Rabbit

[cdn_in_bj]

I had leg of rabbit this weekend, and was quite surprised to find that it's a very lean white meat. It's very similar to chicken in texture, but even leaner and without the strong chicken taste. In fact, it was bordering on bland.

This is not the first time that I've had rabbit, however all the other times I've had it before was prepared sichuan-style, fried with hot peppers, very spicy and you really couldn't tell much about the taste of the meat.

I was quite surprised, and I'm thinking this meat might be very healthy. Do you guys agree/disagree? I plan to seek it out more. And I'm sorry if I've offended any of you who happen to keep rabbits as pets.

[owshawng]

Don't know if it's healthy. I do know the few times I've eaten it it tasted pretty good.

Have you ever eaten frog? My sister-in-law described the flavor as really good chicken. After I tried it I had to agree with her.

[liuzhou]

Thre is a breakdown of the nutritional value of rabbit here.

Whatever, it is a delicious meat - but only wild bunny. The farmed stuff ain't so good.

Frog is one of my favourites. Luckily, we have lots round here.

[magudo]

Have you ever eaten frog? My sister-in-law described the flavor as really good chicken. After I tried it I had to agree with her.

usually we called frog in chinese as 田雞，Literally meaning is field chicken

[zozzen]

what about snakes? Did anyone here try it?

[skylee]

Snake tastes like pork, as far as I can remember.

I had frog for lunch regularly when I was a kid. Basically it was frog placed on rice and then they were cooked together. I suppose it was easy to prepare, which probably explains why my mom always made it. I never really liked it.

[Tom Higgins]

what about snakes? Did anyone here try it?

If I'm not wrong, snake is already officially banned as a dish. But I guess you could "get access" to by "underground" means.

[Luobot]

As far as meat goes, rabbit is a good choice from the perspective of being extremely rich in protein and relatively moderate in fat. However, the high cholesterol level may be a concern, depending upon your overall diet. For recovering from a cold, rabbit stew, cooked with colorful vegetables, is on the menu.

In other culinary news, as reported by Tom, Popular Cantonese dish of snake and cat banned

[belentes]

Rabbit is a pretty common dish here in Spain. I like it best roasted in the oven, but there are many other ways to cook it. It´s a very healthy lean meat, that I like more than pork or beef.

We also eat frog legs, but contrary to China, you can not find them in stores. People in the countryside go out at night to catch them, and sometimes are available in some tapa´s bars.

However, while in China, I haven´t eaten any of them. I never noticed rabbit in the menu, probably because I dont know the word in chinese...

What I did try in Yunnan was bamboo worms, and didn´t find them very tasty.

[liuzhou]

If I'm not wrong, snake is already officially banned as a dish.

You're wrong. It may be banned in Guangzhou, but that is a local decision. I don't think there is a nationwide ban.

I had some last week at a Government banquet. Not that that is evidence of lack of ban, though.

One of my favourite meats. Especially smoked.

[adrianlondon]

I miss rabbit. When I was younger it was easy to buy rabbit here in the UK. I was a student then and it was the cheapest meat to buy. It was also the tastiest compared to chicken, turkey and pork (in my opinion - I wasn't cooking asian food back then).

Now, however, it's not psosible to get it any more except in specialist butchers. Shame.

When I go to Spain it's very common. I try making Paella here in the UK with other meat and it's just not the same. It's a very healthy meat.

Frog (frog's legs specifically) is quite common in French and French-inspired (such as some Vietnamese and Chinese) food. Hardly any meat on them though.

Snake isn't banned as far as I'm aware. Don't see why it should be. Snake Alley in Taiwan is a tourist trap (oo, look at us, we eat snake!!) but it's possible to get snake in other places (in Taipei, I admit I didn't look for it in Beijing).

[cdn_in_bj]

Whatever, it is a delicious meat - but only wild bunny. The farmed stuff ain't so good.

I wonder if what I've been having in restaurants here is hare rather than rabbit. It seems that in Chinese, "兔子" can refer to both rabbits and hares. With hare sometimes also being referred to as "野兔" ("wild" rabbit/hare). Any ideas about this?

Now, however, it's not psosible to get it any more except in specialist butchers.

Any idea as to why it fell out of favour?

Have you ever eaten frog? My sister-in-law described the flavor as really good chicken.

I've had bull frog (牛蛙) here and I agree that it is really good. My only complaint is that you have to work harder to get at the meat (lots of bones). Interestingly, I'd tried frog legs back home when I was younger but at the time I thought it was disgusting.

what about snakes? Did anyone here try it?

I haven't but I wouldn't mind trying it. It seems I've tried pretty much everything else here, except for cat.

[flameproof]

what about snakes? Did anyone here try it?

Snake soup is very common in Hong Kong and very tasty. But I believe it's not because of the snake, rather the other stuff in it. You can probably do exactly the same with chicken.

Once I tried fried snake. The meat was extremely difficult to tear off the bones. You need lots of force, and good teeth too. Minced snake was OK, but I dislike any type of deep fried stuff as it kills all taste.

Conclusion: nothing special and overrated.

[muyongshi]

Honestly snake is a great meat and I prefer it roasted on a stick over an open campfire! Yum yum!

[liuzhou]

The meat was extremely difficult to tear off the bones. You need lots of force, and good teeth too.

That doesn't sound like any snake I ever ate.

Remember, try everything twice. They may not have cooked it correctly the first time.

[flameproof]

Remember, try everything twice. They may not have cooked it correctly the first time.

Well, it was a special snake restaurant. But then, it probably doesn't mean anything. Profit margins are better if you sell the worst quality to the best price.

[adrianlondon]

Any idea as to why it fell out of favour?

In the UK? Not sure. Probably a combination of people here being overly attached to animals they perceive as cute (not many pet rabbits in Spain) and conservative tastes.

I know quite a few people who say they "eat anything" but what they really mean is that they eat chicken, pork, lamb and beef in different sauces

Of course, in London the variety of people buck this trend, but that's not enough for the main supermarkets to start stocking rabbit. I don't know why they did stock it 20 years ago. I would buy cheap bags of frozen cubed rabbit meat and make fanatstic curries and paella with them.