3/04/2010

Grasshoppers and Shrimp Heads: Extreme Cuisine with Gustavo Arellano and Eddie Lin

Return of Smut and Locusts from eric alba on Vimeo.

Gustavo Arellano of the OC Weekly and blogger Eddie Lin explore eating grasshoppers on this video.  Ick, ick, ICK! Don't get me wrong, I'm all for trying different foods.  Some of them have even become favorites of mine.  I just don't think grasshoppers will be a fave anytime soon. 

I'm an adventurous eater and am always up for tasting.  I've tasted pigs ear, it has the same cartiledge a human ear has. Chewing that Spainish pig's ear in Segovia, Spain, I couldn't get the image of a human ear out of my head.  Yuck.  In Mexico I've tasted worm tacos.  Actually, they don't taste bad at all, they just look disgusting.  Blood sausage in Spain- I got over the blood thing and it pretty darn good. 

And then there's shrimp heads.  Sound disgusting, but it's a Spanish thing.  The gambas (shrimp) in Spain are oh-so-sweet.  When I lived there I tried the local delicacy, sucking the insides of the shrimp and, surprise, I fell in love with the taste.  It really is the best part of the shrimp.

Years ago at a family dinner at the Water Grill, when I saw fresh shrimps served whole on the menu I rejoiced. I was so excited that a Los Angeles restaurant was serving shrimp with their heads (sadly it's a rarity to see shrimp served with their heads still attached in many restaurants in Los Angeles).   When my mom observed my delight in sucking the insides out of the shrimp heads she almost threw up.  As I write this I laugh at the memory of it all.  I was so delighted and she was so disgusted.  Had she lived in Spain like I had, maybe she would be more adventurous.  I'm not sure though... Mom doesn't even eat raw fish; the only sushi she eats is the California roll.

So back to the grasshoppers.  Watching this video I thought, "sure, I'd try one or two."  I just kinda got disgusted seeing a huge pile of them in a bowl, thinking about spooning them into my mouth.  Disgusting.  Then, watching the video and seeing grasshoppers inside the quesadilla also gave me the same reaction mom had when I ate the shrimp heads. 

To explore more about extreme cuisine, Eddie Lin, writer at Deep End Dining will have an Extreme Cuisine book signing on Saturday, March 6th from 1-3 pm at The Annex, 2204 N. Main St., Santa Ana, CA. Maybe I'll see you there.

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2 comments:

Eddie Lin said...

Hi Alli!

Thanks for this great post! I really appreciate the support. And also thanks for the hilarious shrimp head story. You go, Alli! Just remember if you're ever craving the head of a shrimp, just head on over to an authentic Chinese seafood restaurant and they'll keep it on for you! Actually, I remember eating at Neal Fraser's Grace and he served huge langoustines, head and all. That was some real good head, ah, you know what I mean.

Alli & Win said...

Real good head... LOL You are funny Eddie!