Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Snake eating etiquette


Several people have asked me what the stir fried snake was like, so here is my easy 6 step guide to snake eating. Bear in mind the dish was offered as a special treat and 3 of our group agreed to try it whence the snake was specially purchased and charged for in addition to our pre-arranged all-inclusive (bar snake) Mekong homestay.

1. Try and avoid eating snake whenever possible

2. Failing step 1, if politeness or curiosity get the better of you, it is better to have it made into soup rather than stir fry. Even the locals told us afterwards that stir fry is not a good way to eat snake.

3. Make sure there is something to eat apart from the slithering kind. Plain rice and clear cabbage soup will suddenly appear exceedingly attractive propositions.

4. Peel the skin off the snake chunk. Even after cooking the skin will be tough like leather and stripy with snake patterning.

5. Nibble the bones you have revealed, suck them if you like. Don't worry there is no real meat to get stuck between your teeth.

6. Smile politely. Say 'delicious' thank you, and pass the plate to the left while tucking into that rice and soup. Later you can sneak into the packet of coconut covered peanuts you bought at the service station.

3 comments:

mariSh said...

You should have been at my birthday party in South China... One of the exotic dishes was... you guessed - a snake stew - served with various vegetables and ginger. The meat was tender and tasty. So you might be right - the ways it's cooked makes all the difference. The same applies to cooking a crocodile. Take one small crocodile (not exceeding 2m) by the tail...

Amanda said...

Mmm I had a very tasty crocodile and mango pizza here in Auckland a while ago.

Peter Kenny said...

I had eel intestines in Japan. They were small and squiggly and tasted of liver. And grasshoppers in Mexico. They put a spring in your step, and you felt very chirpy aftwards.