Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 06/05/2008 - 08:06
Forums
Kuril Islands Biocomplexity 08

I have a question, The pigs heads and stuff that you (Dr. E) said they (the people in Seoul) sell on the street, do people actually eat that kind of stuff, of is it just for decoration?

And have you eaten any kind of like cultural food that we don't have here?

 

thanks!SurprisedCool

Hailey Colgrove!Tongue out

Sun, 06/08/2008 - 11:11

KBP Team

Yes, they definitely eat that stuff, but I have to confess I haven't got the foggiest idea of how chicken feet would be prepared and served! And yes, we have eaten lots of things that are culturally quite different for us. Here is a photo, for instance, of (part of) the fish dinner I was served in Seoul once! 
There is a surprisingly strong Korean influence in many of the foods we are served in Russia. For instance, Koreans are famous for their kim-chee, which is pickled cabbage with lots and lots of red pepper paste mixed in (see photo "Piles of peppers" from May 30/31). Well, the Russians also make lots of similar pickled products, including what we affectionately call "kelp-chee," "carrot-chee," and even "squid-chee"!
We are also served a wide variety of things we simply call "mystery meat." And, if you are particularly well-behaved, you might get served a bowl of boiled fish head soup! If you don't want to insult your host/ess, then you are expected to eat the fatty, very flavorful eyeballs (I won't give away any secrets and tell you what the flavor actually is......)
---Dr. E