Troy McNaughtonSolid sustenance in SE Asia
July 21st 2006 14:55
What do they eat in SE Asia? (in no particular order)
1. Stray dogs. Okay, to be fair, this is a minority - a crazed hill tribe in the North of rural Laos. But we were privy to a sight I wish I wasn't the other day - an entire truck stacked full of mangey dogs in tiny tiny tiny cages all squashed in, stinking and crying and whimpering and generally making the Westerners seriously uncomfortable. No refrigeration means they kill everything on site and don't much care what happens to them in the meantime.
2. Crickets. Yes like small grasshoppers. They are dried and salted. Apparently they taste like chips. Just, you know, with legs. I'm not nearly that brave, not even for your education, dear reader.
3. Tarantulas. Ooooooh yes. If you can kill it, they'll eat it. With the possible exception of geckos. This is lucky. I am going to introduce geckos into Australia. They only eat insects, they'll get along fine. Cutest things ever. Except baby chameleons. Miss E had a tarantula leg. Chewy, apparently. With a hint of hair. *Slaver slaver*
4. Frogs - blame the French if you like, but see above.
5. Pond snail. Doesn't that sound so much more appetising than just plain snail? This one is encrusted with pond scum.
6. Snake - barbequed of course.
7. Porcupine - this one is anecdotal, but apparently one drowned in a river and the local reaction was to fish it out, deep fry it whole and eat it. You've seen whole deep fried fish. I imagine it's a similarly disturbing sight.
8. Fertilised eggs. *Ewwwww* I hear you say. Oh yes indeed. We saw some hungry kids wolf down these things like they were ice cream. There were these chicken foetuses inside a cooked egg. They fished them out with a fork and dangled them into their mouths. Half-formed bones and all. It was at this point that we reswallowed that night's "normal food" and wondered what heathen children would choose such a supper. We were truly, truly shocked. Then we decided it was probably more nutritious than anything we had ever eaten in our lives. Suffice to say, that didn't inspire us to partake.
9. Dried pork - pressed and spun until it looks like a mixture between wood shavings, raw cotton and brown fairy floss. It tastes creepy too. Meat was not meant to be fluffy.
10. Rice rice rice rice noodles noodles noodles rice rice rice.
1. Stray dogs. Okay, to be fair, this is a minority - a crazed hill tribe in the North of rural Laos. But we were privy to a sight I wish I wasn't the other day - an entire truck stacked full of mangey dogs in tiny tiny tiny cages all squashed in, stinking and crying and whimpering and generally making the Westerners seriously uncomfortable. No refrigeration means they kill everything on site and don't much care what happens to them in the meantime.
2. Crickets. Yes like small grasshoppers. They are dried and salted. Apparently they taste like chips. Just, you know, with legs. I'm not nearly that brave, not even for your education, dear reader.
4. Frogs - blame the French if you like, but see above.
5. Pond snail. Doesn't that sound so much more appetising than just plain snail? This one is encrusted with pond scum.
6. Snake - barbequed of course.
7. Porcupine - this one is anecdotal, but apparently one drowned in a river and the local reaction was to fish it out, deep fry it whole and eat it. You've seen whole deep fried fish. I imagine it's a similarly disturbing sight.
8. Fertilised eggs. *Ewwwww* I hear you say. Oh yes indeed. We saw some hungry kids wolf down these things like they were ice cream. There were these chicken foetuses inside a cooked egg. They fished them out with a fork and dangled them into their mouths. Half-formed bones and all. It was at this point that we reswallowed that night's "normal food" and wondered what heathen children would choose such a supper. We were truly, truly shocked. Then we decided it was probably more nutritious than anything we had ever eaten in our lives. Suffice to say, that didn't inspire us to partake.
9. Dried pork - pressed and spun until it looks like a mixture between wood shavings, raw cotton and brown fairy floss. It tastes creepy too. Meat was not meant to be fluffy.
10. Rice rice rice rice noodles noodles noodles rice rice rice.
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by amy
Shaking in my chair just thinking about it.
The only reason they even eat this stuff is because so many people were starving under the Pol Pot regime and they got desperate. Why they persist is beyond me.
Comment by Anonymous
And I like dried pork floss! I grew up with it as a kid and it is the yummiest thing ever. True, meat isn't meant to be fluffy, but who cares?
I don't know how much of the listed food is due to the fault of the Khmer Rouge regime. But if it tastes good, why stop eating it? Just because it offends western sensibilities, so what?