New Foods

I vowed when visiting South East Asia that I would try some of the more bizarre foods that are commonly consumed here--crickets, worms, tarantulas, etc. Well, I haven't had the opportunity to try any of those yet, but yesterday I stepped way outside of my comfort zone. Masa, the Japanese guy staying here, is obsessed with the regional specialty of duck fetus. The nearly fully developed duck is dumped into a bowl, sprinkled with a bit of ginger, salt, and parsley, and furiously consumed in just a few big bites. Masa eats this everyday, claiming that people get addicted to it and that he has never met anyone who didn't love it. I don't think he's ever been in the presence of a Westerner trying it for the first time. The sight of the little duck was more harrowing than anything, slimy yellows, blacks, and browns, little bits of feather, and its beady black eyes sticking off the side of its head like raisins. I took a small bite, hoping not to bite into anything crunchy, like a bone or beak, and then like biting into a picnic lunch on the beach where sand always seems to sneak into your food, I had found its wing. The taste wasn't bad, especially considering it was masked by a hearty portion of ginger, but the texture made me want to spue. Needless to say, I let Masa finish the little duck off for me!

Dinner that night was heaping platters of vegetables, meats, and egg rolls, all cooked perfectly in the Vietnamese tradition. After having loaded my bowl full of the offerings, a small plate of grayish-white, rubbery strips were brought out. You want to try one? Masa inquires. Great another of his weird foods. Hesitantly I agree. Why I agreed without first asking what it was is beyond me, but with my chopsticks I courageously reached for a piece of the rubbery substance and lowered it into my bowl for further inspection. I tried to take a bite, not wanting to stick the entire thing in my mouth before knowing it wasn't going to make me gag. I tugged and pulled with my canines. You have to eat the whole thing, Masa chimes in. No way, I say to myself, giving him a look of uncertainty. I picked it up with my fingers, held it solidly with my teeth, and worked it until a piece finally broke off. And then I chewed, and chewed, and chewed. What did I just eat? I hesitantly inquired after swallowing. Pig stomach.