Unusual customs

[Daniel2]

The French make paté with the Coypu (Nutria, Ragondin).
Rabbit and Horse are common dishes here also.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Mind few years back was in Billingsgate fish market and someone had turned up with a crate or so of green shore crab(pesky things that chew your bait when fishing)The Chinese bought lot up so they carried on bring them in.

Spider crabs which used to get thrown back as valueless are now rebranded as "Cornish King Crabs". We used to call them toilet paper crabs - they were invariably multi coloured from the coloured bog paper that stuck to their spines when then passed the sewers.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

The French make paté with the Coypu (Nutria, Ragondin).
Rabbit and Horse are common dishes here also.

Coypu, similar to the possum in NZ - introduced for fur and now a pest. Last I read there were 80,000,000 of them - probably more now.
The one that always baffles me here is the signal crayfish - a pest, but good eating ....................... but illegal to catch.

 

[Limey Lurker]

How safe are they, is Thailand not like China where if it walks, flies, crawls, swims or wiggles it is on the menu !

In some countries, they eat what they can, and can what they can't!

 

[flying haggis]

I knew someone once who for a while would only eat what he caught (meat wise) so mostly rabbit, which he said was ok (personally never a fan from my limited experience), but that squirrel was delicious.

Have to be careful though as it may contain nuts...........

Fetching coat..

 

[Homeless Squirrel]

Spider crabs which used to get thrown back as valueless are now rebranded as "Cornish King Crabs". We used to call them toilet paper crabs - they were invariably multi coloured from the coloured bog paper that stuck to their spines when then passed the sewers.

Bloody things snip hooks off when fishing as becomes a plague on south coast

 

[Oldman]

Sugar cane rats are a popular diet among the locals in Africa and, by all accounts, tasty

Yes, witnessed the trap made, placed and rat caught. Dispatched, stick in one end and out the other, flamed over an open fire to remove the fur, then belly cooked enough to open up and remove insides, once done it was continue to cook until done.
Yes I was expected to join the Nigerians in sampling the meat, tasted a cross between chicken and rabbit. At least thats what I kept telling myself.
Ants were another favorite cooked in a little oil on a fry pan, they acted like pop corn or perhaps they were jumping to try and get away from the hot oil...

 

[sometimewoodworker]

Yes, witnessed the trap made, placed and rat caught. Dispatched, stick in one end and out the other, flamed over an open fire to remove the fur, then belly cooked enough to open up and remove insides, once done it was continue to cook until done.
Yes I was expected to join the Nigerians in sampling the meat, tasted a cross between chicken and rabbit. At least thats what I kept telling myself.
Ants were another favorite cooked in a little oil on a fry pan, they acted like pop corn or perhaps they were jumping to try and get away from the hot oil...

Talking about sugar cane rats, this is one of SWMB’s favourites

 

[benitod]

How safe are they, is Thailand not like China where if it walks, flies, crawls, swims or wiggles it is on the menu !

I spent several years in China.
There is a region in Sichuan Province where the people say "We eat anything that flies except planes and anything having legs except tables"

 

[benitod]

Another one.
In Hebei Province, by spring beginning I was standing near a tree looking for a singing cicada when a chinese lady, a friend of mine came to me and asked
Do you like it? I said yes, thinking about the noise the cicada was producing.
She told me we also love them but fried!!
There are more like this.

 

[TomB]

Have to be careful though as it may contain nuts...........

Fetching coat..

Squirrel is delicious but they are a real b****r to skin.

 

[clogs]

wish the B that stole my works cat would bring him back.....
we found him at a few days old in a dustbin, in the next village with his sister....
really miss him.....
looking for another now.....some hope....

when I first went to Calif they were eating chicken gizzards.......yuk.....

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I spent several years in China.
There is a region in Sichuan Province where the people say "We eat anything that flies except planes and anything having legs except tables"

and anything that swims that isn't a submarine?

 

[paulrbarnard]

I spent several years in China.
There is a region in Sichuan Province where the people say "We eat anything that flies except planes and anything having legs except tables"

Up until the pandemic I spent half the year in Chengdu. I have done that for at least 15 years. Sichuan food is really very good but I have big problems with some of the more esoteric offerings.
This is actually fully vegetarian hot pot and excellent.

This in the other hand is appalling

Just about to start travelling back there again. I’ve missed it.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Is it possibly a stereotype from times past when hunger was rampant in China?

Not that long in the past. Read Jung Chang.

 

[seanf]

Sichuan food is really very good

The best in China for me. We were also regular visitors until the past few years (for obvious reasons) and are looking forward to hopefully starting again next year. Chengdu is a lovely city and we spent a fantastic day there doing a “Panda Keeper for the Day” experience with an amazing lady who had spent a lot of time here at Chester Zoo. Amazing to see the behind the scenes care of their most famous animals and standing in their indoor area just the other side of some bars from them is something I will never forget. We spend most time in Chongqing though, which is one hell of a city: hot, fast, busy and alive. A big difference to our sleepy village in the UK!

Here's me feeding some apples to some very happy bears when they were in their outdoor area:

Sean