| I have eaten some weird and wonderful dishes around | | | | I say aware of rather than ate because even me with |
| the world but some of the more interesting | | | | my cast iron constitution couldnt stomach what I am |
| concoctions have been served up to me in China. | | | | about to describe to you. Anyway I am not sure if its |
| A particularly interesting delicacy I ate some years ago | | | | just a popular folklore or if people really did this. I am |
| consisted of Cow\'s bronchial tubes - the airways | | | | sure it must be illegal now, if its not it should be! |
| between the cow\'s lungs and windpipe (gruesome!) in | | | | Legend has it that, particularly in the southern parts of |
| a light white wine sauce. | | | | China, people had a specially designed ritualistic table |
| The appearance of a plate full of macaroni, the taste | | | | with a hole in the centre, just big enough to take the |
| of nothing but the white wine sauce and the | | | | upper part of a Monkeys head. |
| consistency of over-cooked calamari, you could | | | | Apparently the ritual consisted of capturing a live |
| describe this dish as the original Chinese chew recipe! | | | | Monkey and securing it with its head wedged up in to |
| Another time I was served with a plate of vermicelli | | | | hole in the centre of the table. The next step in the |
| with 20 or so delicately arranged deep-fried crispy | | | | ritual was to trepanne the top of the live monkeys skull |
| scorpion complete with sting! | | | | off and pour boiling water into the Monkeys brain. |
| The trick to eating this particular delicacy was to | | | | People sitting around the table would then proceed to |
| convince myself it was nothing more than a prawn | | | | eat the braised Monkey brain with chopsticks directly |
| and all I had to do was to pick it up with my chopsticks | | | | out of the Monkeys skull. |
| and slip it into my mouth. | | | | I did warn you it was gruesome it cant possibly be |
| Actually once I had said to myself its a prawn, its a | | | | true, can it? |
| prawn 20 times this was not such an ordeal and | | | | Fortunately the dishes that we are more familiar with |
| basically the texture was, well, just crisp! and the only | | | | are not quite so outlandish and use much more |
| taste was of the oil it had been fried in, not so much of | | | | traditional ingredients. There are many easy Chinese |
| a Chinese chew, more of a Chinese crisp! | | | | recipes on the Chinese food menu, just as well really |
| But Cows bronchial tubes and deep fried crispy | | | | because I dont know about you but I think I must be |
| scorpion are not the most gruesome dish I am aware | | | | part Chinese as I love the food and all about the place. |
| of. | | | | |