In China, there’s a stir-fried dish with pebbles as the main ingredient
SUODIU – A unique dish has been catching attention on social media recently because its main ingredient, pebbles.
The small stones are sautéed in oil, chili, garlic, rosemary, and other seasonings. They are then placed in a small paper container.
People suck on the pebbles to extract their taste and flavor. Once the taste is gone, the pebbles can be discarded, or they can be kept as souvenirs. This Chinese dish is called “suodiu,” which literally means “suck and throw away.” Each serving costs 16 yuan or approximately $2.30 or about PHP 126.
On social media, people can be seen thoroughly enjoying the dish, savoring the flavor of each stone before spitting it out. Dubbed the “world’s hardest dish,” this unique and deeply rooted dish originated from the Hubei province of China and has been around for hundreds of years.
Fishermen came up with the idea as they used to spend long periods at sea and needed something to add flavor to their meals. As they ran out of condiments while sailing, they decided to add seasonings to stones “to find happiness in the bitterness,” according to reports.
In a viral video, a man captured how the dish is cooked. He asked the chef if the pebbles would be returned afterward. The chef replied, “No need. You have them as souvenirs.” He added that the pebbles could be left for future generations.
While the dish can be prepared at home using pebbles, some netizens are not in favor of it. They express concerns about its hygiene and worry that the pebbles used for cooking might be dangerous if accidentally swallowed.
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