Mouse - Tasty Dish

In the mekong delta homestay tour mekong delta tour with homestay, in Vietnam mice are considered a delicacy. The locals, however, keenly prefer mice that have been grown in the rice fields, making them both organic and grain-fed.

In Malawi, in Southern Africa, the locals harvest corn, as well as nice plump mice. Malawi is one of the world's poorest nations, with a population of 12 million people. For Malawians, eating salted or dried field mice is also a real delicacy. The mice are strung along sticks and sold at roadside stalls, or in the local market place.

In one village the local Malawians have invented a unique trap, as catching the mice is not all that easy. A clay pot is filled with water and the mouth of the post smeared with corn husks that have been fried. As the mice struggle for the husks, they fall into the pot and drown.

However, the Tumbukan citizens in Eastern Zambia hate the brand of mouse-trap used in neighbouring Malawi. It is the task of the young Tumbukan boys to chase down and capture the mice. Mouse hunting takes persistence and tremendous skill. The hunters have to have the ability to recognize the kind of hole they are looking at and what sort of mouse it conceals.

The Kamzumi species of mouse can have between 25 - 50 mice in a single hole. Other mice such as the Kapuku, Tondo, Mphundu or Mibuli are more difficult to catch. There are also Chitute, Kambinini and Julungwere mice, while the Sakachulu mice burrow into anthills.

As Kambininis can have up to as many as 100 mice in the same hole, how do you catch all 100, once the burrow has been opened? There is a great deal confusion, both among the hunters, as well as the mouse population, as the mice scatter in all directions. Both hunters and mice can become the victim of the clubs and sticks used. Mice, stinging, scorpions, ants and snakes often live in the same space.

Then you have the smallest mouse of all, the Kabwira. Tumbukan people believe it is a sign of bad luck if you kill a Kabwira.

If you offer a rat to a Tumbukan person, they would be hugely offended. They despise the house rat as being dirty, carrying disease, chewing clothes and destroying any valuable household items. A creature to be killed whenever possible. Yet, the humble mouse is a source of highly prized seasonal protein, in a nation where inflation is between 50 - 120% and a pound of beef costs $100.