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Chinese Shish Kebabs
My friend Pete recently returned home from his first trip to China. Among his many photos of the Forbidden City, Great Wall and the skyscrapers of Shanghai, were a handful of shots from my favorite genre of photography: bizarre street foods.
If you look closely, most of these tasty snacks are somewhat recognizable, but there are also some rather alien-looking critters as well.
I guess the general rule in China is if it fits on a shish kebabs stick it can be eaten. I'm not sure about the starfish, though. Those things have got to be very crunchy and rather tasteless! 
I wish I could tell you that Pete, being the curious traveler he is, tried each one of these Chinese delicacies. Sadly, he wimped out and ate at McDonald's instead. Way to go Pete! I think most of us will be right behind you.
Filed under: Food and Drink, China
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 9)
JEFF Jan 8th 2007 8:03AM
I CERTAINLY CAN LOSE WEIGHT LIVING IN CHINA WITH "DELICACIES" LIKE THAT...OR, I CAN BE PUTTING WEIGHT ON VISITING MCDONALDS EVERYDAY...I GUESS I'LL BE FAT.
justin Jan 8th 2007 8:08AM
Looking at all these tasty dishes are making my mouth water.Mmmm I`m hungry > I think i`ll go outside and dig for worms. maybe I can find some crunchy bugs under some rocks . Oops no Kebab sticks. I wonder if a toothpick will work.or maybe this old radio antanna . I`ll let you know how it turned out. Mmmmm I`m hungry gota go my dad is yelling 4 me .Think he`s out of beer. Take care guys ......
Rollin Robinson Jan 8th 2007 4:49PM
and i had trouble getting my kids to try brussle sprouts.
Dianne Jan 8th 2007 8:24AM
One word....DISGUSTING.....
Paul Harmon Jan 8th 2007 1:50PM
Maybe for more sqeemish people, these don't look tastey. I went to Grad School and had Chinese roommates. So we ate in Chinatown all the time. Once you know how good something is when prepared properly, seeing a featerless duck carkuss haning in a glass wall oven does make your mouth water. Mmmmm, nice ducky, ducky! Come to dinner ducky, ducky. I don't know about the scorpions or other insects I saw in the pictures. Never had those. Remember these foods come from cultures where our traditional foods are not nearly as plentiful, so traditionally, anything that moves is potentially food. As for insects, I can see and ancient irate farmer getting reallt pissed with locust eating his grains and consuming the critters out of spite if nothing else. And, as it turns out, some of species are in fact koseher and thus considered safe to eat (kosher foods generally don't have harmful parasites). So mice, rats, squirrels beware!
Michael Jan 8th 2007 5:58PM
Ummmm, tastes like chicken? Or would that be crow or bat?! Maybe they'll introduce a McDog sandwich soon.
Glynnis Jan 8th 2007 3:53PM
Bugs on a stick, with a side of squid. UUUUUUggggghhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!! Makes me want to go ona diet.
Maybe that's why they live longer than us. We're too addicted to sweet, sugary, fatty foods that have too many preservatives.
J.D. Jan 9th 2007 8:06AM
No wonder our oceans are being depleted...and as to eating bugs???? I don't think so. Like Marie, I would rather choose death! They say you would eat ANYTHING if you were truly starving...well, that may be true but if given a choice...twigs and bark for me.
Martine Jan 8th 2007 8:55AM
Presentation! Presentation! Presentation! They are lovely to look at - it's nice we can't smell them. I'd have to try at least a few things before I made judgement. I'd at least know what I was eating even if they told me in Chinese. So many of the ingredents they put in processed food today sounds like Chinese - just read a food label... and I bet it's not as healthy!!! One item on a stick keep it simple, and to you Marie - who said, you only like about 10 foods - what a wimp!!! If your choice was death over trying something new - shame on you for not being more adventuresome!!!
bob Jan 8th 2007 8:55AM
Whoa! Just put it on a stick and get it the hell outta here.!
joe Jan 8th 2007 9:22AM
Its digusting to eat cow meat,its so much better tasting and healthier to eat seafood like the squid.
kittenreige Jan 8th 2007 9:28AM
I could never eat the bugs but the sea food I think I can handle...except for maybe the starfish. Would that even taste like anything?
Webguy Jan 8th 2007 9:37AM
Open your mind, then your mouth. It all looked good, except for the last photo with the insects. But, when in Rome....eat Chinese!
Lina Jan 8th 2007 7:25PM
DITTO TO ALL THE COMMENTS OF....YUK, NASTY,,I SAW AN ARTICLE EQUALLY NASTY, LIVE BABY OCTOPUS ON A STICK, BEING EATEN ALIVE. I THOUGHT TRYING TO KEEP 'EM ON A STICK WAS INTRESTING, AND THOSE BIG AND NASTY SCORPIONS???? FORGET IT. FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE OF WELL PAST 60 I'D REACH MY WEIGHT GOAL,,,,,THIN, WELL THINNER .
Webguy Jan 8th 2007 9:44AM
Reading the mcDonalds post above, makes me wonder why some people waste their time with travel. if you go to anouther country, and eat at McDonalds, then you deserve to pay for each ketchup packet!
Laura Jan 8th 2007 4:40PM
While there is no way I would ever eat anything shown, it is definitely interesting to see other cultures. I'm sure there are things we eat that other cultures find disgusting...like cows!
We (Americans) just need to remember how lucky we are!!
jennifer Jan 8th 2007 9:46AM
can you please list what each food item is? so curious... and nauseated- all at the same time.
jennifer Jan 8th 2007 9:48AM
can you please list what each food is? i am both curious and nauseated.
thanks!
jennifer
davecnc Jan 8th 2007 9:50AM
I spent some time in China last year. I've actually tried the starfish, squid, grasshopper, scorpion and other numerous street foods in China. The only one that i couldn't finish was the starfish.
John Jan 8th 2007 10:00AM
I would not eat the stuff if I had other options. I really don't even like eating chicken off the bone. I prefer food that is "once removed" from reminding me that it was walking around. That said, if humans are hungry enough, they will eat humans. I hope I am never in a plane crash or a stranded wagon train in a mountain snow blizzard. I think I'd prefer being one of the dead dinner entres than a diner.