Haritsu holding a cow's brain that he stored in a rice cooker. Photo: courtesy of Haritsu and via TikTok
There are approximately anything from 50 to a hundred ways of cooking eggs. For Haritsu, it all starts with the choice of egg. For his recipe, you need a rotten one with a slimy shell straight out of the Jurassic Age, yielding black and green goo when cracked. Search out the blackened lump that once used to be a yolk, wash it with soap, and then simmer it in oil with some shrivelled vegetables. Viola: spoilt egg and veg omelette. Bon appetit! Millions of people have watched Haritsu (@haritsuuu), an Indonesian college dropout living in Japan, cook and devour rotting food on his TikTok channel. Sometimes he’ll crack ramen into a hot bath and eat the noodles while he’s lying in the tub (very Saltburn). He’s happily swallowed mushroom curry with a side of worms. One video – in which he opens a rice cooker filled with mouldy rice, washes it with soap and then cooks it with meat before eating it with a chopstick pulled from his hair – has been watched by 44 million people alone. Whatever and however old it is, he’ll eat it.Haritsu has been on TikTok since October 2020 and created his first cooking video in March 2021. In his telling of the story, it all started when he moved from Indonesia to Japan to study International Business. Despite dropping the course early on and leaving his job as a cook in Indonesia, he found his passion on Tiktok: cooking the most disgusting-looking food in existence. VICE thought it was time to have a chat with TikTok’s worst cook, if only to check in on the state of his insides. VICE: Hey Haritsu. So what inspired you to choose this, er, brand for your online content?
Haritsu: I’ve been eating rotten food long before I started the Tiktok account. I have always been a curious person. While others think ‘why should I do that?’, I think ‘why not?’ I [will] do anything to not feel bored. So, yeah, this is how I started liking the taste of rotten food. During the time, I was also struggling financially. So I thought maybe if I made a video of it – of myself eating the rotten food – it will be something unique on TikTok. Even though I like nice food like normal people, I don’t mind trying out new things. Well, old things. Haha!What was your first taste of rotten food?
In 2020. It was two-month-old fungus-covered beef. I still remember how it felt on my hands. It was a thick slime that slipped between my fingers. I was scared but excited. I recall thinking, ‘Can I eat this?’ I thought maybe if I washed it with soap and cooked it, the bacteria and the worms would die. So I cooked [it], but it still tasted like rotten meat. It smelled like a garbage bin. On my tongue, it tasted like what you think sewage water would taste like. What’s your favourite mouldy food?
Um, it’s most probably the rotten tofu that I had. Fresh tofu is supposed to look white, but when I had that tofu it was brown. But it tasted really good – maybe I cooked it right. Every time I eat something new, especially new mouldy food, I think to myself, ‘ahhhhh uhhh, this is how it tastes. Now I know one more thing that others don’t.’ It makes me feel special. What’s the most disgusting food you have had so far?
There’s two. The first is rotten eggs. Even after washing, it still stinks. The second one is rice covered in layers of fungus and worms. I hate worms. They give me the ick. It’s on TikTok. When I prepped that food, I felt like puking. I thought to myself, ‘no more’.Wait, so how do you eat worm-filled food when you are scared of them?
Haha, I know. It’s funny that I’m scared of worms and insects but even then I want to know what they taste like. When I eat food with worms inside, I don’t mind them. I always think [that] once I cook the food along with the worms, it will taste good. I try to be brave and do it.Do you ever get sick?
I never got sick. Even I find it hard to believe that I’ve never even had diarrhoea because of the food I eat. Especially during my first year on TikTok, I was not that popular so all I could afford to eat was the rotten food. But yeah, I think I am freakishly healthier than normal people, or maybe I’m just used to it by now. What soap do you use? It’s really popular among your followers.
It’s Kirei Kirei. In Japanese it means “clean”. Actually, it’s a hand wash, but I wash my food with it because I think it will clean my food. In fact, the soap is tasteless. How do you prepare your food?
I don’t have to put in a lot of effort prepping my food. Since I live alone, I only go for grocery shopping once a month or two, so my food goes bad on its own. Most of the stale foods are a couple of months old. People think that my room must stink because of the rotten food, but it doesn’t. Well, I don’t smell anything much, maybe because I have grown used to it now. What do your friends and family think?
Actually, my friends and family like it. They have known me for so long that whenever they watch my videos, they say, “This is Haritsuu”. They think my content matches who I am as a person. But my parents get concerned at times – they ask me not to push myself too far. I don’t give them any of my mouldy food. When they come over, I cook them fresh food because I don’t want to be responsible if they get sick.How are your cats?
I have six cats. I spend more money on my cats than myself. I feed them cat food – I will never feed my rotten food to the cats. I only started keeping them six months ago, when I realised that I can afford to house them.What has been the weirdest reaction you have received online?
I find it weird that while some people are worried about my health, some wish death upon me. They say, “go to hell” and “why are you still alive”. People think I am mentally sick. But I don’t really mind. In the first year, I got a lot of hate comments and it did affect me. But then I started getting more popular with these hate comments, so I don’t mind now. It’s because of the haters that people are now talking about me. Why do you think people like watching you?
People on the internet like to be shocked. They like seeing things that are uncommon. This is especially true in Japan, where people are known for their cleanliness. They find me so unique. I think in Japan, I am one of the first people to make such content. Now, I am pretty popular in Japan [so] that whenever people see something disgusting, they say, “Ahhh. This is Haritsu.” I have seen people go from being, “Why is he doing this?” to “Ahh, because he is Haritsu.” Whenever I go out in Japan, people ask for photos and signatures. Even when I go to restaurants, the staff there ask for a photo with me.Any nicknames from fans?
Kiwami. I have a tattoo written “Kiwami”. It means “the top of the world”. I have it on my left hand, which I cook with. I used to be a cook in Indonesia before coming to Japan – I even took a cooking class for a year. How do you feel about your content now?
I started TikTok at the rock bottom of my life. That time, I felt like I couldn’t do anything right, like my life was just going to be a waste. But I am glad I started my TikTok [...] in Japan. People are warm there and they supported my content from the very beginning. Now, I have more friends and I am happy in my life. Do you wish to continue making these videos?
Yeah, because this is my brand now. And I like doing it, not just for the content, but because I genuinely like it. Even now when I can afford nice food, I still wish to continue eating rotten food, at least for my content on TikTok and Instagram. One rotten food you fantasise eating?
Maybe something really expensive that not a lot of people eat. Like rotten caviar.
Advertisement
Haritsu: I’ve been eating rotten food long before I started the Tiktok account. I have always been a curious person. While others think ‘why should I do that?’, I think ‘why not?’ I [will] do anything to not feel bored. So, yeah, this is how I started liking the taste of rotten food. During the time, I was also struggling financially. So I thought maybe if I made a video of it – of myself eating the rotten food – it will be something unique on TikTok. Even though I like nice food like normal people, I don’t mind trying out new things. Well, old things. Haha!
Advertisement
In 2020. It was two-month-old fungus-covered beef. I still remember how it felt on my hands. It was a thick slime that slipped between my fingers. I was scared but excited. I recall thinking, ‘Can I eat this?’ I thought maybe if I washed it with soap and cooked it, the bacteria and the worms would die. So I cooked [it], but it still tasted like rotten meat. It smelled like a garbage bin. On my tongue, it tasted like what you think sewage water would taste like. What’s your favourite mouldy food?
Um, it’s most probably the rotten tofu that I had. Fresh tofu is supposed to look white, but when I had that tofu it was brown. But it tasted really good – maybe I cooked it right. Every time I eat something new, especially new mouldy food, I think to myself, ‘ahhhhh uhhh, this is how it tastes. Now I know one more thing that others don’t.’ It makes me feel special. What’s the most disgusting food you have had so far?
There’s two. The first is rotten eggs. Even after washing, it still stinks. The second one is rice covered in layers of fungus and worms. I hate worms. They give me the ick. It’s on TikTok. When I prepped that food, I felt like puking. I thought to myself, ‘no more’.Wait, so how do you eat worm-filled food when you are scared of them?
Haha, I know. It’s funny that I’m scared of worms and insects but even then I want to know what they taste like. When I eat food with worms inside, I don’t mind them. I always think [that] once I cook the food along with the worms, it will taste good. I try to be brave and do it.
Advertisement
I never got sick. Even I find it hard to believe that I’ve never even had diarrhoea because of the food I eat. Especially during my first year on TikTok, I was not that popular so all I could afford to eat was the rotten food. But yeah, I think I am freakishly healthier than normal people, or maybe I’m just used to it by now. What soap do you use? It’s really popular among your followers.
It’s Kirei Kirei. In Japanese it means “clean”. Actually, it’s a hand wash, but I wash my food with it because I think it will clean my food. In fact, the soap is tasteless. How do you prepare your food?
I don’t have to put in a lot of effort prepping my food. Since I live alone, I only go for grocery shopping once a month or two, so my food goes bad on its own. Most of the stale foods are a couple of months old. People think that my room must stink because of the rotten food, but it doesn’t. Well, I don’t smell anything much, maybe because I have grown used to it now. What do your friends and family think?
Actually, my friends and family like it. They have known me for so long that whenever they watch my videos, they say, “This is Haritsuu”. They think my content matches who I am as a person. But my parents get concerned at times – they ask me not to push myself too far. I don’t give them any of my mouldy food. When they come over, I cook them fresh food because I don’t want to be responsible if they get sick.
Advertisement
I have six cats. I spend more money on my cats than myself. I feed them cat food – I will never feed my rotten food to the cats. I only started keeping them six months ago, when I realised that I can afford to house them.What has been the weirdest reaction you have received online?
I find it weird that while some people are worried about my health, some wish death upon me. They say, “go to hell” and “why are you still alive”. People think I am mentally sick. But I don’t really mind. In the first year, I got a lot of hate comments and it did affect me. But then I started getting more popular with these hate comments, so I don’t mind now. It’s because of the haters that people are now talking about me. Why do you think people like watching you?
People on the internet like to be shocked. They like seeing things that are uncommon. This is especially true in Japan, where people are known for their cleanliness. They find me so unique. I think in Japan, I am one of the first people to make such content. Now, I am pretty popular in Japan [so] that whenever people see something disgusting, they say, “Ahhh. This is Haritsu.” I have seen people go from being, “Why is he doing this?” to “Ahh, because he is Haritsu.” Whenever I go out in Japan, people ask for photos and signatures. Even when I go to restaurants, the staff there ask for a photo with me.
Advertisement
Kiwami. I have a tattoo written “Kiwami”. It means “the top of the world”. I have it on my left hand, which I cook with. I used to be a cook in Indonesia before coming to Japan – I even took a cooking class for a year. How do you feel about your content now?
I started TikTok at the rock bottom of my life. That time, I felt like I couldn’t do anything right, like my life was just going to be a waste. But I am glad I started my TikTok [...] in Japan. People are warm there and they supported my content from the very beginning. Now, I have more friends and I am happy in my life. Do you wish to continue making these videos?
Yeah, because this is my brand now. And I like doing it, not just for the content, but because I genuinely like it. Even now when I can afford nice food, I still wish to continue eating rotten food, at least for my content on TikTok and Instagram. One rotten food you fantasise eating?
Maybe something really expensive that not a lot of people eat. Like rotten caviar.