So rat meat is a delicacy in Isaan ?

[Nervous_Dog]

The funny thing about walking along a track in Issaan, is they treat it like a smorgosboard. Stopping and eating whatever is along the track! Bugs, Twigs, leaves etc.

 

I find ISsaan food very "Thin", water soups and stews compered to the southern styles.

 

Much more boney and less meety.

 

DOG

[Flashermac]

Lots of boiled veggies too, eaten with spicy sauces and sticky rice. I like Lao food, but it is sort of ... uninteresting (or disgusting and dangerous, e.g. raw pork with a high risk of liver flukes). I remember one Thai politician from Isaan publicly commenting on Isaan diet. "We live mainly on leaves! It's a wonder we have survived."

 

I once did a search for Lao restaurants in the west. There is one very fancy restaurant in the States that is run by a native of Wiengchan. But he admits that Lao food isn't very appealling and thus runs a Thai restaurant, with a few Lao dishes available.

[Central Scrutinizer]

NPP,

 

Yep, you can see the rat hunters at night with their single shot home-made/locally-made rifles, with miner lamp hat strapped around their heads. They also hunt frogs, but use a skinny trident to kill the frogs with, and snake of all sorts. There's plenty of rat, snake and frog in the rice paddies. The Isaan folks with the least monies hunt and eat damned near anything. Snake is a delicacy as well, and Scorpion, as well as many assorted bugs, land crabs, and huge snails from the lakes and ponds around.

 

My wife's family doesn't eat rat, dog, nor the huge snails, and will only eat a certain type of frog that they consider good eating, the rest they say are my alloy. But they like the bugs, except the mangda bug, which I hear is very sour tasting. And yeah, the ant eggs too. In the villages there is a wider variety of what is deemed edible.

 

Pang pawn, or Thai mongoose is considered a delicacy, and is eaten by some of the family, as are home raised squirrels by Papa. It seems the Lao in Isaan are not much for dog, although the Khmer seem to love it. There used to even be Khmer guys that would come around the neighborhoods in a pick-up asking to buy your dogs. 100 baht per full grown dog they offered, although this is now more underground, as there is a law against this now, and the police will arrest these guys when they see them. I want to offer them our soi dogs. We could rid ourselves of these pests, and make a thousand baht to boot, and have a much quieter evening's sleep as well! :-)

 

But protein is protein for some I guess. The hillbillies in the states used to, and probably still do, eat a lot of strange things most Americans wouldn't consider eating for the most part, unless they were protein starved I'd guess. Squirrels, possum, birds of all kinds, rattlesnake, bear, even wildcat. The poorer the people, the larger their menu I'd say. :-)

 

But rat? I'd have to be starving to eat rat I'd think. Same for the bugs. I have eaten rattlesnake, possum, and squirrel. Why the hell it all tastes like chicken though I don't know! :-)

 

Cent

[MaiLuk]

I'm willing to try just about anything. Haven't tried snake or bugs but probably will one of these days. But rats I think will never happen. There are some cultural taboos that one cannot put behind them. The stigma upon rats in the western psyche will always be a tough nut to crack with the cultural memory of the plague still looming large. My stomach turns when i think about eating a rat.

[ALHOLK]

Hi!

 

I don't think I would have any problem eating rat if I knew it was well coocked. Dog on the other hand I would most likely be reluctant to eat.

 

regards

 

ALHOLK

[Nervous_Dog]

Thank you

 

DOG

[Flashermac]

Some years back there was a minor scandal when it turned out Thonburi merchant's pork ribs were actually soi dog! Folks got suspicious, since the ribs looked a bit small. They called the health dept, who made a surprise visit. The cops hauled the merchant off. He protested that he didn't USUALLY sell soi dog. But when his pork supplier didn't show up, he had to find SOMETHING to sell.

 

::

 

About the same time the health dept found that some street vendors were colouring their MOO DAENG with red liquid shoe polish, since it was cheap. Of course, the shoe polish also is toxic!

[Guest]

The word is pronounced something like "ganarrh".

[waterdog]

Not a delicacy but common food for common folks. Have eaten a number of times at home of GF in rural area of Nong Bua Lamphu Province.

 

Reminds me of eating squirrel many years ago back in the hills - USA.

[New Petchburi Pete]

Thanks for sharing; and, an interesting comparison.

 

My mother-in-law is down from Chaiyaphum ... she was supposed to bring some fresh rat meat down for the barbie; but, as best as I can comprehend, the would-be hunters got drunk the night before on village-made Thai whiskey ... so nothing for tasters! ... not that this outcome is unusual in Isaan mind you!

 

I took the family out to "Mini Siam" in Pattaya yesterday. The focus of their commentary was how edible certain trees or plantings were. As farangs, I guess sometimes we miss the potential.

 

So, I'll wait for a 'better day.' What more can I say? ... my buddy just called and said he caught some fresh "dorado." ... we refer to this as "dolphin fish" (not the mammal) in the States ... on "Olde Cape Cod." He's doing a fish and chips feast for tonight, so I don't feel so bad about the barbequed rat. BTW ... more on this later .... hint: an annual Pattaya fishing trip for NanaPlaza.com members (and guests ... if they're willing) is in the works!

 

Personally, I love snapper stew ... no, not Thai bushy (although my favorite), but turtle meat as they serve in Bookbinder's in Philadelphia. It's one of my all time favorites ... but, I'm game for anything that crawls or is motionless but once breathed or even pretended to do so!