To welcome the Year of the Rat, some people in rural Taiwan and China have increased their rat consumption accordingly. Reuters reports that a rural eatery at Taiwan's Chiayi county, serves 10 rat-themed dishes, including rat soup, black pepper-dipped and deep-fried rat. The diner goes through around 18 kg (40 lb) of rat meat per day.

Here is the "Rat-at-Chewy" video by Reuters, depicting the way rats are prepared and eaten. I wouldn't suggest watching it before lunch.

Rat meat apparently became popular in rural Taiwan in the 1940s and 1950s among people who could not afford chicken or pork. At least we know that if the sub-prime mortgage crisis gets any worse, there are enough rats in New York to fill every American man, woman and child.

Filed under: Food and Drink, Asia, China, Taiwan