow nests - they seem to be already available in Moscow. For those who want to cook this delicacy, there is a recipe in.

Mouse tincture... Although beer is most often mentioned as a suitable drink for all this exotic, you can find something more interesting. For example, wine from newborn mice. Rice wine with mice in China and Korea is considered a tonic drink, although it tastes unpleasant.

To other continents

Strange, from our point of view, dishes can be found not only in Asia. For example, in Ecuador it will be difficult for those who kept guinea pigs in their childhood. Here they are specially grown, and then they are fried whole with their heads and legs. Smoked meat, they say, looks like duck.

In Mexico, you may be offered a dish called escamole. It is prepared from the eggs of the giant black ants Liometopum. The extraction of the main ingredient is very dangerous - the ants are poisonous and are not ready to give up their offspring without a fight. In the finished form, the dish has the consistency of cottage cheese, has a pleasant oily taste with nutty notes. Escamole is usually served on a taco cake with guacomole sauce.

However, it is not necessary to travel so far for a sharp culinary experience. The strange and odorous can be found in Europe as well. Perhaps the leader is Kasu Marzu (with asu marzu) is a sheep's milk cheese made in Sardinia and Italy. Live cheese fly larvae are planted in cheese, usually Pecorino varieties. Piophila casei. The larvae digest the fats in the cheese, making the texture soft and oozing liquid. Cheese is eaten when the larvae are still alive, otherwise you can get poisoned. The larvae may not be removed, but you need to be careful and protect your eyes - the larvae jump out, fleeing. Today, kasu marzu is banned as dangerous to health, but it can still be obtained on the black market (read about other dangerous foods in).

Another European "attraction" - with jurströmming. This sonorous name hides a canned fermented herring. The fish is caught in the spring before spawning, kept for one or two months in barrels, and then packed in cans. As the jars continue to ferment, they can explode. Because of this feature, some airlines equate With jurströmming to explosives prohibited for carriage. Surströmming has a salty taste and a pungent unpleasant odor. It is served with boiled potatoes, and simply on bread, and real lovers use it straight from the can.

Finally, we will mention a few culinary attractions that you can get to know up close in the British Isles. Harsh Scots respect haggis, especially on January 25, Robert Burns' birthday. It is prepared from lamb giblets (heart, liver and lungs), mixed with oatmeal, chopped onions and spices. This minced meat is stuffed with a mutton stomach, sewn up and boiled for several hours. Haggis in Scotland is served everywhere, on special occasions, accompanied by whiskey, of course, Scotch.

In Ireland, you can have bloody or black pudding for breakfast. Despite the dreaded name, it is a type of blood sausage. These sausages, made from processed blood and various fillings, are a traditional part of an Irish breakfast, complementing scrambled eggs and bacon.

The people of Wales are less bloodthirsty, but no less original, at least in terms of breakfast. Their traditional morning meal includes laverbred, a flatbread made from red algae that grows off the coast of the peninsula. Gover (South Wales). The seaweed is boiled for several hours until it turns into a jelly-like paste, which is then rolled in oatmeal and baked in the form of tortillas.

Materials used in the preparation

Traveling is often a great way to get to know the culture of other countries and peoples. After all, they give the opportunity to taste the food that the locals eat.

By the way, most of the dishes considered in a number of countries do not at all correspond to the taste needs of some of us. But tastes differ! And while at first glance such dishes may seem like the work of extreme cuisine, in fact they are quite natural for those who eat them.

Bird's nest soup is quite an expensive pleasure.

You don't have to think that all birds' nests are edible. The Chinese use the nests of swifts of swiftlets to make a soup called "Caviar of the East". By now, you can probably imagine a nest made of twigs and leaves, but swiftlets make their nests mostly from saliva.

This adhesive gives the soup a unique gel-like texture. Swiftlet nests are one of the most expensive animal products that humans consume. They are so highly prized because birds build nests for 35 days during the breeding season and can only be harvested about three times a year. In addition, nests are usually located in coastal caves and can only be obtained by people with the risk-taking and climbing skills. All this also affects the price of the product received.

With the increasing demand for bird nest soup, artificial nests have also emerged. Hong Kong and the United States are the largest importers of bird nests. A serving of soup can cost anywhere from $ 30 to $ 100, while the cost per kilogram of nests can be well over $ 2,000 and go up to $ 10,000! Soup has been a traditional Chinese dish for centuries. It is believed to be able to enrich the body with proteins and minerals. In addition, the dish is considered an excellent aphrodisiac.

Fried tarantulas, Cambodia

If you're an arachnophobic, you probably won't even want to try these eight-legged monsters. These are not tiny house spiders, but rather large tarantulas that can be bought on the streets of Skuon village in Cambodia.

Tarantulas are fried whole, neither legs nor head come off, even chelicerae are not removed. The dish was first discovered by starving Cambodians during the reign of the bloody brutal Khmer Rouge. Then these spiders saved many lives, becoming the main food of the population. Now this dish is considered a delicacy, which tourists from the most remote corners of the world come to taste.

The black hairy arachnids that inhabit the jungle near the village of Skuon have become a source of fame and fortune for the region. Lots of people stop here to get themselves a snack for the trip. Spiders cost only a few cents and are supposedly delicious, because they are fresh, only from mink, and immediately fried with salt and garlic. Deep-fried tarantulas with a crispy crust are very tender on the inside and taste a bit like crickets or chicken.

Puffer fish, Japan (Fugu, Japan)

You must be very careful with this delicacy, otherwise you may lose your life. The poisonous dogfish, or puffer, is a delicacy in Japan, despite the fact that its skin and insides contain tetrodotoxin, which is 1,250 times stronger than potassium cyanide.

This is why in Japan, only professional chefs who have received special training and licenses can prepare fugu. Otherwise, after eating improperly prepared poisonous fish, a person can be paralyzed, after which he will die of suffocation, because the antidote is still unknown to science.

Unfortunately, in Thailand fifteen people died from puffer fish, which was sold to them as salmon.

Balut, Phillipines (Balut (Balut), Philippines)

This dish is somewhat reminiscent of "Kinder Surprise". But, breaking the shell, you will not find a toy inside. There will be no limit to your surprise when you find a fully formed boiled duckling there. After all, Balut is nothing more than a boiled duck egg.

Fertilized eggs are boiled a little before the chicks begin to hatch. This usually happens on days 17-21. Be prepared for the fact that the older the fetus, the more clearly its beak, claws, bones and feathers are visible.

In the Philippines, Balut is almost as popular as the hot dog in America. Often on the streets you can hear the cries of sellers: "Balu-u-ut!" and see many shopping carts with this delicacy. It is popularly believed that a boiled duck egg increases libido. In addition, this snack is rich in protein. Balut is usually consumed with lemon juice, coriander and black pepper, followed by beer. There are those who love to season it with chili and vinegar. First, you should, by puncturing a small hole in the shell, drink the broth (amniotic fluid), and then peel the shell to the end, add salt, pour with a special sauce and eat the fruit. It is, of course, not as easy as drinking a cup of tea, but judging by the reviews, it is very tasty.

Casu Marzu, Sardinia (Kazu (Kasu) Marzu, Sardinia)

This is a traditional Sardinian cheese. It differs from ordinary cheese in that the larvae of cheese flies live inside it. Translated into Russian, Casu Marzu means "rotten cheese", and is most often called cheese with larvae. It is currently a prohibited product due to its potential to harm health. However, it can be bought on the black market in Sardinia and Italy.

Sheep cheese is a family of Sicilian Pecorino cheeses, in which the larvae of cheese flies are introduced. The larvae help to speed up the process of decomposition and breakdown of the fats contained in the cheese. As a result, the texture of the product becomes very soft. It even gives off a little liquid, which the Italians call lagrima (it. "Tear"). The cheese must be eaten while the larvae are alive. After all, when they die, the product is considered toxic.

Since the larvae can jump (up to 15 cm) if disturbed, visitors must protect their eyes. You can put the cheese in an airtight paper bag - the larvae will lose oxygen and die. It is worth remembering that eating Kazu Marzu can spoil your health. The fact is that the use of this cheese in some cases causes poisoning (if the larvae are alive, the risk decreases) and allergies. In addition, there is a likelihood of the larvae entering the intestines, since not all of them necessarily die in the gastric juice. If the larvae end up in the intestines, they try to drill through its walls, and this causes terrible pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (often with blood) and other serious complications.

Surstromming, Sweden

One of the most unusual and even strange dishes can be found in Sweden. Surstremming is a pickled herring. You can buy it anywhere in the country at the supermarket.

Usually caught in the spring when she spawns. First, it is cleaned, then salted, put in barrels and left uncovered. Baltic herring ferments in barrels for 30-60 days. Then it is rolled into jars, where the fermentation process continues for several months. Therefore, containers are often inflated during transport and storage.

Some airlines have banned such canned food from the menu on planes, because they create a lot of pressure, which makes them dangerous, as they can explode. When you open canned food, the first thing you will smell is a pungent and very unpleasant smell. Surstremming is usually eaten with Swedish flatbreads and boiled potatoes. Sometimes it is washed down with milk, but beer and water in this case are out of competition.

Live Octopus, Korea

In Korea, Sannakchi is a live octopus dish. The animal is cut into pieces and served immediately, seasoned with a little sesame oil. Parts of the octopus are still stirring in the plate.

Eating a live octopus for many is not only an emotional problem, but also a physical difficulty, since he fights for his life to the last, holding onto absolutely any surface with his tentacles. You literally have to struggle with food before you can taste it.

The first obstacle is trying to grab the octopus. And as soon as the octopus is in your mouth, it will desperately try to break free, grabbing its tentacles for your teeth, palate and tongue. They say that this is the most pleasant moment - to feel how tentacles wriggle inside you and with the help of suckers, which an octopus has, by the way, thousands, the animal tries to linger so as not to be chewed. But such activity of an octopus can be not only interesting, but also deadly. After all, if it blocks the access of oxygen, you will die from suffocation. Therefore, do not enjoy for a long time, but chew each bite thoroughly so that it does not stick to your throat.

Kopi Luwak, Indonesia (Kopi Luwak, or Kopi Luwak, Indonesia)

Think twice before agreeing to a cup of this drink. Kopi Luwak is the rarest and most expensive. It is appreciated by gourmets all over the world. Sounds divine, right? In fact, coffee is made from the excrement of an Indonesian cat called luwak, or musang.

Luwak only eats ripe coffee cherries (the fruit of the coffee tree), but his stomach cannot digest the beans, so they come out whole as a result of defecation. Coffee is said to have a special flavor. And all because the gastric juice and bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of the animal contribute to the breakdown of certain proteins. As a result, the grains acquire a unique aroma.

Coffee creation takes place on the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi in the Indonesian archipelago. The price of the product is very high - somewhere around $ 120- $ 300 for 450 grams. So if you want to try this gourmet coffee, start saving now.

Puffin Heart, Iceland

Sometimes this bird is called the Atlantic clown or sea parrot. The puffin, with its colorful beak and comical appearance, is considered an adorable bird. In flight, they can reach speeds of up to 90 km / h due to the rapid flapping of their wings.

In Iceland, by the way, these seabirds have been a source of livelihood for centuries. The country is home to the world's largest puffin colony, and the Westman Islands is the best place to catch them. The most popular sport here is aerial fishing, which allows you to catch low flying birds with nets.

First, the head of the dead end is cut off and the plumage is removed, and the heart is immediately eaten raw while it is still beating. Puffin meat can be smoked, pan-fried, or grilled. It tastes very much like duck or chicken. This is a traditional Icelandic delicacy.

Snake Wine, Vietnam

Just imagine a little wine, but with a certain peculiarity - a bouquet of a snake with its own blood. Is it possible? Snake wine is a bottle of rice wine with a poisonous reptile inside. It has medicinal properties, but is likely more beneficial for impressing than drinking.

The snake is placed in rice wine whole for many months so that the poison dissolves in the drink. Ethanol denatures the poison and makes it harmless to humans. According to producers, snake wine is very beneficial for health. The drink has a slightly pink color, reminiscent of a beautiful rose shade. And all thanks to the blood of the snake.

The birthplace of this unusual wine is Vietnam. There it is believed that reptiles have medicinal properties. From there, the miracle wine spread to other parts of Southeast Asia and South China. There is another way of preparing snake wine with snake blood: the belly of the reptile is cut open, the blood is released into the wine and immediately served.

So, if you want to experience a real thrill, be sure to try one or more of the dishes from our list. Even if it does not bring aesthetic pleasure, you will have something to remember and something to boast about.