10 Disgusting Hor D'oeuvres To Serve To Make Sure You Don't Have To Organize Next Year's Holiday Party

Ikizukuri

What it is: Fish, again, but unlike the Nordes, the Japanese do not soak the fish in a solution so caustic that it will destroy your eating utensils. No, this is a fish that doesn’t even get to die before it’s served to you. The chef has to prepare this bad boy so that the heart stays intact and beating and the gills are still gasping for air (water?). Adding insult to injury, its carved-up body is reassembled right on top of its skeleton and served as sashimi.

And if you haven’t filled your quota on animal cruelty for the day, some places will throw the flayed, filleted, fleshless fish back into the tank so it can stay fresh until it is prepared as a second-course soup.

There’s a similar dish to this in China and Taiwan, called Yin Yang fish. From what one gathers, someone said they wanted their fish fried, but changed their minds half-way through. Seriously. Half the body of the fish (the tail-end) is fried, and the rest of the fish is kept above the frying oil. Then, the fish is served to you while it watches you eat its body. HAPPY HOLIDAYS.