“The Late Late Show with James Corden” is most famous for it’s Carpool Karaoke segment, but the “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts” segment is also entertaining af. It’s basically truth or dare on steroids, and you get to watch things like Kendall Jenner ranking the dumbest Kardashian baby names.
The basic premise of “Spill Your Guts” is that the celebs have to choose between answering very personal questions and eating incredibly bizarre — but I want to know if James Corden’s offerings are actually safe to eat. Here’s what I found out when I questioned whether or not you can actually ingest the foods from “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts.”
Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce is made from the Bhut Jolokia and Naga Jolokia peppers, and they are some of the hottest peppers in the world #straightfire. Because of the “serious face melting heat label,” I’d say stick to Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce in small quantities or as a topping; large quantities of any hot sauce can cause an upset stomach or acid reflux. Definitely don’t drink it straight because that will go down less smoothly than your cheapest handle of Burnett’s.
Grasshoppers
You grew up watching people eat these on “Fear Factor,” and, honestly, grasshoppers aren’t the craziest foods on James Corden’s Spill Your Guts list. You can find these babies fried on a street corner in Mexico, and here are some fun grasshopper recipes if you are daring enough to try it.
Pickle Juice
You can (and probably should) be drinking pickle juice. Chrissy Teigen swears by it; it’s supposed to be good for reducing muscle cramps, improving hydration, stimulating weight loss, and regulating blood sugar. Also, it is chock full of vitamins and antioxidants, so fill your guts on this briney beverage.
Calf’s Brain
Beef’s Brain might actually be worth a try. According to Men’s Health, it’s “one of the most nutrient-rich organs found in any animal,” and it has a bunch of oils to improve brain functioning and B12 to combat fatigue, depression, and anemia.
Cod Sperm
Referred to in Japan as Shirako, Cod Sperm/Milt can be prepared steamed, pan-fried, or deep-fried. LA Weekly came out with a story in 2013 declaring “Sperm Is in Season,” and the taste has been described as “very goopy” and “a lot like runny cream cheese.” Yum.
Fish Eye
I couldn’t eat while having the eye’s of my food stare at me, but it’s apparently trendy in parts of Iceland, Russia, and Asia. In China, the fish eye is served to the “guest of honor” at house parties, so it’s apparently an honor. Idk about you, but the only fisheye I’m into is the lense on my phone.
Bull Penis
All phallic jokes aside, I’m not advocating eating these bad boys. Bull penis is supposed to be, according to Vice, “rubbery” (shocker) and a bit “bland and somewhat grimy [in] flavor.” It is mainly consumed because of it’s various health and sexual benefits (umm, OK).
Bird Saliva
Bird Saliva can be found in Bird’s Nest Soup, which is commonly served in Asia in order to improve digestion, the immune system, and libido. These goupy soups are made by soaking pieces of bird’s nests (which are made partly with saliva) in cold water overnight and preparing a stew of chicken stock and cornstarch. If you want to get the soup down easier, think of the base as cornstarch rather than bird saliva. Or not.
1000-Year-Old Egg
Before you get too freaked out, these eggs are not 1000 years old. They are actually only a few weeks to a few months old, and they have been preserved in a saline solution with clay and salt. The eggs gain a creamy texture through the preservation process, and are often prepared with pickled ginger root or rice porridge.
Be careful where you buy these though, because some of the 1000-Year-Old Eggs from China have been proven to be toxic because of some dangerous preparation methods.
Chicken Feet
Someone on Serious Eats is seriously obsessed with chicken feet, but idk if I could keep up with that. She recommends eating them deep-fried and then simmered to get some “gelatinous chicken feet” (umm, eww), and they will taste like your typical fried chicken if they’re simmered and then deep-fried. Don’t sign me up to eat these, James.
Balut
Balut is a boiled developing chicken or duck fetus commonly eaten in Southeast Asia. Even though it sounds pretty strange, somewhat terrifying, and tbh gross (no judgements, though), you can technically eat it. It’s typically served in a soup, and has been claimed to increase male fertility and libido. You will not catch me trying these, but you can head to Maharlika in NYC to taste it for yourself.
Pig Blood Curd
Pig Blood Curd is also known as black pudding, and some have called it a “superfood” because of its high iron content (though this claim has been disproven by the British Dietetic Association). I obviously have not tried Pig Blood Curd, but apparently, according to Serious Eats, it tastes like “an unwashed fridge at the back of an abattoir” and “bit[ing] down too hard on our tongues and draw[ing] a taste of our own.” Umm, alright?
So, you can eat all of these foods, but the main question is: Do you actually want to? I almost vomited more than a few times while writing this article, so I think that I would spill more than a few embarrassing facts about myself rather than eating the food on “Spill Your Guts or Fill Your Guts.”