I never know what to make of a story that capitalizes on what may be viewed as weird/extreme eating by 'exotic' cultures. We're officially in the Year of the Rat and on Wednesday, February 6, the Wall Street Journal had an article on how there's been a resurgence in rat-based dining in Vietnam.
The title of James Hookway's piece is "For Vietnamese, The Year of the Rat Starts with Lunch: Rodent-Eating Takes Off, In Response to Bird Flu;Cats, Snakes on Menu, Too." That's quite a headline, and if you weren't a careful reader, you may think, "Those bizarre, crazy Vietnamese people. They'll eat anything!"
But read further down, past the first paragraph to get the culinary details and rationale for the resurgence of rat cuisine. Hookway's story is quite informative.
That's quite a difference from the LA Times February 6 piece on new dining trends in Orange County's Little Saigon!
For more to ponder, see:
- Half-hatched duck egg posting
- Year of the Rat posting which contains some comments on rat cuisine
