The real Ratatoullie: recipes for vermin

Rats

Ever wanted to try some bizzare foods?  Ever watch Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern scarf down some nasty chow?  Well the Wall Street Journal has one for you.  Apparently due to the influx of the Bird Flu virus many Vietnamese countrymen have been getting their protein from other sources.  Of course with the high cost of fresh snake and the protection placed on cat meat there leaves only one alternative...RAT!  Ever walked into the pet store and thought, "wow, that rat looks absolutely yummy."  Me neither.  But if you were thinking about trying some out, here's some sure fire recipes to get you started.  Let me know how it taste.

GROUND RAT MEAT AND CHILI

Ingredients:
Two field rats, chopped into quarters
Two chopped cloves of garlic
Half cup of lemon leaves
Half a cup of dried chili peppers
Quarter cup of fish sauce
A dash of salt

• Mash up the chili peppers and add fish sauce to moisten the mixture. Then added the chopped garlic.

• Place the lemon leaves in a bowl of water to soak.

• Heat a frying pan over an open flame and add vegetable oil. Then add the chili pepper mixture. When sizzling, add the rat meat. Stir vigorously until cooked, and then add the lemon leaves. Simmer for five minutes, adding water as necessary to keep it moist.

• Serve with steamed rice.

RAT STEAMED WITH LEMON LEAVES 

Ingredients:
Two cleaned and gutted rats, chopped into quarters
A small bundle of lemongrass
Half a cup of fish sauce
One small onion

• Place the rat meat in a bamboo steamer. Place the steamer in a saucepan of boiling water. Add the lemongrass and onion, then brush the rat with fish sauce.

• Steam for approximately 20 minutes, or until the rat meat cooks thoroughly.

• Serve with steamed rice and spring onions.

RAT STIR SAUTEED WITH SPRING ONION AND HERBS

Ingredients:
2 cups fragrant khotweed
Several spring onions
Quarter cup of fish sauce
Two cleaned and gutted rats, chopped into chunks
Half cup of vegetable oil
Fresh basil

• Mix the rat chunks in a bowl with fragrant khotweed and spring onions. Add the fish sauce. Let stand for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to sink into the rat meat.

• Then, gently heat the vegetable oil over low heat and add the mixture, slowly stirring. Cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Serve with steamed rice or rice noodles. Garnish with fresh basil.