What’s the best cut of a crocodile?
To the editor:
Finally getting the apartment organized and found myself back at Walmart this weekend. There is a definite difference between the local Walmart and the one back home. The obvious difference is that this one is located in a basement of a huge shopping complex. Escalators are a lot of fun. As you walk through the aisles, it is immediately apparent that you are in a store with a more Western flavor to its layout than might be expected in a Chinese store. Two people can get through the aisle in most cases.
It is the meat department where you will see the differences stand out. This weekend was no exception, turning left into the cold foods section you are first greeted by the dumpling and rolls freezers. To the left side is the cold ham and sausage section. As you continue forward into the butcher block area you learn that this is not going to be a sedate leisurely stroll past hunks of meat in nice styrofoam trays.
Everything is very clean and well organized, the largest section is for pork followed by beef, lamb and chicken in glass display cases. Your ears are the first to tell you this is not your typical sterile chopping center. Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! An ear splitting hammering is taking place and you find yourself wanting to jump out of your skin as the butcher chops up a piece of meat. Remember the meat cleaver? It is wielded like an axe and I would bet a dollar or two that the butchers could give a lumberjack a run for his money in the chopping department.
You begin by inspecting the various chunks of meat and prices per 100 grams. The butcher will pull out a chunk and let you look at it. He uses a set of tongs that are almost as big as he is and the small chunk of meat is but a morsel of what he has on offer. Once you decide on which piece you want he flips it onto his block and proceeds to chop off your hunk. Thwack!
What really caught my eye this morning though, was a small whole crocodile! Yes, at your local Walmart in Guang Zhou it is possible, without a hint of guile, to meet the crocodile. Not only to meet your luggage but to eat it too. Considered a delicacy, the said denizen of the deep swamp was perched on a bed of chopped ice. Three big pieces, the head with gleaming teeth, mouth closed. the torso with two of its four legs. And, the rear with the two hind legs and an appendage that one learns is quite lethal when the animal is alive. You pick the section you want and the butcher either cuts off a portion for you or gives you the whole piece. One little kid was really curious and was inspecting the body cavity hidden beneath the middle torso. Lots of room to stuff.
When I asked one of my colleagues about this food, he explained that it is used in celebratory dinners such as for a wedding feast or birth feast. I know a good many former married types who would have loved to show their scales to some of the antagonists in the family. My friend explained that the meat is served roasted. Hope it tastes better than the rattlesnake I had so many years ago. It is not known if it tastes the same as chicken. So I guess it will give new meaning to the idea of a croc pot. See you later ‘gator!
Orpheus Allison
Guang Zhou, China
orpheusallison@mac.com
