October 11, 2023 - Let's Eat!

 

Hello! Today, I want to talk about a special food from China that I like a lot.

The food is called Suodiu (嗦丟), and people say it's "the world's hardest dish."

It's not a strange animal or a plant that you can't eat. It's actually rocks.

Yes, rocks. The recipe has river rocks and some spices.

But no, you don't eat the rocks.

Suodiu is a kind of food you "suck and throw away." You suck on the rocks to taste the flavor, then throw them away. It's like eating food with bones.

First, the rocks are boiled to clean them. Then, they are cooked with some fat, doubanjiang (a spicy paste), green onions, garlic, salt, coriander, and Sichuan peppercorns. Cooking the rocks this way brings out a special taste. After cooking, you suck on the rocks but don't swallow them. People enjoy Suodiu for its taste, not for nutrition because you can't digest rocks 

and you can’t chew them either.

When I first heard about this food, I thought it was a joke. But it's a real food in China.

I want to try this food when I visit China.