Instant Natural Jelly Fish
All right, I think I’ve given some of you enough time to recover from the Preserved Duck Eggs post and it’s time for another visual assault ‘interesting’ item.
When I was a little girl—the following story is going to explain so much to some of you—I used to play often at a small beach. I would kneel on its short pier, reach into the sea, and pull out one of the numerous jellyfish that would be floating and minding its own business.
This was before I knew that some jellyfish types could sting and are edible. (I would then return the jellyfish to the water and go to make a misshapen sandcastle or something.)
“But why would you want to eat jellyfish?!” some of you may be wondering. Good question.
What if it comes with a seasoning packet (salt, sesame, green onion, sugar, five spice powder, and monosodium glutamate—msg), a sesame oil packet, and chilli sauce?
I apologize to those who are thinking, “Make. It. Stop!” at this point. This photo makes me squeamish, too.
The seasonings do help what would otherwise be pretty tasteless jellyfish. But I don’t think flavor is the main problem here. It’s the texture. The slippery, too-crunchy texture on the teeth. I’m not someone who normally has a problem with food textures, but this was an exception. Eating this jellyfish (and I’ll admit I had only a few pieces) felt like what I would imagine seaweed to be like fresh from the ocean. Yuck!
I have actually eaten good-tasting jellyfish at Chinese restaurants as part of an appetizer plate. There, the cold and soft jellyfish strands were dressed with vinegar and sesame seeds, and topped with julienned carrots, cucumber, and daikon. So if you like jellyfish, I’d say stick with ordering it at restaurants and skip buying this item.
Okay, bring on the icks, ewws, and uh, yums.
As someone with HUGE texture issues . . . this is one dish I would steer clear from. LOL
But if you’re not paying attention . . . after you’ve added the seasoning packets . . . it almost looks like pickled Napa.
Seafood stores sell these but I guess they are fresh like the ones in restaurant.
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit… ok, maybe more than a little bit.
D: they’re my favorite animal!!
Hmmmmm, I don’t think I can handle it. I don’t even like tripe. My fiance on the other hand saw this and asked me to find it.
Love it in the restaurants. Here? Doesn’t look very appetizing. LOL!
Bianca-san: What a rude awakening it would be to have this in your mouth thinking it was one thing, and then finding out what it really was!
Mimi: Oh, rather than instant? I wonder where restaurants get theirs from. Wait, I don’t think I want to know.
Sarahbelle: Oh girl, “I think I just threw up in my mouth…” was almost a sentence under the makes-me-squeamish photo. I think I’ve save it for my next ‘interesting’ item post.
My: Um, does that mean you don’t eat jellyfish, then?
Dandy: I feel like I should apologize to you now that your fiancé has asked you to find it. Just think of the jellyfish as a science experiment?
Slammie: Yeah, this was as unappetizing as it looked!
Seriously? People eat that?? GROSS!!
Julie: Wow, you didn’t hold back on telling is what you really thought, eh?
Oh, I’ve seen this too, but never gotten it. Thank goodness you did an entry on it. I have had jellyfish before but meh, I don’t really care for it all that much. I’m not really grossed out by the pictures though. To me, it alternatively looks like cabbage, noodles, and/or rice. (Doesn’t help it does it? Haha.) I think I have a higher grossness tolerance factor than most people though. Or most people who haven’t eaten Asian food.
Also, your little childhood story was so cute! Haha, so naive, randomly picking up jellyfish. And nothing ever happened to you? They never stung back? Did one of you parents finally find out about your habit and warned you?
Btw, I once watched a program on T.V. of a globe trotter who ate the local food and there was this one that totally….unhinged my “Urk” factor. It was egg that was incubated so that the baby inside grew and there was a body inside, AHHHH!!!! And you could make out the feathers and the eye and beak and all that. AHHHHH!!! I would never ever eat that. I guess it’s for people who want to eat both egg and meat at the same time. But noooooo thank you from me! I don’t remember what place it was though (in the show.)
Lian: I never got stung. I used to go to the beach with my siblings and cousins, and I don’t think they knew any better, either, LOL.
I think the egg you’re referring to is called balut. I was going to link to its Wikipedia page but decided not to; those visual-glutton-for-punishment peeps can look it up themselves, because those photos will seriously test your urk/ick tolerance. I’ve seen the eggs sold at Asian markets, but have no desire to try them.
I came across your blog today and very happily was going through all the posts in order, then it was time for lunch. Went and got my salad, sat at my computer, and this was the next post. Not feeling so good now. Once I get over this, I’ll probably be heading to my nearest Asian store. Yum.
Haha. Oh come on, people! It’s not so bad! (I mean the look. I haven’t personally eaten it.) What happened to being proud of having iron stomachs?
Shawna: I’m truly sorry if my photos ruined your appetite. Hopefully today’s Every Burger post will make up for it. Thanks for visiting! Glad to have you here.
i randomly came across this blog, and i’m reading it backwards chronologically…haha XD
and i like what i see! well, most of it….
just wanted to say though, that i really like eating jellyfish at restaurants. precisely because of the texture. i guess its from growing up surrounded by asian food? you get accustomed to the tastes and textures of food that would make most non-asian people squeamish. :]
like, i have friends who say they dont like soy sauce, because to them it’s just salty. but i think its a little more complex, theres a little sweetness to it and a good smell/aroma. but i digress. i like this blog!!!!
Notemoperfection: Hi there! I like the jellyfish at restaurants, too. They’re much softer and tastier than these instant ones. And I’ve never heard of anyone not liking soy sauce ~ wow! Thanks very much for visiting, by the way!
hi
I tried it today. didn’t taste bad. nice crunchy, but yeah no taste. probably felt like chewing on nylon ropes
I would eat again.
Saqib: You are brave.