Check out this 15 Absolute Most Disgusting Irritating Foreign Foods in the World

If you’re someone who already finds your fellow humans super strange, then you most likely will not want to continue reading this article, because you will never look at people the same. For those of you who think you can stomach looking at some of the most hideous “food” consumed on the planet, welcome, to your worst culinary nightmare. We’re not talking disgusting food like someone made a bologna and strawberry jelly and horseradish sandwich. Oh you WISH that’s what we were talking about. No, we are talking disgusting like a fried brain sandwich. Still think you’re ready to go on this horrifying ride, the take a look at these 15 absolutely disgusting foods eaten around the world.

Fried Brain Sandwich

Well, we thought we’d lead with it since we just mentioned this dish. What you are looking at is a cow brain that has been fried and placed on a bun with all the side fixings. Notice anything else about this photo? Yes, that is English written on the place mat. Where in the world is this dish eaten? Why in the good ol’ US of A, in the central states. Though less people eat these now since the outbreak of mad cow disease.

Escamole

When you first look at this dish it looks kind of tasty. Like maybe some rice dish sautéed up with some nice veggies. Why, it looks good enough to eat. And then you find out what it is, not rice but ant larvae harvested from the roots of the agave plants. This dish is a delicacy in Mexico and considered insect caviar. Yeah? Well they can have it.

Hakarl

If you’re thinking this photo looks like something out of a horror film, you’re not too far off. What you are actually looking at is fermenting basking shark that is eaten in Iceland. It is said to have an acquired taste (you don’t say). Chef Anthony Bourdain of the travel channel called this dish, “the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing” he had ever eaten. Well, we’ll pass then, thanks.

Bird’s Nest Soup

We have of course heard of this soup and wondered if it was really made from actual birds’ nests or it was just called that. Nope, it’s actually made from specific birds’ nests, called saliva nests (mmmmm, saliva) which are normally harvested from caves (mmmmm, caves). This dish is super expensive in China, costing sometimes as much as 10,000 US dollars. C-c-c-crazy.

Drunken Shrimp

This dish actually pi**es us off, and it’s another one that is popular in parts of China. It’s called drunken shrimp because live shrimp are stunned in a strong liquor so they don’t move around, and then people eat them completely raw and still alive. That is not only gross but just horribly cruel.

Surstromming

Our next disgusting dish is brought to you from Northern Sweden (AKA Sveden). It is a dish that consists of fermented Baltic fish. What’s with these countries loving eating fermented fish? It is normally sold in cans and sometimes you will see these cans have bulged out during shipping because of the ongoing fermenting. Get this, there was actually a study done in Japan on this dish and the study revealed that this dish releases the most putrid odor of any food in the world. Well done, Sveden, well done.

Sannakji

Here is another dish that is not just gross, it’s cruel. The chef who prepares this dish chops up a live octopus right before the patron’s eyes and then seasons it with pieces of sesame seeds. Many times when you reach for the pieces of meat they are still moving on the plate. Horrendous.

Rocky Mountain Oysters

Well, if you took geography in school you are probably saying to yourself right now, “Hey wait a minute, the Rocky Mountains aren’t anywhere near the ocean.” And you would be correct. The oysters in this dish are not oysters at all, in fact they are bull testicles. Yes, the balls of a bull, that’s what some people in our very own country are eating. They are peeled (thank goodness) and flattened (oh my) and deep fried.

Kopi Luwak

When we first viewed this image we thought it kind of looked like bear sh*t we’ve seen, after the bear has eaten a lot of bird seed. Turns out, we weren’t far off. What you are looking at in this photo is one of the world’s most expensive coffees (it can cost up to 150 US dollars per pound!). It is made from coffee beans that have been eaten and shat out by Civets, which are small Southeast Asian mammals. Who was the first person to decide to make coffee from beans that have been pooped out by animals and why?

Stinkbugs

Well, you most likely already know what a stinkbug is and if you didn’t you only need look at the photo, if you can stomach it which we literally can’t, to get the full idea of them. They are big and they are crunchy and they are adored as a snack by people in Indonesia. These don’t even look like they’ve been prepared in anyway. I mean would a little garlic and olive oil be a bad idea?

Lutefisk

Okay, so the first photo that seems fairly normal, just like a filet of white fish, right? Well, yes and no. From Scandinavia, this is a piece of stockfish that has been aged in… wait for it… lye. Yep, lye, that stuff used to dissolve bodies so murderers can get away with it. After the fish has been aged in lye for a few days, it has to be soaked in a bath of cold water for an entire week because it is so corrosive it’s not edible yet.

Casu Marzu

You’re probably thinking the same thing we were thinking, “MMM, this looks like a delicious bread bowl that you might find at Olive Garden filled with your favorite soup.” Yes, it does look like that, but it’s not a loaf of bread. It’s actually a hunk of sheep’s milk that contains insect larvae. And, to make it more disgusting, the larvae are still alive and can launch themselves up into the air when you are eating this dish. Where goggles.

Mopane

Ah, there’s nothing like digging into a sack of Mopane. These giant caterpillars are usually found on the Mopane tree (hence the name of this dish) and people in Africa eat it because they are a great source of protein. As you can tell by the image, Mopane is dried out and then eaten as a crunchy snack. Who needs Doritos?

Tuna Eyeball

Eye-eye-eye, there’s nothing like eating something while it’s staring directly at you, challenging you. You will find tuna eye in most grocery stores in Japan. It is pretty cheap and sold for about $1 US dollar. Apparently this dish tastes a bit like squid, and the eye should be boiled before being eaten. We’ll remember that when we never ever eat this.

Dried Lizards

You may be tempted to eat them moist, but trust us, you’ll want to dry them out first. Certain Asian cultures use these dried lizards in soup and sometimes these little fellas are infused with alcohol to extract medicinal properties. We didn’t know lizards had medicinal properties and quite frankly we think the whole idea of eating a lizard is just disgusting.