alepidote's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Makgeolli
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Drinks

Makgeolli

South Korea's oldest alcoholic beverage is making a comeback.
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Black Chicken Soup
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Black Chicken Soup

In Asia, the black-skinned silkie chicken forms the base of a medicinal broth.
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Fugu
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Meats & Animal Products

Fugu

The toxic pufferfish steals hearts, despite its ability to stop them.
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Nattō
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Prepared Foods

Nattō

These pungent fermented soybeans are coated in probiotic slime.
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Omurice
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Prepared Foods

Omurice

Japanese cooks riff on American diner food with this rice-and-ketchup omelet.
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Stinky Tofu
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Prepared Foods

Stinky Tofu

Follow your nose through Taipei for this crispy, warm street snack.
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Taiyaki
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Sweets

Taiyaki

This pancake pays tribute to one of Japan's favorite fish.
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Ramune
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Drinks

Ramune

The Japanese soda still comes in a marble-stoppered bottle from the 19th century.
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Okonomiyaki
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Prepared Foods

Okonomiyaki

A wartime rice scarcity made this versatile pancake a Japanese staple.
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Bitter Melon
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Fruits & Vegetables

Bitter Melon

This nightmarish-looking fruit has serious healing potential.
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Habushu
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Drinks

Habushu

These bottles of Okinawan rice liquor come with a coiled pit viper.
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Tebasaki Gyoza
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Prepared Foods

Tebasaki Gyoza

Proof that dumplings and chicken wings are not mutually exclusive categories.
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Shojin Ryori
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Shojin Ryori

Japan's traditional temple cuisine features meals that are nutritionally and visually balanced.
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Pu'er
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Drinks

Pu'er

Devoted fans pay thousands for bricks of this fermented tea.
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Basashi
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Meats & Animal Products

Basashi

The Japanese city of Kumamoto specializes in “cherry blossom meat.”
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XO Sauce
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Ingredients & Condiments

XO Sauce

This savory seafood condiment is named after the finest cognacs.
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Pocari Sweat
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Drinks

Pocari Sweat

A pharmaceutical company developed this beverage as drinkable IV solution.
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Alheira
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Prepared Foods

Alheira

This sausage saved Jews' lives in Inquisition-era Portugal.
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Chicken of the Woods
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Ingredients & Condiments

Chicken of the Woods

This mushroom tastes just like chicken.
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Francesinha
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Prepared Foods

Francesinha

A sandwich so decadent, it was once inappropriate for women to order one.
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Mortadella
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Meats & Animal Products

Mortadella

Baloney's predecessor is sweet, delicately spiced, and bigger than your head.
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’Nduja
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Ingredients & Condiments

’Nduja

The fiery Calabrian meat spread also goes by "red Nutella" and "poor man's Viagra."
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Stinking Bishop
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Meats & Animal Products

Stinking Bishop

The story of Britain's smelliest cheese involves monks, drunks, and endangered cows.
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Lutefisk
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Prepared Foods

Lutefisk

The lye-soaked fish recipe created by Vikings is now a holiday favorite at Midwestern church dinners.
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