I’ve probably had raw everything at one point or another. But I was surprised to find a sliced raw beef dish alongside everything else here in a Korean buffet, and I thought it was for cooked bibimbap, but nope. I saw a couple guys grab scoops of it, dip it in sauce and eat it so I did too. And it was quite good!
All the time:
Fish - sashimi
Beef - tartare is delicious
Eggs - in soups, in drinks, everywhere
Shrimp - great with spicy green sauce
Which is your favorite?
Tartare tastes the best, I could just live off that.
But i probably eat more sashimi then anything else!
Yea, sashimi all the way for me too, what raw shrimp dish has spicy green sauce?
Tartare sounds great, although I don’t know if I’ve ever actually had it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5-2tssWnQU
it’s just called shrimp salad and people get creative and adding things to it
thanks. I’m not a huge fan of raw shrimp texture, so that’s why I probably haven’t tried it yet even though I’ve been to Thailand a dozen times.
that said, I also am crazy about fish sauce, so I will definitely look for that dish next time I’m there.
Many sushi places also serve raw shrimp as well! keep an eye out.
You mean that dish?
I’ve had my fair share of raw shrimp, but never marinated in fish sauce before.
I was told to try Hackepeter while in Germany. It is interesting because there are few places willing to serve ground raw pork. Even fewer would that decide that shaping it like a porcupine (complete with pretzel stick spines) would make it cute.
Also known as Mett
Ha, that’s amazing! thank you, I’ll keep hackepeter in mind.
Did you end up trying it?
Yes it came with brown bead, a raw egg, and some veggies (which I assume were garnish because they were cut into flowers to match the hedgehog I guess). Like most German food it was pretty low on the spice. I got to really get a good taste for the meat and it wasn’t too fragrant nor was it slimy for being raw. The bread a beer paired nicely with the raw pork, 8/10.
Great description, thanks.
a raw egg? Were you supposed to crack it over the top?
I’ve come to the conclusion that a lot of US meat is in the process of turning by the time it gets to the supermarket, because whenever I’ve had a raw meat dish in other countries, or even just buy fresh meat, it’s not slimy and the smell is not very strong versus what I’m used to getting in supermarkets in the US, which seems to have a shelf life of maybe a day after it’s opened.
Or maybe I’ve had so much more experience buying groceries in the US that I’ve had more bad experiences overall.
Naw the raw egg was on the side, like some kind of raw deconstructed meatloaf. I guess one is supposed to dip it? US food requirements could explain the issue, it sounds like Germany has really strict regulations for Mett and Hekapeter.
wow, thanks, that really is interesting. I’m making a note now to look up more about that dish later.
Obligatory piece of German culture:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ErVZr2DEiss
I think it also depends on what country you’re in. Most third world countries will never but I’ve been to some like Japan and I would trust a lot of their proteins raw.
I had surface-seared raw-inside duck sashimi a couple months ago in a yakitori restaurant near Matsuyama, that was gooooooooood.
I’ve had raw meat in countries with a relatively low GDP(if that’s what you mean by third-world), their meat’s often a lot more fresh than what I find in richer countries since there’s often less processing/storage/delivery time.
Interesting. I always associated it with poor or underdeveloped. Didn’t think of the definition re: politically.
But I was thinking south east Asia, India, etc. Due to food handling and sanitation concerns.
Yea, I only found out myself last year that “third world” was just an archaic term for “not in a trade agreement”.
Poor food hygiene abroad is largely a misconception in my experience. It exists of course, but not more in Inida or Laos than it does in the US or Germany. India in particular, considering its abominable reputation, shocked me by how clean it was last year and how much care Indians pay toward hygiene; I came to the conclusion the “dirtiness” people talk about in India refers to literal dirt roads, so there’s dust in the air, and that some traditional food stalls/restaurants prepare food with their hands rather than actual poor hygiene/sanitation.
My friends and family would disagree re: India and South East Asian countries at least, even now.
It also depends on what street food you’re trying to pick up. But I’ve seen raw meat left out in the humid weather of south east Asia at some stalls and some places don’t have clean water. I’m not trying to spend my trips in bed lol.
It’s sadly also why my extended family don’t eat anything but well done steaks in US or sushi. They are traumatized and continue to be even decades later.
Food poisoning definitely sticks in the mind, it can be scary, and I completely agree that our perception of something is often more powerful than the thing itself. Raw meat often sits out in Asian markets, but once it begins to smell or look rancid, it goes. In the US, on the other hand, I can’t count the number of times I’ve opened an “unexpired” package of meat I had to return because it’s spoiled.
Water’s a big factor too: The Clean Water and Air Acts helped for a long time in a lot of the US. You can have street food in plenty of countries, no problem, but if you get unlucky with a glass of tap water, game over. Course, now that the US EPA can’t enforce either Act anymore and Congress is dismantling them, I don’t know what the US situation will be like by the end of Trump’s second term.
My dad loves raw hamburger, and never actually thoroughly cooks it even when other people are going to share. It’s gross.
Steak tare tare, otoh…
Another German entry, interesting. Did you get to try that sandwich?




