Seven Deadly Delicacies

People actually eat that stuff?

I would love to try pufferfish some day. I would just be picky about who the cook was. I wouldn't want to see him with a "trainee" pin stuck to his shirt! O.O

I hate to get all animal rights-y, but octopuses are very intelligent creatures.

I'm NOT criticizing the poster or readers of this blog, but I'd like to imagine how you would feel if the animal in that picture were a live dog.

Pretty sickening, huh?

yeah, anyone who eats octopus doesn't have a soul, seriously.

The list doesn't include the crap my mom used to make. She said it was cow liver but I doubt it. My dog wouldn't even eat it and he would eat his own shit.

Me being half cuban, I eat yuca all the time....I had no idea there was poison in there...

Then is it okay to kill them and THEN eat them?

I really want to eat the octopus.

Um, Dan... Hate to break this to you dude, but people eat dogs. And vice versa when things get out of hand.

Eating it live, though? Seriously, that's just f-ed up.

I've tried it once before in Korea. They actually chopped it up into little pieces before they served it, but it keeps moving for about 2 hours afterwards. I wouldn't call it tasty, but I wouldn't call it disgusting either. It didn't have much flavour, I had to dip it in a lot of hot sauce. But it was definitely interesting. Gave a whole new meaning to "sticks to the roof of your mouth". Anyone ever see that scene from Old Boy? That was real live octopus as well. Crazy Koreans, one moment, they're being all cute singing Hey Jude in a diaper, next they're chowing down live animals...

Hmm ... every time I've seen a discussion on eating so-called "live" octopus, someone always chimes in to point out that actually the octopus is cut up immediately prior to consumption - that is to say, the tentacles are still constricting and moving, but really they're ... eh, dead but really, really, really fresh ....

Personally I don't like seafood so it's not something I'd eat either way, but it does seem like a worthwhile point to bring up - people aren't eating living octopus, if that's the aspect that's bothering you perhaps you can rest a little more easily now ...

Priscilla-
Yucca is not cassava. Cassava can kill you, and its cousin taro is as damaging as fiberglass when undercooked. I don't get why taro wasn't on the list.

It would be more humane if they baited a large, underwater slingshot with octopus food, and when the octopus got, in it--flung it into the mouths of the diners waiting on the beach, forgoodnesssake. Oh... and while it was in the air, lightly cooked it with a line of huge propane torches at the waterline.

"Live" octopus is great, but I don't think that it's necessarily live. Like GoShogun said, they cut up the tentacles into small, bite-sized pieces that wiggle around and stick to everything. I think that the wiggling/sucking is caused by nerve endings or something, but the individual pieces are completely unattached to the octopus's brain. I'm no biologist though, so I could be wrong. Try it if you have the chance though, it's really interesting.

I have nothing against people and their "delicacies" but I can't fathom the idea of eating something alive and kicking. *brr* :(

The live octopus isn't too bad. Just make sure that you chew it up properly to make sure that it's good an dead. By the way, the picture is of "Nakji Bokkeum" which is a spicy octopus stew. The live stuff doesn't come is a pan, but is usually served on a plate.

Apparently the creature knows it's life is in danger. Some people like to play with their eatables before consumption. I personally think it's cruel, but ehhh.. to each his own.

I'm korean, and i think this is culture for eating like this...so I hope you guys don't prejudge this thing

I like my seafood fresh but this takes it to a whole new level of freshness...Nom nom nom

I'm with DCer. I don't get the point, unless it is just to be cruel. How do people get in trouble with the law for dog fighting and get away with stuff like this. A living being is a living being. An octopus is highly intelligent, but I don't think that being cruel to one is any different from being cruel to a less intelligent kitten. When are we going to wake up and stop this? If you've ever spent any time at all with a cow, you know that eating one is the same as eating a dog.