Where can I eat turtle excrement soup?
A friend of a friend told me that he was traveling through Asia. Then once he ordered a meal in a restaurant. He couldn't understand what it was. So he first got a good stock. Afterwards a waiter brought a turtle that was placed in the hot soup. Obviously, the turtle got very scared and defecated and urinated into the soup. Then the turtle was removed from the soup and the meal was finished. My personal opinion on this meal doesn't matter here. I'm just curious if this story could be true and if, how the meal is called and where you would have to go to get it.
Best Answer
It's not quite a turtle, but the Chinese island of Hainan has a famous dessert with the euphonious English name of Chicken Poop Soup (????? j?sh?téng gu?z?).
Unfortunately (or not), the preparation of the soup involves no actual chickens, much less their excrement. The name comes from the plant Paederia foetida aka "skunkvine", thus named for the pungent smell of its crushed leaves, and known in Chinese as ??? j?sh?téng, lit. "chicken feces vine", since chicken feces also has a notable pong. The leaves are ground into flour, mixed with rice, and used to make dumplings/noodles for the soup.
If this tickles your interest, you can find some at Hainan Cuisine & Snacks in Toa Payoh, Singapore, check out their Facebook page for a yummy photo. And here's another restaurant in Hainan that sells it.
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What countries eat turtle soup?
China. In China, and in several countries in Southeast Asia such as Singapore, turtle soup is a delicacy. The meat, skin and innards of the turtle are used in the soup.Is turtle meat safe to eat?
Affected turtles appear healthy and do not exhibit signs of illness, but human poisoning can occur if the turtle meat is cooked, eaten raw or boiled in soup, and all parts of the turtle are potentially toxic.What does turtle soup taste like?
There are several classic ways to make it, and we'll get to that in a moment, but turtle meat tastes like a cool combination of chicken thigh, clam and pork.Can you eat turtle in the US?
They cannot be legally consumed. Turtles can bioaccumulate contaminants at levels that could be a potential human health concern. Turtles accumulate contaminants in their fat, organs, and skin.Buy turtle from market | First time for softshell turtle Cooking | Amazing softshell turtle soup
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Answer 2
No, I believe this is merely an urban legend, perhaps motivated by a racist stereotype of Chinese people. It's not any more credible than "Chinese people eat tigers" sort of thing.
Turtles and tortoises are widely eaten across East Asia, and turtle soup is rather common especially in Guangdong Province. However, while Cantonese people have the notorious reputation to eat everything, we don't eat animal feces. AFAIK, some dishes in southwestern China may contain cow chyme, but I have never heard of any dish involving actual animal excrement.
Also, in Chinese cuisine, turtles are never cooked alive. Turtles are always butchered and blood-drained before cooking, otherwise they have a very unpleasant taste. This video explains how turtles are butchered in Chinese cookery. (WARNING: there is really a turtle being butchered in the video, so it might be considered too gory, bloody, and/or cruel by many. Click at your own judgment.)
So, while it is always difficult to prove a negative, I am confident to say that this story is little more than an urban legend. Meanwhile, there are many turtle dishes across East Asia; most involve cooking the turtle into a soup or stew, but none of them contain turtle excrement.
Source: I'm Cantonese, i.e. I hail from Guangdong Province in China, where such stories would likely have originated. I have consumed turtle soup on several occasions, although I haven't made my mind to eat the meat yet.
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