How many times have we all heard stories how stupid Farang get ripped off by a clever Thai bargirl and dropping him like shit as soon as he is sucked dry?
Phen, the clever seductress from Buriram
The lesson out of this: don't try to put a pretty bird in a cage and when you do, don't come crying if she shits on you!
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Bandicoot rats as pests and endangered species
Isaan rice rats or Bandicoot rats even have a listing in the IUCN Red List for endangered species, where they are listed under the category "lower risk least concern"; rapid urbanization and increasing use of tools and chemicals while planting rice are severely limiting their habitat.
More information, rather very scientific, about the exact relation to common rats and other rodents of the world and even insight into the evolutionary history from palaeontological finds from caves from Thailand an be found on the site of Bucknell University.
Currently, the farmers in Isaan most likely would not agree with the label 'under (light) threat of extinction': Field Rats seem to be extremely common and are seen as dangerous pests; living all year round in the rice fields, they love to eat the soft roots of the growing rice, thereby destroying the plants before they can be harvested. After rice harvest, naturally they go after the rice in its silos and -- as all rodents -- make a bad mess out of it. Clean table manner are clearly not their strong side, but breeding and getting young seemingly is -- so every year anew it is a kind of war between the farmers and the rice rats, with the victims of battle at least on the rats' side ending up on the dinner plate and making up in tasty protein what they have cost in farming income.
Hunting field rats
There are generally two ways of hunting the Isaan rice rats: the father of my girlfriend loves to go out and hunt them with his antique rifle, and from every trip he comes back with easily six or seven of them. Drawback of this method is, that the rats are later riddled with pellets, which might crack your teeth if you hit one of them unlucky. It takes away a lot of the dining pleasure.
The second way is, to catch them in traps, where the rats pass a trigger which brings down a wooden chopper who is fast enough to break their necks. They can be picked up on the next morning but it is of course much less exciting than shooting with a gun all over the place...
Preparing Isaan rice rats for dinner
The small feet and tail are first cut off. Then a cut is made behind the ear so that it is possible to pull the fur off of the main body. After that is done the head is cut off as the head is held onto when pulling the fur off of the body. The rat is then washed in water and a cut is made along its belly to remove all the intestines -- carefully not cutting to deep because this creates a bad smelly mess. The liver and the heart are kept inside the body. The rat is then spread open and placed between a grate for grilling over an open flame until it is completely fried with a burnt like look to it.
The smaller rats are left on the grill just long enough for the meat to be cooked, but still medium rare. Then the small rats are chopped up very finely, small bones and all, until a sort of fine ground meat is made into a paste. The heart and liver are removed before it is chopped up and placed in a separate dish.
Before the rats are prepared for cooking, about two small cups of red chili peppers are ground up with a mortar and pestle until a red chili paste is made. It is this chili paste that the finely chopped rat meat is added and then cooked in oil in a wok. A great deal of garnish and other spices are added which are mentioned in the recipe at the end of this article.
The recipe below would possibly not go down well in your home town (and I am not sure if one can substitute common rat instead, getting Bandicoot Rat somewhere in the west will be tricky).
Keep in mind, this is all just in peoples heads. Isaan rice rats taste surprisingly well, a lot like tender chicken with a little bit of a game taste to it. After just a few bites you will enjoy it just as much as I did -- guaranteed...!
Recipe for ground rat meat and chili paste
Ingredients:
Initial Preparation:
Cooking preparations:
Serving:
Serve ground rat meat on an oval dish with livers and heart on the top. Circle with garnish of basil leaves and halves of lime. Serve with white rice. The flavor will be hot and tangy with a mild crunchy chew to it. It is not to be considered the main dish, but a nice hot and spicy accent to other prepared dishes. Surely very good on crackers, but Thais do not generally eat crackers.
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As K. Manival tells about herself: "I am part Thai and Lao. The reason for my blog is to preserve the authenticity of the Thai and Lao food. Enjoy watching the home videos as I follow family recipes. Growing up, I was spoiled by my parent's home cooked Thai and Lao food. When I moved out, I searched restaurants and found that nothing compares to the authentic taste of home. This started my journey into cooking Thai and Lao food under my parents' guidance. I share my journey with you."
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The Register:
"Thailand's roadside fast-food vendors are enjoying booming sales of the country's latest fave dish - rat.
According to the Beeb, rat has long been on the menu in Thailand's poorer north, but is now widely available for discerning gourmets countrywide. Customers can get their rat uncooked, or poached, fried, grilled or baked, and stump as much as 150 baht (£2.30) a kilo for the privilege.
Rat seller Sala Prompim told AP: "It's tastier than other meats - nothing can compete with rat," adding that the liver and thigh offered the best dining experience.
One satisfied customer confirmed: "It's better than chicken. It all depends what you like, but it's a normal meat like any other."
Prompim, who claims to sell as much as 100kg of rat on a good day, stressed that his rodents were captured in the countryside, not in Thailand's cities. He said: "They are definitely clean."
Sadly, the BBC doesn't offer an answer to the obvious question: what does rat taste like? While guinea pig and snake are reckoned to be a bit like chicken, and humans obviously offer a bacon-like experience, we have no data available on rat. Anyone eaten out in Thailand recently?"
Links of Interest:
Thai Rice Field Rat at the BBC
Tasty field rats in Thailand at The Register
Isaan delicacies: Rice Rats or Greater Bandicoot Rat (Bandicota indica)
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"It's amazing to think that giants like this still swim in some of the world's rivers," said Dr. Zeb Hogan, a WWF Conservation Science fellow and leader of a new World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and National Geographic Society project to identify and study all freshwater fish over 6 feet long or 200 pounds. "We've now confirmed now that this catfish is the current record holder, an astonishing find."" ...
"Local environmentalists and government officials negotiated to release the record-breaking animal so it could continue its spawning migration in the far north of Thailand, near the borders of Thailand, Laos, Myanmar and China - also known as the "Golden Triangle"). But the fish, an adult male, later died.
The species is declining, which fishermen in the region blame on upstream dams and environmental deterioration." ...
"The Mekong giant catfish is Southeast Asia's largest and rarest fish and the focus of Dr. Hogan's project along with about two-dozen other species around the world such as the giant freshwater stingray, the infamous dog-eating catfish, the dinosaur-like arapaima, and the Chinese paddlefish - all of which remain contenders for the title of the world's largest fish." ...
"The Mekong River Basin is home to more species of massive fish than any river on Earth. It is also the most productive fishery in the world, generating USD 1.7 billion each year. Fish from the Mekong are the primary source of protein for the 73 million people that live along the river."
And don't they look tasty? They actually are, I tried!
There, I just wrote it black on white, undeniable to my own eyes: a life in Isaan has become more fascinating for me than the beer bars of Patong Beach!Links of Interest:
