Illegal Foods
We're really big fans of the spicy-numb flavors of Sichuan food. Back in California, we used to cook with lots of "Sichuan peppercorns," which are actually a citrus flower, it turns out. They were illegal because, like a lot of illegal things, they're good for you. Seriously, the FDA worried imports of these might carry a citrus disease. But, we were addicted to the "ma" flavor, so we hunted all over Chinatown for some contraband peppercorns. Every shop said "no, they're illegal." Then we found one shop owner that winked and filled a brown paper sack full for us.
We once nearly overdosed on Sichuan peppercorns. They have a numbing effect that, if overindulged on, can actually relax the throat enough to disrupt your gag reflex. At least that's what almost happened to us.
Anyway, I'm told they are legal now in the States, as long as they're heat-processed, which is a good thing because the Sichuan food we've had in the States so far has been really lame. Maybe it will improve now.
I once took part in an "illegal foods potluck" many years ago. We had raw French cheeses that are against the law to import to the States. We had absinthe, desserts made with marijuana, and Cuban cigars.
Speaking of illegal food, Phoenix New Times (Arizona) wrote this amazing article about this crazy chef who hunts and cooks penguins and other animals he's not really supposed to. Some of his claims seem a bit far-fetched, no? The article linked to us, so we'll link to them.
Check back soon for our next penis adventure, some raw sheep's heart, and how we ate rats -- by necessity!
Leave a comment and tell us if you've ever eaten an illegal food.
Labels: illegal foods
posted by Michael @ 8:21 PM
15 comments
15 Comments:
Hey, love your site, as a chef its right down my alley. Thought ya might want to check this out http://tracker.zaerc.com/torrents-details.php?id=6270
Its a torrent of a Thai vcd on Cambodian exotic food. Cheers and keep on eating weird meat!!
Dude, what about pot brownies? or pot pie or mary jane cookies!
Reminds me of that movie with Matthew Broderick and Marlon Brando ... The Freshman? Broderick smuggles a live komodo dragon, to be cooked for an exotic feast for rich people.
Peter
Hmm, I have no idea those peppercorns were illegal in the U.S.? I don't intentionally go out to get them, but I'm sure I've broken the law several times!
They're legal now. They have to be heat processed, something like 160 F, before they're imported. But for a while, you had to get them from a smuggler, like some French cheeses.
that article from the phoenix times is a fake in case anyone actually believed it.
Ah...the worst for me is absinthe (and a lot of it), and that's fully legal in the part of Canada I'm in. You can pick it up at the liquor store with your beer. It did have the effect of shutting down my sense of smell for about four or five days. Ack.
cakes made of marijuana in Amsterdam..and check http://image.baidu.com/i?ct=503316480&z=542986052&tn=baiduimagedetail&word=虫草&in=6
out and have a guess!
Illegal food? Of course, it's a matter of opinion, jurisdiction and, if you think it has a place in gustatory matters, morality. I've eaten 鯨 (kujira, that is, whale meat) in Japan. (It was delicious!) And I've also eaten crappy stuff in North America (e.g., anything with aspartame) that should be illegal. It's all relative ... yet also all good.
Dienstag
These actually grow wild in the USA, too, it's not exactly a citrus, but a related rutaceous plant, zanthoxylum, that can transmit disease to citrus. There's a few different species, mostly called prickly ash, one kind grows here in illinois and the seeds taste just like szechuan pepper.
The most delicious illegal food I have had is abalone. Seriously, it's like a gigantic, tender, non-chewy clam. Exquisite.
You do realize that this isn't meat right lol
I've heard there is a cult in Ta¡wan now of eating «aborted-human-foetus-soup». In the unlikely event this is true, that'd be some great illegal meat to taste.
Here's a nice illegal meat. Actually, I can't imagine this being legal anywhere. Just copy nd paste the following into your browser:
http://poetry.rotten.com/infantiphagia/
Hello. The pic on infantiphagia is actually a fake. There was a write up on it in Time Magazine some years ago.
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