Tastes Great, looks Terrible!
Exploring the idea of ugly delicious
In 2018 Netflix released a show called “Ugly Delicious” featuring Chef David Chang, founder of Momofuku Noodle Bar. In this eight-part series, he explores foods that aren’t necessarily pleasing to the eye yet taste amazing.
Some of the best-tasting dishes in the world could fall into this category, they may taste and smell great, but they are damn ugly.
We’ve all seen a dog who is so ugly it’s cute, but we don’t tend to think of our food with the same mindset as we do our pets. For most people if it looks bad, they don’t want anything to do with it, this is especially true with children.
In gastronomy it has been understood for years that we eat with our eyes, nose, and then our mouth. We eat with our eyes, what? We absolutely do! This refers to the presentation of food for aesthetic purposes, if you want to read more about proper plating and garnishing look here.
When I think of a dish that is somewhat hideous but tastes pretty good, I typically think of some type of casserole from the 1970s or '80s as I mentioned in a previous piece called,
Nostalgic Nights: Vintage Snacks and Lasting Memories from the Ultimate Sleepover
A few days ago as I was grinding my own salt and kneading bread dough, I suddenly remembered that my son was having his best friend over for a sleepover this weekend. It was at that moment I realized, I was unprepared in the 9-year-old boy snack department.
These vintage dishes can definitely be ugly, but let’s get into some meals that are universally heralded as amazing, but may be lacking in the beauty department.
The Canadian dish known only as Poutine would fall right in the lap of this category. Who doesn’t love a plate of hand-cut fries smothered in a rich gravy and topped with buttery cheese curds? This is Canadian comfort food at its best. Perfect for packing on the pounds in preparation for a harsh winter in Montreal.
Soup is often considered an ugly food. Menudo, the Mexican soup comprised of beef tripe and hominy makes an excellent hangover cure, but it won’t be winning any beauty contests.
Some folks say that Ramen is an ugly food, I however, happen to disagree with this sentiment. For me, I think a fully loaded bowl of quality Shoyu Ramen is very pleasing to the eye. If you are brave enough to tackle making a great ramen at home, check this out!
There is nothing like the aroma of a good curry seasoned with a hand-crafted masala wafting through the air. The smell and taste of a proper curry can knock you off your feet but it is not always very visually appealing. Curry really can be the ugly duckling of the food world.
Haggis is a dish comprised of sheep heart, liver, and lungs all wrapped up in the animal's stomach and cooked to disgusting perfection. I have never had the opportunity to try Haggis but it looks very off-putting. I never judge a book by its cover, so if I get the chance to try this concoction of encased offal you can bet that I will dig right in.
Some foods seem so ugly or just plain strange, that I often wonder how they ended up on our plates in the first place.
Take oysters for example, if you found an oyster on the beach, having zero knowledge of what it is, you probably wouldn’t think that it was edible. As it turns out these slimy little guys are considered a delicacy by some and are priced accordingly.
At the end of the day does it really matter what our food looks like? It might to some, and to others, it may be the last thing they care about. Go ahead and give an ugly food a try.
What are some of your favorite “Ugly” foods?
That's a cool concept.
I make a salad for us to eat as a meal every day, and I have a lot of experience making "presentation friendly" salads, with all the good stuff stacked up on top in an orderly fashion. But that's not how you eat a salad, so I mix our salads all the way up nowadays. They're ugly and 100% delicious!
I've enjoyed almost everything I've ever eaten with the exception of just a few items. When I was a small child, I used to come home from school to have lunch. Even at that young age, my mother said that I ate everything. But one day when I came home for lunch, my grandmother, who lived next door, had made a tuna noodle casserole for me. I just stood at the table and looked at that ugly casserole. Then,I started to cry and I cried for several minutes. My mother gently coaxed me into trying it. I liked it so much, I remember eating seconds. Since that day, tuna noodle casserole has been one of my favorite foods.