Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman
Travel Channel
10:00 pm
December 25, 2008
Japan
As I was perusing the channels for the typical Christmas day programming, I came across the Travel Channel’s “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman”. Usually reserved for weekend marathon viewings with my dad, I couldn’t help but watch as it was ten minutes in and covering Japan. The segment I happened to cross was a trip to the sushi market. As I watched, I thought to myself – how adventurous do we think we can go?
Along with his guide (an assuming Japanese American foodie specialist) Andrew proceeded to select special items to take ‘home’ and prepare for dinner. They tried a variety of things (the typical tuna, etc…) of which Stonefish and Sea Squirts were selected and covered. The stonefish has a poisonous spine, requiring a particular method to detach the spine from the fish before it can poison itself. It is filleted and served with its liver – a delectable treat. The Sea Squirt was one of the items Andrew brought back to a restaurant for preparation. It was served with a vinegar sauce and cucumbers and according to he and his Japanese guide, it had a very iodine-y taste to it…my guess is that it was gross. Naturally, you can’t go wrong with grilled eel – it looked like it tasted amazing. The bonus dish of the evening was a braised miso Tuna Eye. For me, that was hard to imagine eating. I don’t care if they said it tasted good and had a nice fatty quality to it…it was a humongous eye! I think in the realm of adventurism, I’d have to draw a line at tuna eyes.
Another segment featured was coverage on Nobu Matsuhisa, a well-known sushi restaurateur. Some eclectic items covered were Octopus Eggs simmered and cooked in to a creamy and grainy texture; Sea Cucumbers in which their eggs and ovaries were combined in to some sort of jerky; and drained turtle blood mixed with sake. Quite the eclectic and bizarre menu items, but I guess in the realm of sushi and Japanese cuisine, nothing is considered taboo.
