Delicacy is a challenge—it challenges human courage as well as human reason. We often take pride in having tasted all the delicacies the world has to offer, yet the price we pay for our gluttony still fails to make us understand a simple truth: we should also have a sense of reverence for delicacies. If you still plan to conquer the world of cuisine, do not read this article.
Fugu
Delicacy Index: ★★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★★★
1 gram of fugu toxin can kill 500 people, but "no poison, no delicacy." The exquisite taste of fugu has become the "Diaochan" of Chinese cuisine—the more dangerous it is, the more it is craved. The Song Dynasty poet Mei Yaochen wrote in his poem "Fugu Fish": "In spring, sprouts grow in the marshes, and poplar flowers fly on the spring banks. When it's time for fugu, its value is beyond that of fish and shrimp." Fugu diners thus add a "heroic spirit" to their meal, but before they pick up their chopsticks, they always ask the waiter to taste it first. Only when the waiter doesn't fall do they indulge. Japanese diners also share this spirit; they have developed safe methods for eating fugu. The Chinese folk remedy is fugu meat plus radish. Every spring, several people fall ill, but in China, there are always successors.
American Beef
Delicacy Index: ★★★ Danger Index: ★★★★★
To date, more than 100 people worldwide have died from eating beef infected with mad cow disease, and it is estimated that more than 2 million people have been infected with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (the human form of mad cow disease). The incubation period for this disease is 10-30 years, and the danger still lurks within the body. "If a person eats meat, brain, or blood from a cow with mad cow disease, they may contract the fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. The human brain, like the cow's, will turn spongy, leading to neurological disorders and eventual death." Such a description is certainly chilling. Fortunately, although Western food is becoming increasingly popular, Chinese people are still not a nation that is particularly fond of beef. So, we are more worried about the day "mad chicken disease" might break out.
Salmon
Delicacy Index: ★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★
Its lovely pink color actually comes from coloring agents in its feed, and its rich, fatty texture comes from antibiotics used in aquaculture. The residual chemical toxins in its body are now sufficient to damage the human immune and reproductive systems. Of course, its delicate and delicious taste still makes it the most popular sashimi. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for the brain, retina, and nervous system, enhancing brain function, preventing stroke and heart disease, and preventing vision loss. It is truly a "treasure from the water." Given the current level of pollution, it is not enough to make people give up eating it altogether.
Civet Cat
Delicacy Index: ★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★★★
As a representative dish of the "wild game" faction, the deliciousness of civet cat is fading from the Chinese palate, although it is still a domestically bred and mature terrestrial wild animal allowed on the public table. But "coincidentally," the SARS-like virus found on civet cats is remarkably similar to the SARS virus that infected humans. It is also rumored that among the first group of people infected with SARS in China, there was a chef from a wild game restaurant. The panic over SARS lasted for over a year, and civet cats had to temporarily retire from the culinary scene. But Chinese people's interest in wild game has not changed; if there are no civet cats, they will just find "civet foxes."
Dog Meat
Delicacy Index: ★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★
Humans cannot outrun dogs—unless they poison them. As the smartest animal around humans, dogs never expected that the Chinese would not abide by the rules of fair play and would use cyanide to hunt and slaughter them. South Koreans were once boycotted by foreigners during the 2002 World Cup because of their dog-eating habits. "Dog meat boiled three times, even immortals would wobble," goes the saying. Not being immortals, Chinese people hide in their own homes, risking the wrath of animal lovers, the danger of nosebleeds, and the chance of toxic cyanide, all driven by their inner desire for dog meat as an aphrodisiac.
Oyster
Delicacy Index: ★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★
The ultimate aphrodisiac, the oyster, was also the lifelong favorite of the great lover Casanova. The secret to his ability to be with dozens of beauties a day may be attributed to swallowing 40 oysters daily. The beauty of an oyster lies in its freshness, so the advice to "cook for at least 5 minutes before eating" is basically an impractical "safety fallacy" from those who don't understand true delicacy. The best oysters in the world come from Europe, North America, and Japan. If you don't have enough money to eat in these reliable and hygienic places, you will have to suffer from diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea. There is no other reason; our aquaculture environment and oceans are suffering from industrial pollution, and the oyster, like its body, is a garbage recycling station.
Crab
Delicacy Index: ★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★
The first person in China to eat a crab has long since passed away. In the golden autumn season, holding a crab and drinking wine is one of the great pleasures of life for the Chinese people. But this scavenger is also a diarrhea-causing agent that harms the digestive system. It is especially inadvisable to eat with persimmons, as the combination immediately causes food poisoning. Other foods with similar reactions include: pears, peanuts, eggplant, muskmelons, and even ice and tea. To eat one crab, you have to avoid so many things, but can you really avoid them all? You will eventually fall victim. Furthermore, with rumors of hormones in crab farming, the severity of "red tides," and the practice of feeding birth control pills to crabs during their spawning season, the crab, a signature dish in numerous seafood restaurants across the country, has inevitably become a high-risk food item.
Soft-shelled Turtle
Delicacy Index: ★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★
The proverb "A soft-shelled turtle eats a soft-shelled turtle—recognizing no kin" may speak of the turtle's absurdity, but its taste is indeed excellent. However, the problem lies in this: if it's a wild turtle, it is a long-lived animal with a large number of parasites that must be guarded against. If it's farm-raised, it has been exposed to the use of sex hormones to accelerate its growth. A 7-year growth period is compressed into just 7 months. Is its meat light or a trigger for ailments? It's terrifying. Doctors also warn: "Patients with hepatitis must not eat soft-shelled turtles. The rich protein will加重 the burden on the liver, and in severe cases, it can rapidly worsen the condition, inducing hepatic coma, and even death."
French Fries
Delicacy Index: ★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★★
This was a sensational discovery two years ago when Swedes found that "some starchy foods, after being processed at high temperatures such as frying, roasting, or baking, produce varying amounts of acrylamide." Among these, potato fries and chips contain the most acrylamide. And acrylamide is a carcinogen. According to standards set by the World Health Organization, the amount of acrylamide an adult should absorb from drinking water each day should not exceed 1 microgram. Yet, an average kilogram of french fries contains 1000 micrograms of acrylamide. And yet, french fries and chips are still a favorite snack for many people because they are crispy, high in calories, and convenient.
Mushrooms
Delicacy Index: ★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★★
Every year, people die from their own choices, an annual occurrence that includes suicide, swimming, and picking mushrooms. Foraging for wild mushrooms in the mountains for picnics and cooking seems to have become a hobby for many gourmands, and every year there are cases of mushroom poisoning. Perhaps the charm of the more than 300 types of edible mushrooms that are antiviral, delicious, nourishing, and unique is too great to be resisted by the poison of the more than 100 types of poisonous mushrooms. People are not afraid of death! Young Japanese people are even more extreme. A type of "magic mushroom," processed from several types of mushrooms containing narcotic components, has recently become popular as a "non-addictive but hallucinogenic" psychedelic drug.
Cured Meats
Delicacy Index: ★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★★
In the old days, when logistics were poor, people had to worry and came up with various methods to dry meat into cured products like cured pork, sausages, and other charcuterie. But in today's world with smooth logistics, eating cured meats has become a matter of taste habit. They offer a concentrated taste of five-spice flavor and a nostalgic feeling of experiencing the autumn breeze. So, we risk eating them, knowing they may contain color fixatives, stabilizers, preservatives, and other possible carcinogens, willing to take the "unsubstantiated" chance of getting esophageal, stomach, or even colon cancer. We don't care if they were made from dead sow meat next to a ditch. If we have to blame something, we can only blame the "autumn wind."
Shark Fin
Delicacy Index: ★★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★
Sharks are now being hunted worldwide, all because some "evil scientist" discovered that "of all animals in the world, the shark is the only one that does not get cancer." In our daily worries about whether our bodies have developed cancer, shark fin has become a lifeline on the dangerous dining table. Shark liver oil is made into expensive health supplements in Norway; shark fin at banquets in China represents a form of炫耀. There are hundreds of shark attack cases reported in the news each year, making headlines, but human consumption of sharks happens every day. Humans eat 800,000 tons of sharks every year. Furthermore, research suggests that taking shark liver oil in large doses or over a long period can cause poisoning.
Goose Liver
Delicacy Index: ★★★★★ Danger Index: ★★★
It is a noble and precious delicacy, with a mellow and aromatic flavor, and paired with a 1870 red wine, it becomes a luxurious floating feast. Little do we know that this fatty delicacy is actually the liver of a goose with liver disease. This dish is not part of our long-standing traditional cuisine, but the French came up with the method of force-feeding geese for four weeks with a mixture of wheat, corn, fat, and salt to induce "liver disease." A large size, heavy weight, and pure color are what make for a superior grade. Besides its insane tenderness and rich aroma, the lecithin it contains is another major reason for its popularity. The danger of this "golden table" lies in its cholesterol and fat content, which really do not fit today's weight-loss rules.