A foodie was left scratching his head after discovering an unusual item in an Asian supermarket before it was revealed as a unique type of nut.
Food and culture blogger Adrian Widjy saw the black, bat-shaped nuts called Ling Jiao or buffalo chestnuts in a supermarket near him and had to try them for himself.
Followers were impressed by the appearance of the ‘alien’ looking food reminiscent of a Halloween decoration.
Others knew the chestnut and said they had tried them before and ate them later.
“What the hell is this,” Adrian from Sydney asked online video when he saw a container full of nuts at Marketplace by Hen Lee in Burwood.
Food and culture blogger Adrian Widjy shocked his followers after revealing that some strange, bat-like supermarket finds were actually edible water chestnuts or Ling Jiao
Ling Jiao, also called water chestnuts and water chestnuts, are not nuts but dainty seeds that grow in water and have a crunchy texture and a sweet, nutty flavor.
Adrian bought a handful of chestnuts and boiled them for 15 minutes before tasting them himself.
He was interested to see that they had a ‘pure white inside’ and smelled and tasted like a ‘woodier’ chestnut.
More than 333,800 users watched Adrian’s ‘fascinating’ video on his social channels and were shocked by the ‘spooky’ notes.
“I thought this was a Halloween decoration,” one woman said, and another woman added, “I thought you were eating a bat.”
Adrian bought the chestnuts and cooked them before tasting them himself. He was interested to see that they had a ‘pure white inside’ and smelled and tasted like a ‘woodier’ chestnut
Many were impressed by the appearance of the ‘alien’ looking food, while others were familiar with the chestnut and said they had tried it before and had even grown up eating it
“Why are you eating Maleficent’s horns?” joked a third.
‘What??!! I thought it was some kind of mini devil head!!’ someone exclaimed and another said, “It looks like something out of Harry Potter.”
Others shared their own nostalgic memories of the chestnuts with one saying: “In Malay-Chinese culture, we have them during the Mid-Autumn Festival! Bringing back childhood memories’.
“We used to eat them growing up. They are easily available in India. Indians call them Singhara and it’s a funny name,” replied a second.
‘My favorite food. I’m trying to plant them in my pond too,” someone chimed in.