Would you like some chicken feet? How about frog’s legs? Well, you can’t say no to a
fifty-year old egg! It’s a delicacy that people pay a lot of money for, believe it or not. People
in different parts of the world eat just about everything, from elephant’s trunks to monkey’s
brains.
Chicken feet are a favorite appetizer in China, while in Taiwan turkey feet are a favorite.
In Taiwan, people have both chicken feet and turkey feet in their salads. Whereas
Americans like the white meat of a chicken, people in Taiwan prefer other parts of the
chicken, like the dark meat and the inside parts. They often deep-fry the skin and serve it
separately, along with the main meal.
Snakes and eels are delicacies in most parts of the world. In France and England, fish
shops sell eels that are alive. In Asia, there are special restaurants for eating snakes.
Everything on the menu is snake: snake soup, snake appetizers, snake main course, and
snake desserts! When you go to the restaurant, the snakes are alive. You choose the snake
you want to eat. Then the waiter kills the snake before your very eyes!
People line up in front of restaurants in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia to
get fish heads. The restaurants prepare the whole fish, but people start by eating the head,
which they believe is the tastiest part of the fish. So many people ask for fish heads that the
price of fish heads is higher than the price of the best steak.
What about eating a fish that can kill you? The Japanese put their lives in danger every
time they eat this delicacy. The fish is called the blowfish, and it is very poisonous. Although
they know that they could die, they continue to eat it. Every year, the Japanese eat 20,000
tons of blowfish, and 70 to 100 people die from it every year.
Rats and mice are also a special food in some parts of the world. In China, people like
rice rats especially. They clean and salt them and leave them in oil. Then they hang them to
dry. These rats sell in the market for twice the price of the best pork. Farmers in Thailand
also love rice rats. It Vietnam, mice from the rice fields are fried or grilled. In Spain, there is
a traditional dish called paella, which is made with rice and pieces of fish. In the town of
Valencia, this dish also has rat meat to give it a special flavor.
Insects like termites, ants, and bees are delicacies to many people. In Africa, people fight
over termite nests. They eat the termites alive and say that they taste like pineapple. In
India, people make the ants into a paste and eat them with curry. In Borneo, people mix
ants with rice. They say that the ants give the rice a special flavor. In Australia, the native
people drink ants. They mashed them in water and say that the drink tastes like lemonade!
And bees are delicious when you fry them. You just can’t stop eating them!