I’ll have the tang tang noodles, ginger chicken, and a side of rats.
According to Reuters.com, China is suffering from such a problem of rats, they are trucking them to other areas to be used in fancy restaurant dishes.
“Some Guangdong restaurants were promoting “rat banquets,” charging 136 yuan ($18) for one kilogram of rat meat, the newspaper said.”
“…So apparently the solution boils down to: If you can’t beat them, eat them.”
Two more stories from the same article, one on soaking in ramen to “inflame your passion”, and another about workers at a zoo in Germany that are killing and selling animals as meat.
“We know that soup is good for you, but apparently the Japanese love their noodles-in-broth so much that some of them are literally ready to dive into their bowl of ramen.
According to the Daily Times of Pakistan, a Japanese spa has opened special baths meant to resemble ramen, complete with bath salt shaped like the pasta, a huge pair of chopsticks overhead and water giving off the aroma of pepper.”
Next time you see someone at the grocery store with two carts full of ramen, just give them a knowing wink.
They are just trying to make their love life sizzle.
It could be worse. At least I held off until after breakfast to publish this post!
Nikos says
After seeing Ratatouille, I am upset they are eating rats in China!
But to immerse your naked self into a tub of slithery noodles, with a little pepper, strategically placed chopsticks etc Oh my! OK I’d better stop.
Pork Cop says
Those rats are expensive (for some reason). I had the immense pleasure of dining at a rat restaurant in Wuhan during a business meeting. It probably wouldn’t have been my first choice of proteins but what the hay..the hosts insisted. It was all good until the soup arrived and their little heads bobbed quietly on the surface. Much slurping ensued…. Thats when I yacked.
Kathleen Mazzocco says
Pork Chop’s story is too awful to contemplate. I understand during the wars and famine the Chinese ate worse things and who can blame them, but come on now.
Today’s NYT had a story about the growing rat problem in Mumbai and how the Indians are dealing with it. The photo showed a man holding a huge, just poisoned rat. Two sides of the same coin.
Pork Cop says
Kathleen, It’s pretty foul to us.. but I’ll never forget the look on my Sichuanese wifes face when I hooked her up with a rare T-bone at Morton’s to chomp on. She was equally grossed out. (and she told me later that she thought “What the ? they just hack off a piece of the animal?? Primitive Weiguoren” Now..she gnaws with the best of us. Cheese? gross..on and on..now she loves “Tree blood” (maple syrup) the most. True I never did eat another rat ..that I know of………..BTW, Pigs uterus is delicious.
Nikos says
It is what you grow up with, I agree with Pork Cop (BTW why do the pigs need to be policed, PC?) How many of you would eat this: Roast a goat on the spit, crack the skull, serve the brain (steaming hot) with salt and pepper and crusty country bread. That is an authentic greek food experience, not souvlaki!
Pork Cop says
I’d eat it…but I wouldn’t be too happy about it.
Shhaz says
Hey, if the rodent is well prepared using sanitary methods for preparation and cooking, who cares?
Rabbit is a rodent, so is squirrel, why not rat?
T Lehman says
Beaver is a rodent. We’ve eaten beaver liver pate brought to us by some Canadian friends. It was delicious and, no, it didn’t taste like chicken.