Stincky food of the world

I was asked about the old movie Nankyoku Monogatari (Atlantic story) a few days ago. She found this post on my site. I wondered why, then today I've found the Disney movie Eight Below making a hit in the U.S. That movie is a remake of Nankyoku Monogatari based on the true story of Taro and Jiro. はあ、なるほど。それでね！ Taro and Jiro. You can buy the DVD here. This is real stuffed Taro in Hokkaido University. It would be smaller than you guess.

Recently I found some Scandinavian topics. A few days ago, I wrote about the Japanese movie which took place in Finland. And today I've found this funny food AD. Is this real in Finland?? Somebody knows that? Then my friend ordered "Surstromming" on the Internet. It is a canned fish that is said to have the strongest smell food in the world. Here is a Japanese site "Surstromming meeting". Hmm she makes me scared. I don't know how much it costs in Sweden, but it costs around 3000yen in Japan. Well, do I want to try that? As long as I say "try Natoo!" on my site, I feel I should try that fish too. By the way that friend is a kind of food geek. Last time when we have a drinking party, he brought a soft cheese (maybe one of them) . All of us agreed that it smelled like something from under the nail of a big toe.

But I must tell you Natto is not the worst smelling food in Japan. What is the worst? It is Kusaya. Kusaya is a fermented fish product. Mackerel and similar fish are soaked in a brine or "kusaya gravy" that is used over and over again because salt was a rare material. After soaking, the fish is dried. Kusaya is distinguished from other dried fish by its strong, unique, peculiar odour. "If you broil kusaya in your house, the odour will not leave for three months." Three months!? To be honest with you, I have never tried it before, so I don't know. This site has a good explanation. Does not sound bad, right? Please try it when you have a chance. :-)

Comments

[Mari]

Hi There
Durian! It was okay for me. I could eat it.
Marmite! I couldn't eat it, it taste like coak for me...but it smell bad? I couldn't remember its smell.

[Jenny]

Oh my lord, you overpay that surströmming. Here in Sweden it costs about 600 yen worth. I hope you'll have it delivered in a cooler, because it is supposed to be stored at maximum 6 degrees Celsius. Maybe it will ferment even more and stink more than it should?! ;P But I definitly think you should try it!
It's quite tasty though, swedes eat surströmming at midsummers with hard flat bread (I can give you the recipe), boiled potatoes, finely chopped onion and sour cream. We "dare" eachother to eat more and drink more. As in Norway (a close and dear neighbour of ours with a similar food culture) we also drink a specially spiced vodka (snaps) called Akvavit or Aquavit as andrer69 here commented.
I'm looking forward to your review of surströmming! If you think it's the worst you've tasted, I recommend you to try icelandic fermented whale ;P That my friend, is even worse.
On the weird Finnish way to prepare fish, I can inform you that it is a very good joke...
By the way, how do I prepare Natto? Do I eat it with rice and vegetables? I'm eager to try the japanese version of surströmming... ;P

[abraxis]

Durian!

It's well protected, tastes hella smooth and good but smells bad, like mildewy, stinky wet socks left outside to ferment in Bangkok heat and brought back to Singapore. Via Macau.

Mmmmmmm. Kanna get it fresh here in SFO; always frozen ones we get here.

[Kaishin]

I made some researches on wikipedia about stinky dishes and food ingredients around the world, here is what I've found:
*The Australian vegemite
*The British marmite (quite similar to vegemite)
*The French Bleu d'Auvergne

Sorry for the double post!

[Kaishin]

Personally I love the French Camembert cheese even though many people are repelled by its strong and somewhat socks-smelling odour!!!
In fact I think that the odour isn't really important as long as it tastes good! and in the worst case one might use a mask to protect his nose while eating!!

[A Finn]

No, unfortunately Finns don't cook their fish like that. It's obvious enough, especially from those pictures.

[Martin]

Hahahahaha, but that cheese looks sooooo delishious... Hmm "smelled like something around a nail of great toe"? I'm dying... Puahahahaha
As for surstromming, I only ate it once. My friend from Norrland, the northern part of Sweden (where it is common) opened the tin can... and a little of the brew spilled on the floor! His afghan dog was making a lot of suffering sounds then. I never forget... But actually, the taste is not bad!
Oh, now I got a stomach ache - - from laughing!!

[andrer69]

ok... my japanese friend.. now you asked for that.. 2 *special* traditional fish dishes form NORWAY:
LUTEFISK: Take one cod and dry for ages (stockfish). Soak in Sodium Hydroxide for 72 hours. Make sure you rinse it for long enough. Steam and eat with a helping of bacon fat, mushy peas, mustard, brown goat cheese (another Norwegian speciality) and whatever else you can get your hands on. Copius amounts of alcohol in the form of beer and Akevitt (Norwegian booze).
RAKFISK: Bury one fish in the ground until suitably fermented. Serve as above. Avoid botulism, and always have one sober driver in case of emergence. This one smells like hell!