Thais rate rat 'better than chicken'

Booming sales for murine munchies

By Lester Haines • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 7th February 2008 10:49 GMT

Free whitepaper – Systems management simplified

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? ®

Free whitepaper – Dell PowerEdge servers product guide