Ascidiacea

Doesn't the title sounds interesting? I bet you must be guessing that it is a name of an exotic plant, no?

Well, if you think it is an exotic plant, you're probably right. The picture above showcases the different kinds of ascidiacea. Don't they just look like the colourful plants that adorn your telly screen when you're watching some National Geographic documentary about the underwater world.

You might be thinking of why I have said that "you're probably right" instead of "you're right". Haha, see the picture below and tell me, if it is a plant or not.

There are actually not plants. Instead, they are sea squirts or sea pork.If memory fails me not, I've seen them being sold in Chinese restaurants in China and Taiwan. However, never in my mind I would dream of eating sea squirts. First, I don't know how one should cook sea squirt. Second, they look REALLY offensive. The picture above can basically speak for itself.

Having said that, I consumed sea squirts by accident. I was shopping in my favorite K-mart and saw this can of thing saying "sea squirts" (meongge). I thought the name was cute and the picture on top of the can looks very tempting. So, I bought it without hesitation. It costs around 7 to 8 dollars for a can, if I'm not mistaken. When I opened the can, I saw! that th ere were a bunch of curled up things. They look like macaroni-shaped meat. I drained the liquid, rinse the sea squirts and then worked my magic into the sea squirts. I prepared a Korean dressingand poured it on top of the sea squirt.

Macaroni shaped meat
I popped the first sea squirt into my mouth, preparing for the worst. I do not know how it will taste like but ate it nonetheless. I chewed incredibly slowly, waiting for some strange, yucky mouth feel or a garish flavor to sweep through my senses. Miraculously, nothing happened. In fact, it does taste a little like pork and calamari combined. It's a very interesting flavor. Texture wise, it's slightly chewy but it won't break your teeth. The Korean dressing went very well with the sea squirts. In the end, I finished the entire can of sea squirt. It's packed in protein and a great food for dieting. It keeps you filled for hours!


So, have you ever tried something that you have normally not tried? What is it that you have tried and what did you think about it?