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I know this post won’t be for everyone, and I know there will be some interesting comments (which by the way, I moderate, so keep it clean). But I wanted to stay true to the reason I have this blog in the first place: chronicling my eating adventures.
I will try anything once, and the best part of travelling is sampling foods unique to that area. Why come so far to have the same things you eat at home?
As we travelled through Guangxi province, we noticed dog meat on most restaurant menus. Dog is not eaten widely in China, and you’d be hard-pressed to find it in Hong Kong. Consumption is concentrated to certain areas.
In this part of the country, dogs are raised specifically for food. They are not pets, and they’re bred like any other animals that are eaten.
For Chinese people, dog meat is considered a winter food, because it’s believed to have properties of warmth and energy. Some people avoid it because they don’t want to “overheat.” Others are boycotting it as the issue of animal rights grows in China.
I wanted to try it. And I wasn’t sure when and where else I’d have the opportunity.
My first taste was pieces of dog meat in mifun (rice noodles), so I think it was just boiled and I could get a clear taste of what it was like.
My second taste was dog meat braised in a hot pot, which is a more common way of preparing it, with whole pieces of garlic and chiles. The sauce was delicious.
The meat itself tasted most closely like mutton, but it was very lean with bits of bone (like chicken). Pieces are served with the skin attached to add a bit of texture, which was chewy.
Truthfully, it didn’t blow me away but it wasn’t bad either. I’m glad I had the chance to try it.
There are plenty of arguments for and against dog consumption.
Certainly, not all Chinese people accept it. When we told family and friends in Hong Kong about our eating adventure, more than a few were squeamish and some were horrified.
It’s widely eaten in Korea, where there’s been quite a fight about its legalization, and condemnation from abroad. Restaurants in Beijing were encouraged not to serve dog during the recent Olympics to avoid offending Westerners.
I understand your personal objection if you have cherished relationships with dogs. But I don’t agree with people’s blanket disapproval that it’s “wrong” based on their own cultural comfort level.
Obviously, I’m not going to pluck your pet off the street and eat it. We don’t do that here in North America.
But in some places in the world, they eat dog. And that kind of diversity is what makes the world go round.
“Why come so far to have the same things you eat at home?”
I totally agree with this statement, and give you credit for stepping out of the ordinary. I find after volunteering through out most of Central America, a lot of “tourists” show up and comment about how the “locals” are doing things wrong and should follow to a more North American path. It seems like a such a drastic attitude to show up with. I even found some backlash when I ordered horse at a restaurant, something I imagine people would consider bounds above dog. I digress, either way; thanks for the post and the pictures.
Some people have pet pigs. My friend has told me that she’s seen pigs smarter than dogs, which is why she’ll never eat pork. It makes you think….
I’d give it a try, but I have to admit that I was a bit squeamish when you wrote, “Pieces are served with the skin attached to add a bit of texture, which was chewy”, but hey, I eat and enjoy eating the skin of deep fried Drunken Chicken and there are people who have pet chickens. We just have to have an open mind when it comes to these things. It’s all about the culture.
For me it is not something I would ever try, but different cultures and countries eat different food. Thanks for sharing this with us, hope you don’t get too many jerky comments.
Donkey meat is as far as I went on my travels to China. Besides teh odd critter that I did not want to know what it was until after i ate it.
Very much to the amusement of my hosts.
Dog meat has been offered for dinner, but so far I was able to politely turn down the offers.
Not sure if I would be able to eat it, since I have dogs at home..although my dad, as a young child in China, came home from school one day to find that his mother had cooked his pet dog for his supper! He did tell me it was quite tasty
In Peru, they eat guinea pigs.
Good for your for trying something different!
DM
[...] over at are you gonna eat that wrote a thoughtful, balanced entry about dog meat that she tried on her recent visit to China. Worth a [...]
I wouldn’t try dog meat but I wouldn’t judge either. In Vietnam, you could find dog meat from the south to the north. I did try coconut worm which was stressful enough. It wasn’t that bad actually!
I am Chinese and I used to eat dog meat but not now, since I like dogs now especially little dogs. Indeed many Chinese like eating different animals, I just have to say that there are many reasons on forming this.
My translator, Kizito, told me that if you eat dog, other dogs will be able to smell it on you and they’ll react. Have you noticed the ankle-biter dogs in Calgary snarling at you recently?
Karen: Ha. I’ve never heard that one before. I’m going to have to go with nope.
“I don’t agree with people’s blanket disapproval that it’s “wrong” based on their own cultural comfort level.”
You are the first person to say this and I THANK you very much!!! This just made my day and year just so much better….. I have met so many north americans in Europe and Asia who just can’t stand seeing the head on an animal they are eatting. Some people will say they are vegetarians just to avoid eatting certain things. Food is a culture you travel so far so why do you need to eat what you can eat in your home country when you can eat something new. People will take great pleasure (taking up a lot of their time and perhaps finances) in making something just for their guest – you – to eat. I believe just as you do to try everything at least once because you cannot say you don’t like it when you never tried it. Thank you for a wonderful blog!! cheers
I respect all cultures and their belief up until I foung out that people in Asia ( meaning Vietnam, China, Korea) were consuming dogs and cats. What upset me the most is the lies that are associated with consuming dog and cat meat and the method of abuse used before slaughtering the animal. They beat,strangle,electricute or beat the animals to an inch of it’s life for about an hour or so. While this is happening the poor animals is suffering horrendously. (Not to mention that the other dogs are witnessing this as well). The belief is that it suppose to make the meat sweeter due to the andrenaline of suffering the animal undergo. There is no proof that eating dogs and cats have medicinal purposes such as helping men with their virility or arthritis cure when consuming cat tonic. Also they believe that consuminh dog soup in the summer cools the body down. Well eating any type of hot soup in the summer has the same effect. All these reason for consuming dogs and cats is unacceptable and untrue and it is used only for the purpose of brainwashing people. I would rather you tell people you enjoy it instead of lying to people about the medicinal properties associated with consuming dog and cat meat to get people to eat it. I would never try it and anyone who eat dogs and cats are only perpetuating the practice to continue unabated. I am not saying that the western culture is any better because we too have a few idiots in the United States who have worked in slaughterhouse who have been caught abusing animals who are being sacrificed for our nourishment. I think we should treat any animal with dignity and respect instead of abusing them when their lives is already hanging from a thread. Would you keep beating someone while they are already down? No. Why is it o.k for animals to suffer in that manner as well.
Simone, I lived in China for a long time, are you sure the following statement is true?
What upset me the most is the lies that are associated with consuming dog and cat meat and the method of abuse used before slaughtering the animal.
I agree with what you are saying, but I totally disagree with some of the ways these industries kill the dogs. Some are put through a horrible process of being skinned alive. You can’t imagine what this must feel like. If China and other Asian countries choose to keep eating dogs, they need to come up with a way to kill the dog without putting it through pain.
I am in the process of writing an essay for my degree on the dogmeat trade in China and I can assure you, it is not an enjoyable subject to research. I agree with you, to an extent, that we should all make an effort to indulge and embrace different cultures, and I do think that many Westerners feel the need to critisise anything outside of their Western bubble. However, I think the extremes go both ways and that some people are so intent on being “culturally open minded” that they forget the main reason as to why a particular thing is frowned upon in the first place.
For instance, one might say that if you travel to Asia and see Tiger on the menu, why not try it? You don’t want to offend anyone and would like to get a true sense of the traditional cuisine. What you might be forgetting or ignoring is that there is a damn good reason why we don’t eat tiger and that is the fact that it will be extinct before long if we continue to do so!
The same goes for dog meat. In theory you might say, why is one animal suitable for eating and another not? The fact of the matter is that, as mentioned by one of the people above, methods of both farming and slaughter are agonising for all dogs involved, there is no animal welfare legislation in China to prevent cruelty and dogs are not considered livestock and so farming is unregulated. And whilst we’re on the subject of farming, how exactly would you propose a method of farming dogs humanely? Stick a hundred of them in a field to fight with each other over scraps? Dogs aren’t prey animals, they’re carnivores; which is the exact reason why most of the world accepts them to be an impractical source of food.
May I suggest, while you’re being open minded and culturally accepting in your food choices, that you actually sit down and consider why something might be frowned upon by the Western world, as there may be a good reason for it?!
its a discrace the way they kill the dogs before eating it and this is the main reason u would never catch me in china it makes me sick to the stomach
dog meat try it? im about to through up! down here in Botswana, Southern Africa, dogs are pets and guards (especially at the cattle post). they guard mostly goats to protect them agaist jackals! the next thing next to a dog ive seen being eaten is some sought of a wild cat. Not in towns though, in the deep jungle. Ive tasted one myself, taste’s better than chicken, i can promise you that!