Eating Turtles

A small hole in the wall Beijing restaurant, the kind where they spend less on the décor than they do on the paper napkins. As is common in most Beijing restaurants, the menu features photos of the different dishes. I was looking at laminated page after page of classic Hunan style dishes, when, I came across a photo of a turtle, whole, cooked of course and it sat on an oval plate in a broth with a garnish of chilis and green onions.

I have learned that the Chinese have no qualms about eating certain animals, such as red-eared sliders (and other turtles, such as softshells and snapping turtles), that most Americans don’t consider standard fare.

For instance, also in Beijing is the famous Night Market (otherwise known as “Snack Street”), which has achieved notoriety as being a place where one could taste a large variety of food items that would shock or even disgust many people, (I will include pictures of the Night Market soon). I did try the “Grilled Land Snake”, the “Grilled Lamb Kidneys” & the “Braised Sea Cucumber” among many other scrumptious and unusual snack foods. And they were all delicious.

Anyway back to “Turtles”.

The ethical question in regard to the eating of turtles is a sticky one. Red ears are not an endangered species, and many are bred in captivity and shipped to Asia specifically for dining purposes. The revenue that results can help U.S. businesses. However, many wild turtles are also shipped there to be eaten, too, and many people, including myself, believe that this is an important factor in regard to imperiling the world’s turtle populations. Worse yet, the proclivity for turtle eating in Asia does not end with red-eared sliders. Endangered species are also eaten.

Because of this, in my case, when confronted with the Turtle on the menu, rather than try to differentiate between common or rare turtles and whether I thought it was acceptable to eat one but not the other, I decided to order something else from the menu.

However, my guest that evening, a well known Beijing Chef decided that he would order the “Hunan Style Braised Turtle” and insisted that I at least try one small bite. Not to disappoint my Chef friend and also curious, I agreed to at least try it.

And what a delight it was, slightly spicy in the “Hunan” style of cooking, but very tender delicious.

I don’t think it is something I will be serving at my next function or on my menu anytime soon, but quite tasty all the same.

It wasn’t however served on a nice platter with chili’s with a broth as in the picture, it was presented in a basket (Cooked). The waiter then carves the cooked Turtle tableside.