Dog soup

Dog Soup is a piece of American slang from the 30s which translates as a glass of water. I'm not sure if this was because of the quality of the water supply, or because dogs drink a lot of it (from a bowl).

In any case, the distinction between this (the glass of water) and a dodgey chinese takeaway dish is an important one.

I highly doubt the availability of dog soup in American Chinese food takeaway restaurants. Westerners in general seem to dislike eating "Man's Best Friend", or cats for that matter. It is an unreasonable taboo. Just because you own a dog it doesn't make it wrong to eat one, just as if I owned a cow or a chicken I wouldn't hesitate to eat those animals either.

I have tried dog in Canton. It made a good stew. The meat is stringy at first, hence you must cook it longer to make it tender. Stews and soups work best. I don't think a roast would have tasted too good, due to the texture of the meat. When seasoned right, dog tastes nice. Like cat.

Speaking of pets, I have never tasted rabbit. Maybe I should go back to Southern China and try it out. I'm sure my little sisters will refuse to eat it, because they used to keep rabbits. They had no qualms eating cute little Fido, but refused to eat a pigeon. I don't know why. Oh wait, we didn't tell them it was dog. Whoops, my bad. I don't think we told them we were eating tripe either last weekend.

Isn't that interesting? I've had foreign friends who enthusiastically dug into a serving of pig's tongue, then upon being told afterwards of the dish's contents, proceed to throw up and vow to never eat at my place again. They never take my laughter well.

Risking a circular reference back to Dog, the Other White Meat that will drive everyone to drink, I've eaten Korean bo-shin-tang (dog soup) many a time when I lived and taught English in Pusan, Korea, and although it stinks like Satan's Ballsweat, it's actually quite delicious. Of course, I've never been anywhere in the same postal code as sober when I had it, and it was always leavened with large quantities of especially pungent KimChi, but nonetheless, yum.

Bo-shin-tang, a soup most often made from dogs, is a popular dish throughout Korea and most of Asia. The soup is sometimes made from chicken as well, but the difference between the meat is obvious: dog meat resembles roast beef, and is very stringy and chewy compared to beef or chicken. Its color is a remarkably consistent light brown throughout. The soup's name translates to "a soup that is healthy for your body;" with "bo" meaning "protecting", "shin" meaning "body," and "tang" meaning "soup" or "tonic." It is thought that the soup increases one's general heath and boosts sexual stamina.

Animal right's groups from the west flipped their proverbial lids over the consumption of dog meat not only because dogs are cute, but because the dogs are often tortured to death. Torturing the dog is supposed to increase the health benefits of eating the meat. Theories as to why this is so abound, but the release of adrenaline during the dog's prolonged slaughter is most often cited. Although this practice is by no means limited to Korea, Korea was the target of several animal rights groups who had heard about dog soup just prior to the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In response, the government banned the sale of dog meat, but the law is now entirely ignored.

Some animal rights groups claim that the dogs are often burnt alive, but this is not so. The skin of the dog is served with other cuts of dog meat alongside the soup; burning the animal would ruin the skin.

The meat served as a side dish is eaten with a sauce made from crushed sesame seeds, fresh ginger, garlic, red pepper paste, sesame oil, and soy sauce. The ingredients are typically delivered and the sauce is made by the customer with the desired proportions.

Although it is served hot, and is a spicy dish, bo-shin-tang is most often consumed during the hottest time of the summer as the older generation of Koreans believe that its health effects are greatest when one's body is sweating.

Its can be argued that the poularity of the dish has declined as newer generations of Koreans are aware of the (generally) negative view of the dish in the west, and are less likely to believe that its health benefits exceed those of any other meat.