Three Squeaks
(unfortunately, this is the closest I could find to an image of this dish… but this is fairly accurate from what I understand)
“Three Squeaks” is the literal translation from the Chinese name of this dish and hails from a variety parts of China, mainly in the Guangdong (Canton) Provence. The reason why it is called “Three Squeaks” is due to the sounds made when eating this dish. Contrary to some popular belief, this is not an urban legend dish.
The appetizeresque dish are newly born mice (still hairless and barely able to open their eyes). It is typically served with some type of cold soy based sauce. The first squeak is when the mouse/rat is picked up with the chopsticks. The second is when the mouse/rat is dipped into the sauce (temperature change causing the squeak). The third is when the mouse/rat is placed into your mouth (another temperature change).
Typically, they are very newborn and thus the bone structure is still fairly loose. I’ve heard that these have been served wrapped in seaweed before, but that may be more rumored than anything else.
Submitted by ChicagoKid
March 25th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
This dish is likely an urban legend:
“There are a number of other Chinese dishes (as collected from Chinese sources) that are legendary. Legendary is used in the sense that the stories are passed around and are widely known, but it is impossible to find a restaurant that serves these exotic dishes, although there are plenty of rumors about who eats it (some other group), where you can get it (someplace else) and often when it was available (in the past). The “true” stories are frequently told as classic friend-of-a-friend (usually a grandfather) accounts.
* Live monkey brains
* Live goose feet, fried on the grill while the animal dances about
* Live bear paws, fried on the grill while the animal dances about
* Live rat embryos (Three Squeaks)”
http://maxent.org/ch/exotic_food.html
April 1st, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Micahel,
The website that you left is interesting, however you failed to either read all the way through or post the disclaimer on the “legendary” dishes, specifically:
“It is unlikely that any of these are regularly eaten anywhere, although they may be thought of as local delicacies. These are examples I have personally seen on television shows.”
I have had one friend eat this dish while living in China, so unfortunately I don’t have a personal account of this.
July 1st, 2009 at 6:02 pm
ChicagoKid, I’m affraid it is you who failed to understand or read thoroughly the linked article.
The line that you cited – “It is unlikely that they are regularly eaten….” does not refer to the legendary dishes that Michael listed. It is just a footnote referring to a table several paragraphs below the text cited by Michael and it refers specifically to Rats, Worms and Ants.
Therefore it does not imply that live monkey brains or rat embryos are actualy real dishes.
The whole linked article suggests that all those exotic dishes (consisting mostly of live animals) are extremely unpluasible and any effort to research them shows that it is impossible to prove that they do exist.
All traces lead to “unsubstantiated reports” just like your report that you “have had one friend eat this dish while living in China” – it is imposible to find a single person who has eaten one of these dishes rather than “heard about someone who has” or “had a friend who have” etc.
Moreover the article explains in a sound, reasonable and plausible way, what is the mechanism in which these legends are born and why do they spread with such ease.
Fact is that many horrible and bizzare things make their way to the internet (I’m talking about fact here, not rumours). Videos of executions, murders and torture float through the web, not hard to find. And yet there is no documentation of the legendary dishes, such as the three squeaks you insist to be true. Don’t you find that a bit odd?
November 21st, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Normally i would think of this more likely to be an urban legend, however I know a chinese girl just recently moved to the UK who has given detailed accounts of eating both the three queeks dish aswell as ducks feet (cooked with the live animal on a hot plate) all the while giggling – otherwise shes a great person.
It comes down to culture.
January 6th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
You see JM – exactly as I’ve said before. You “know a chinese girl just recently moved to the UK who has given detailed accounts of eating”… always a second-hand relation. I’ve yet to see someone backing this myth up from the first person perspective in a discussion such as this one. I’ve done a lot of internet research and never did I found any proof. Other than that, just read the last paragraph of my previous comment.
February 17th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Ok I don’t know if I could do the 3 squeaks. I have done dog and many other COOKED delicacies but raw baby mouse. I don’t know…