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
Update: the following video from Twitter shows a person eating 3 squeaks. The mouse squeaks 3 times:
- once when it is picked up
- once when it is dipped in sauce
- once when it is eaten
The reason many people find eating mice alive atrocious is not some form of cultural bigotry, but rather because such exotic dishes can lead to widespread disease pandemics.
- According to the CDC, ebola was likely spread by African fruit bats as the reservoir host.
- SARS originated from bats, civet cats were an intermediate hose, and then the disease spread to humans
- MERS originated from bats, camels were an intermediate host, and then the disease spread to humans
- The Wuhan Coronavirus originated at a Wuhan wet market where people ate bats, snakes & other similar meats: “The virus was detected in 35 of the 585 environmental samples collected on January 1 and January 12, with 33 of the positive samples taken from the market’s western zone, where the wildlife trading business was concentrated.”
- China banned wild animal trade the Wuhan coronavirus spread into a pandemic. In Wuhan they are going through 100,000 hazmat suits per day trying to contain the outbreak.
If you turn on English subtitles you can see how scary the Wuhan coronavirus is for a person living in the city.
