Those of you who were disgusted by my fellow Offender Roger’s post on eating dog meat will probably want to skip reading this one. Today’s story comes from Guangzhou, China’s third-largest city and a place known for taking their culinary arts very seriously. And according to this report in the China Daily, one of the most popular dishes there is…rat.
Yup, the furry vermin best known in our country for being disgusting, carrying diseases and inspiring Michael Jackson songs, is so popular in Guangzhou that diners must book their meals in advance during peak hours and a single restaurant can move 40kg of rat meat a day–the equivalent of 358 pieces of boneless chicken breast tenderloins.
And like chicken, rats can be cooked in a wide variety of ways: braised in soy sauce, roasted, barbecued, steamed, stewed or made into soup. Mmmm…getting hungry? If not, maybe these photos will help:
Why eat rat? Aside from those who swear to its delicious-ness, some believe that “a rat equals three chickens in term of nutrition” and that it can help cure baldness and keep one’s hair from turning gray.
However, medical experts are worried about the health risks associated with this controversial dish. Here’s an excerpt from the China Daily article on the dangers of rat meat:
Lin Lifeng, deputy director of Guangdong provincial center of disease control and prevention, said rat meat usually carries various viruses and bacteria that are harmful to people’s health.
“It is groundless and lacks scientific evidence that rat meat is highly nutritious and can help cure baldness,” Lin said.
He urged people to avoid eating rat meat dishes, because rats carry many infectious diseases.
Those who engage in catching, transporting, slaughtering and cooking rat meat are also at high risk of being infected with diseases, Lin said.
But before we criticize this practice as disgusting, is it any worse than the idea of a rat cooking your meal? I mean no one seemed to have a problem with this:
Anyone tried rat meat? If so, please share your story and don’t just say it tasted like chicken.
going to Chinatown right now. will report my findings. if I survive…
Damn right. True Chinamen eat the kind of shit you weak ass ABCs can only have chilling nightmares about. As Chow YunFat said in Replacement Killers, “If you want to be Chinese, you gotta eat the nasty stuff.”
if the god of gamblers says so, it must be true
Gosh those rats are HUGE! They’re the size of flying squirrels! And honestly, they look kinda yummy…. except for their tails…. I always thought rat tails looked like centipedes… ugh…
Not for me, I am trying to eat green, not grey.
Adorable critters, even though theyre grilled. I for one say don’t dicriminate, try out new things makes life a bit more interesting. In conclusion I would eat that cute grilled fellow
you discuss me you horrible people first you eat poor inisent puppies now you eat the same intelligence of a rat those people are sick :O <— being sick !!!