For a westerner It would be difficult to find a more disgusting cuisine than Traditional Mainland Chinese Cuisine.
What you see at a (Hong Kong style) Chinese restaurant in your country might be unrecognisable to a common Mainland Chinese person. When you travel to China more often you will visit the larger more common cities that foreigners frequent like Beijing and Shanghai. However what you don't see is what common mainland Chinese people eat which is Traditional Chinese Cuisine that is all about one's "Qi".
South China is well known in China as having the most disgusting cuisine even to many Chinese from the North. There is a Chinese saying "If you can kill it you can eat it". A traveller to South China might notice that there aren't any birds...in fact there is hardly any wild life at all as they have all been eaten! Wild animals are considered by Chinese as the most tasty and best for one's health. Sideline: Many Chinese who live abroad are happy for the abundant wild life that is not available in China anymore, like turtles, frogs, birds, snakes...small furry animals...anything...they all go into the pot. My wife knows many Chinese in the US who forage when ever they can.
Three Scream Mice is an interesting dish. Live new born mice are served squirming on the plate. The first scream is when one is picked up by the chop sticks. The second scream is when it is dipped into the sauce. The third and final scream is when they are popped into the mouth.
Live monkey brains - that's old hat - pardon the pun.
Nothing is sacred - even Panda and other endangered species are sought after and available for those who can afford it and more importantly to who has the right contacts to get it. Wealthy business people and of course local government officials (who are the most corrupt).
Human milk, it is good for babies so it must mean it is good for one's health as Chinese think. In old China, Emperors and other noble people had wet nurses available for all their lives - why bother with cups, comes in its own container. New China means that human milk is more readily available. There are restaurants in China which specialise in dishes made from human milk. I was disappointed there aren't any cafes of this kind..."Excuse me, waitress? I need more milk for my coffee, mind if I have a squeeze or two?" ;)
Speaking of specialised Chinese restaurants a common one all over China serves animal penises (on a bun?). The idea with this is that the more penises you eat the better it is for yours. It was never explained to me what happens if women do this...do they grow one? (Make a note to find out where Hillary Clinton eats...)
To this end there are many other things you can eat and drink which are good for your "little brother" as Chinese call it. There is "Three Penis Wine" - not made from penises but it is good for the "little brother" which is why it refers to three of them.
Human placentas are available fresh or dried (even in supermarkets in smaller cities). If its good for a baby then eating it means that you will stay young - that's the idea at least.
Eating dogs and cats - well that's quite normal for many Chinese. Dogs are mostly popular in the North of China while cats are popular down south. Horses or donkeys are enjoyed most everywhere. KFH?
One might find vacuum packed dog meat (no heating ready to eat) as a snack in many locations - one being Xuzhou airport, in North Jiangsu Province (Where CATERPILLAR has a joint venture).
Eating little birds are popular everywhere - even while it is still in the egg. The head is especially crunchy!
On and on it goes - if you can think of it - there is a Chinese dish for it.
All meat like dogs, cats, furry animals, endangered or you name it is considered by Chinese as "HOT" or "COOL" for the body and according to one's "Qi" will depend on which should be eaten. (Gee whiz!)
Traditional Chinese dishes are all about "alternative nutrition" and is "homoeopathic" to boot - notch that one up! ;)
So next time someone goes "Ewwwww they're eating cat...!!" just tell them to go ahead and tuck in, that stir fried tabby with human milk sauce is good for your "Qi"!
Cheers
Yuk!
I'll be scrutinising what's in the boxes from the local Hot Wok take-away more closely in future!!
Regards, Kathrinn
but but....
but but these are such old ideas, they must be correct. And they are not Western ideas, and not scientific. So they must be even more correct.
Or something like that.
I eat most things, but if it walks, crawls or swims, I tend to cook it first. When I cook a whole animal, I say thanks, toasting the animal with a sip of wine or beer. That is not a religious thing, just a personal thank you.
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It is not how fast you go
it is when you get there.
Well said.
Just because something has been a certain way for a thousand years does not mean it is correct.
I agree, we should respect the things we eat - and not just animals.
Cheers
veggies
Some vegetarians believe that a no-meat diet is healthier, I have no philosophical issue with them.
However there are some vegetarians who say they don't want to kill in order to survive. They think that eating animals is cruel and unjust.
Well, plants are alive too. And at least animals have the chance to run away, or even fight back. Plants are defenseless. So it could be considered cowardly to only eat the poor defenseless plants.
The cold hard reality is that we have to kill in order to survive. I think this is where some religious concepts come from. The "original sin" in Judaism and Christianity, and the respect for nature in native American cultures.
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It is not how fast you go
it is when you get there.
Yumm!
Well, unlike my anglo-speaking friends, here in Mexico we're not so squeamish concerning food. We eat some things that would certainly seem disgusting to most people, like Maguey worms, grasshoppers, another kind of insect called jumiles. And of course, there are more traditional dishes like "Barbacoa" and "Cabrito", which is a dish from Northern Mexico made out of roasted mutton prepared somewhat simmilarly to how the jewish do it. When we go to those restaurants we are always fighting about who keeps the head—The brains are particularly delicious ;-)
The thing is this. For me it's not about how disgusting it would or would not be to eat dog meat—in fact, here in Mexico it is a popular joke to assume that in some Tacos vending stands that's where they get the meat from!— What it's disgusting is this conception that the more the animal suffers the strongest flavor its meat will acquire. That's what I thing should be addressed. The Chinese want to have Cat farms where they breed the little tabbies to sell them as food? Fine, not my cup of tea but to each its own. But for God's sake guys dispatch the animal humanely!
In fact, I would object to eat the meat of an animal that suffered when it was butchered, more for selfish egotistic reasons that for empathic sentiments. When an animal is in a deep sense of stress, a lot of toxins (epinefrine and adrenalyne) is going to be pumped to the blood. That would also make the meat more stiff and hard to chew, something you can test yourselfs when eating steak. Maybe the Chinese have a crave for adrenalyne, but I for one would prefer to skip it.
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
Yumm is right amigo!
Mexican food in Mexico is not what you would find in the US. I was told during my recent visit to your country that what I would see outside of Mexico is called Tex-Mex. I especially liked the squash flowers and corn fungus and the steak I had in Leon!! YUM!
Here in China I have a taste for stir fried Cicadas. My wife is Chinese and I had work hard to get her to try them - she now likes them. These are not available in Shanghai though so I have them in Suqian when I am there.
I have had dog which is actually quite good. My wife and I have a cat so the thought of eating cat is not on the table...so to speak. When I was young my mother had this yapping little lapsa apso which would piss all over the floor. I hated that dog. When I first came to China and heard that there are restaurants which serve dog I wondered if it is like lobsters...can a choose a lapsa apso...? :) LOL! My mother was not impressed when I told her...I had her convinced I could choose my breed like lobsters. I did tell her the truth...after a few years. We laugh about it now.
You are correct that the taste and texture of meat depends on how the animal was killed.
In Indonesia I liked Otak Padang style - which is brains cooked in a spicy coconut milk sauce and Paru Goreing which is crispy fired lungs and Ayam Goreing - fried crispy chicken intestines. Just don't think about what it is!
The point is these things seem strange to people who did not grow up with it. Chinese think eating cheese and butter is gross. So I guess I can forget about cheese and butter made from human milk.
Have any Mexican recipes you might like to share?
Cheers
traditional disgusting foods
Of course, I give you: the sausage.
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It is not how fast you go
it is when you get there.
There's also ...
Meat pies (with contents of unknown origin), haggis and black puddings! Must say I'm partial to the black puddings though, but they're hard to get in Oz.
Regards, Kathrinn
Recipes
If you happen to be in Mexico, or in a Mexican Restaurant, you mihgt want yo try"Mole", a dish made with chicken (or turkey) and chocolate. Delicious.
If you come to Mexico, I would be more than happy to give you a tour to try some Mexican dishes. This invitation is of course open to all TDG members—that have given a donation to the site, of course ;-)
PS: So I think we agree, it's not about what we eat, but about being grateful and not provoking more harm than necessary. Who knows? maybe we are part the delicassy of a higher order of beings we are unaware of ;-)
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
Humans as a delicassy?
May explain all the people that go missing and are never found, ever! And there are a lot of people, millions and millions;gone missing,and never found. Out to get the mail...and never came back...
anther consideration
Perhaps we should do some research into the taste of animals that eat people.
Polar bears, Orcas, big sharks.
How do they like us prepared? Usually they eat us raw, and with some bad tasting covering (what we call clothing). Do they prefer that we fight back when they eat us? Or does it taste better when we have been dead for a day or so?
They rarely taste cooked humans, so the normal polling methods would not be conclusive.
More research needs to be done in this area.
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It is not how fast you go
it is when you get there.
LOL
I dunno, but I kinda suspect your grant would be denied ;-)
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It's not the depth of the rabbit hole that bugs me...
It's all the rabbit SH*T you stumble over on your way down!!!
Red Pill Junkie
For the sake of Science
From Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Bue...
William Buehler Seabrook (February 22, 1884 – September 20, 1945) was an American Lost Generation occultist, explorer, traveller, and journalist, born in Westminster, Maryland. He began his career as a reporter and City Editor of the Augusta Chronicle in Georgia. He later became a partner in an advertising agency in Atlanta.
Seabrook went on a trip to West Africa, living with a tribe known as the Guere. He asked the chief what human meat tasted like, but the chief couldn't describe it to Seabrook's satisfaction.
Later, Seabrook had the opportunity to try it himself, getting a portion of stew with rice as well as a "sizeable rump steak, also a small loin roast to cook or have cooked" however he wanted.
The source, Seabrook stated, was a recently killed man, but he was not murdered. He reported that, "It was like good, fully developed veal, not young, but not yet beef. It was very definitely like that, and it was not like any other meat I had ever tasted. It was so nearly like good, fully developed veal that I think no person with a palate of ordinary, normal sensitiveness could distinguish it from veal. It was mild, good meat with no other sharply defined or highly characteristic taste such as for instance, goat, high game, and pork have. The steak was slightly tougher than prime veal, a little stringy, but not too tough or stringy to be agreeably edible. The roast, from which I cut and ate a central slice, was tender, and in colour, texture, smell as well as taste, strengthened my certainty that of all the meats we habitually know, veal is the one meat to which this meat is accurately comparable.
So there you go...now we know why sharks like us!
Cheers
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