Belacan aka Fermented Shrimp Paste - Why Would You Eat That?

Some things are not eaten by themselves. This week on Why Would You Eat That? Michael Truly ignores all those rules. The boys travel to Southeast Asia, home of the stinky durian fruit, for some fermented shrimp paste. Just one whiff of this toasted krill condiment is enough to turn a few people's stomach. Subscribe for more bizarre foods: http://goo.gl/Z7lbS Belacan mixed with some chilies and lime juice makes sambal belacan, which in various forms has been used in pretty much every Southeast Asian cuisine for at least as long as British colonists have been conquering far away lands, being super-racist, and cataloging everything they ate and drank overseas. To make this fermented seafood paste, you take a crap-ton of krill -- tiny sea creatures that are basically shrimp -- and grind them then smush them into a block. Used originally as a preservative and also as a flavoring, it can be subtle but by itself belacan smells like gym socks. However, in small amounts or as spicy sambal belacan, it tastes quite good IN things like rice. You're not really supposed to just bite into it like a chocolate bar, but that's not going to stop Truly and the gang from tormenting their poor, poor office mates. Have you ever tried belacan? What did you think? Tell us in the comments below! Watch More Why Would You Eat That?: http://goo.gl/8V404 On Why Would You Eat That? we scour the globe for the most bizarre foods and explain why anyone would be crazy enough to eat them. You'll be shocked to see how one man's trash can actually be another man's delicacy. Don't forget to subscribe to Tasted for a new episode of Why Would You Eat That? every Friday!