1. Zhe'ergen (Fish Mint) (Challenge Level: ★★☆☆☆)
- Food Introduction: They call it "Zhe'ergen," a distinctive herbal ingredient from Southwest China (like Guizhou and Sichuan). It can be eaten raw in salads, stir-fried with cured meat, or added to hotpot. It has a crisp texture but smells exactly like fish—which is why it's also called "fish mint." Locals claim it clears heat and reduces internal fire.
- Why It's Challenging: A plant that actually smells like fish! We’d never seen anything like it—eating it tastes like a mix of raw fish innards and celery. The crunchiness is tolerable, but that fishy smell is just too weird. The flavor mellows slightly when cooked, and some of my friends gradually got used to it after a few tries. But the first bite? You’ll definitely exclaim, “What on earth is this!”
2. Silkworm Pupae (Challenge Level: ★★☆☆☆)
- Food Introduction: After silkworms spin their cocoons, they transform into these brownish-black oval-shaped pupae. Common preparations include boiling, deep-frying, or stir-frying with seasonings. They have a pleasantly chewy texture, somewhat like soft nuts, and are high in protein. In many regions across China, they’re served as bar snacks.
- Why It's Challenging: Again, it’s all about the appearance—they look just like unhatched insects. Just holding one makes you think, “This is literally a bug!” However, the taste is quite mild, simply savory and salty with no strange flavors. The texture resembles slightly springy peanuts. My friends always say, “It tastes fine—it’s just hard to look at while eating.”
3. Fried Grasshoppers (Challenge Level: ★★☆☆☆)
- Food Introduction: Many places in China (like Yunnan and Shandong) eat these. Grasshoppers (locusts) are salted and then fried until golden and crispy. They taste savory and salty, almost like a snack, sometimes sprinkled with cumin or chili powder. Locals swear they’re perfect with beer.
- Why It's Challenging: They’re bugs! We usually see them as pests—never imagined eating them. Even when fried, you can still clearly see the legs and wings, which is unsettling. But the texture is actually similar to potato chips—crispy with a hint of saltiness. As long as you don’t keep thinking, “I’m eating an insect,” it’s actually pretty tasty. Most of my friends take a bite with a laugh and say, “Hey, not bad!”
4. Balut (Challenge Level: ★★★☆☆)
- Food Introduction: These are chicken or duck eggs incubated halfway, containing a tiny embryo inside. Typically boiled or roasted, you crack open the shell, sip the broth inside, then eat the soft embryo. Often seasoned with salt or chili flakes, it’s a common street snack.
- Why It's Challenging: It all comes down to the word “embryo.” We’re used to eating whole eggs or fully grown meat—not half-formed baby birds. Sometimes you even spot tiny feathers or bones, which is downright disgusting. The taste itself isn’t bad—it combines the tenderness of egg with a hint of meatiness—but mentally, it’s extremely hard to get past. Still, some adventurous friends are willing to give it a try.
5. Stinky Dried Tofu (Challenge Level: ★★★☆☆)
- Food Introduction: Similar to street-style stinky tofu—dried tofu fermented until pungent, then cut into cubes and deep-fried. The outside is shatteringly crisp, the inside tender, topped with chili sauce, cumin, and scallions. For locals, it’s a nostalgic childhood snack.
- Why It's Challenging: Like Wangzhihe stinky tofu, the main hurdle is the strong odor—but frying tempers it significantly. The spiciness also masks some of the stink, making it easier to accept. I’ve seen friends hold their breath, take a bite, then exclaim in surprise, “Hey, this is actually good!” Honestly, that crispy texture really saves the day.
6. Luosifen (Challenge Level: ★★★☆☆)
- Food Introduction: A specialty from Liuzhou, Guangxi, this rice noodle soup features a broth simmered with river snails, pork bones, chilies, star anise, and more. Served with rice noodles, pickled bamboo shoots, fried peanuts, tofu skin, and wood ear mushrooms, it smells intensely foul but tastes addictively spicy and sour. Now widely available—even in cafés.
- Why It's Challenging: The stench mainly comes from fermented bamboo shoots—they smell like an unemptied trash bin! The first time I passed a luosifen shop, I wondered, “What on earth is that awful smell?” Yet the broth is genuinely delicious—spicy, savory, and invigorating. Many friends initially hate the smell but end up unable to stop eating once they start—it’s the classic love-hate relationship.
7. Stinky Mandarin Fish (Challenge Level: ★★★☆☆)
- Food Introduction: A famous dish from Anhui, made by salting fresh mandarin fish with Sichuan peppercorns and fermenting it. Once prepared, the flesh turns glossy red and firm, smelling slightly pungent but tasting richly savory. Often served at local banquets.
- Why It's Challenging: Like stinky tofu, the biggest challenge is the odor—it smells like spoiled fish, making you instinctively doubt, “Is this even edible?” However, its stink is milder than stinky tofu, and the fish itself remains tender and flavorful. As long as you don’t fixate on “Is this rotten?”, it’s actually quite tasty—similar to strongly flavored salted fish, perfect with rice.
8. Beijing Douzhi (Challenge Level: ★★★☆☆)
- Food Introduction: A classic Beijing breakfast drink made by fermenting mung bean pulp. It’s grayish in color and thick in texture. Usually served hot with “jiaoquan” (crispy fried ring-shaped snacks) and pickles. Locals love starting their mornings with a bowl, though the flavor takes time to appreciate.
- Why It's Challenging: That fermented sourness is truly unique—not the refreshing tang of lemon or vinegar, but more like spoiled yogurt. Your first sip will make you think, “Is this rotten?” It tastes like sour, spoiled porridge. Plus, its thick consistency is nothing like milk or juice. My friend nearly vomited on their first try, though some eventually grew to love it after repeated attempts.
9. Nine-Turn Intestines (Challenge Level: ★★★★☆)
- Food Introduction: A classic Shandong dish made from pig intestines. The intestines are meticulously cleaned, blanched, deep-fried, then slowly braised for hours with soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, and spices. The result is glossy, reddish-brown intestines with a chewy texture and intensely savory-sweet flavor. The name “Nine-Turn” refers to its numerous intricate preparation steps.
- Why It's Challenging: Pig intestines! Most of us avoid offal, especially intestines, worrying about lingering odors or inadequate cleaning. Even with heavy seasoning, a faint organ-like gaminess sometimes remains. The soft, oily texture is also completely unlike familiar meats like steak or chicken. You must mentally convince yourself, “This is just food,” before taking a bite.
10. Century Egg (Challenge Level: ★★★★☆)
- Food Introduction: Also called “pidan,” it’s made by preserving duck eggs in an alkaline mixture of soda ash, lime, and other ingredients. When sliced, crystalline “pine flower” patterns appear inside, and the texture is jelly-like and bouncy. Commonly served cold with tofu, added to congee, or eaten plain with soy sauce and vinegar. A staple drinking snack for locals—but utterly bizarre to outsiders.
- Why It's Challenging: First, the appearance—black shell, translucent egg white—it looks straight out of a horror movie! My friends all call it the “Devil’s Egg.” Second, the texture is nothing like boiled eggs—slippery with a gelatinous quality. The sharp, alkaline aftertaste is also very distinctive and takes considerable time to get used to. Your first bite will definitely leave you stunned.
11. Wangzhihe Stinky Tofu (Challenge Level: ★★★★★)
- Food Introduction: A famous Chinese fermented tofu, black and glossy on the outside, soft within. Eaten with congee, mixed into noodles, or pan-fried. The ultimate paradox—it reeks horribly but tastes incredibly fragrant. No exaggeration: you can smell it from a block away.
- Why It's Challenging: While we do consume fermented foods like cheese or kimchi, this stinky tofu’s odor is on another level entirely. One whiff makes you certain it’s spoiled—it smells exactly like old socks left in a trash can! You have to pinch your nose for that first bite to discover its savory umami richness. I’ve seen friends literally run away holding their noses—the olfactory shock is that intense.
12. Snake Soup (Challenge Level: ★★★★★)
- Food Introduction: Popular in Southern China (especially Guangdong), this thick soup is made by slow-cooking snake meat (commonly rat snake or water snake) with chicken, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear fungus, and ginger slices. Smooth and delicate in texture, often garnished with scallions or white pepper. Locals believe it’s highly nourishing in winter.
- Why It's Challenging: Snakes! We normally find them terrifying—never imagine eating them. Even in soup form, you sometimes spot fine strands of snake meat, which sends shivers down your spine. Though the flavor resembles firm chicken, it carries an odd earthy gaminess. Culturally, we simply can’t associate snakes with food—most people instinctively recoil at the mere smell.
13. San Jiao (Three Screams) (Challenge Level: ★★★★★)
- Food Introduction: Friend, this dish is now more legend than reality—rarely seen today and highly controversial due to ethical concerns. Essentially, it consists of newborn hairless mice whose eyes haven’t even opened yet. The name “Three Screams” supposedly comes from the mouse squeaking once when picked up, again when dipped in sauce, and a third time when placed in the mouth. Crazy, right?
- Why It's Challenging: Honestly, eating baby mice? Most of us simply can’t accept it. Just visually, it completely contradicts our concept of “food,” and it’s often served raw or minimally prepared. We’d inevitably worry about hygiene, let alone taste it. Among everyone I know, almost no one can overcome this psychological barrier.