Surprisingly exotic foods available in the UK

Think you have to travel around the world to try exotic foods? Think again. Here are some wild and exotic dishes now available in the UK.

From chocolate-covered scorpions to seared zebra steak – British restaurants are serving up some surprisingly exotic foods to satisfy our curiosity. 

Seared zebra steak
If you fancy steak of a different kind, try a zebra fillet. Justin Preston, co-owner of butcher Allens of Mayfair tells us that zebra is one of the most popular products they sell online.
But what’s the best way to cook it?

“Lightly seasoned,” advises Justin, “and simply grilled or pan fried to enjoy the subtle flavours and delicate texture.” And he does suggest serving it rare to keep it moist and “to taste the full range of flavours on the palette.”

[See also: 10 weirdest erotic foods]

 
Squirrel
Spoon Café Bistro in Edinburgh hit headlines earlier this year when it put grey squirrel on the menu. Owner Richard Alexander told us: “we still have squirrel on the menu from time to time, it all depends on our supply.”

They source the meat from a game keeper in the borders and availability depends on when and how many of the squirrels he traps. Richard describes customers’ reaction to the meat as “very positive” and says it sells out whenever it’s on the menu.

Chocolate covered Scorpions
Fancy something for dessert? Try the chocolate-covered scorpions on the menu at London’s exotic restaurant Archipelago. They also offer the Baby Bee Brulee – which comes complete with a whole bee that is described by those who have tried it as ‘crunchy’. Desserts, you could say, with a sting in the tail…

Curry goat
Goat has long been eaten all over the world, but us Brits have never quite taken to it in the same way. Until now. Angie and Stacey, who run the Jamaica Inn pub in Hove tell us that curry goat is their most popular dish.

“Because we cook the dish slowly overnight the meat is very tender,” they explain, adding that the meat “tastes like lamb but is richer and a bony meat…most customers like the bones.”

Curry goat is a hot and spicy dish, served with plain rice and is served in many of the UK’s Caribbean themed restaurants.

Fugu sashimi
The sale of the poisonous blowfish fugu is banned in the EU. But one London supper club this summer got round this by offering the controversial fish to diners at their private dinner parties, claiming that they had a “unique source of supply”. Adventurous guests met at a secret location and feasted on a £250 six-course fugu menu washed down with champagne and sake.

Seared kangaroo
Kangaroo is already eaten in Australia, where it is seen as a healthy, iron-rich and lower fat alternative to beef and lamb. And it looks like it’s catching on over here too, with many restaurants adding it to their menus. At The Triangle Bar and Restaurant in London’s Crouch End, it’s eaten with sweet potatoes and a thyme jus, while Archipelago serve their kangaroo with noodles. If you fancy cooking it yourself, kangaroo is now available to buy online.

Python fillet
At The Ambrette restaurant in Margate, inquisitive diners can feast on a ‘Wild and Exotic’ menu featuring meats such as zebra, ostrich - and Vietnamese python.

They tell us that the tender boneless python fillets are flamed in Indian dark rum, and left to gently bubble away for five hours in a richly-spiced tomato and onion sauce. And it seems to be very popular - a spokesperson for the Ambrette told us that the Wild and Exotic nights always sell out quickly.

Fillet of crocodile
Crocodile meat is now on the menu at a number of restaurants in the UK, with Archipelago, The Ambrette and The Triangle Bar and Restaurant all having featured it. It is said to be a firm, white meat, with a faintly fishy taste.

It’s also very low in fat and high in protein. At The Ambrette, a South African crocodile fillet is cooked ‘in an aromatic coastal Indian-style sauce of coconut, tamarind and spices’.

According to Executive Chef Dev Biswal, “the exotic meats taste amazing – like everything else in life you don’t know it until you have experienced it”.

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