It was no mistake, but a conscious choice I made under the motto: don’t knock it till you’ve tried it!
There I sat, in the hostels’ common room, chatting away with all the interesting travellers who were exploring a relatively unknown destination: East-Timor.
As we discussed our experiences in the country so far, a new found friend mentioned he had stumbled upon a canteen that served dog meat. I was intrigued! Especially when the Chinese girl sitting across me affirmed that it was a must-try dish! She described vividly how good dog meat tastes and how it’s served in the form of pudding in China. Wide-eyed, I listened and grew more and more curious. I’m the type of person who will try any food once -maggots and cockroaches being the only exceptions. I felt compelled to try it. I wasn’t likely to ever order it off a menu but now the opportunity laid right in front of me… slow cooked in a red and green chili sauce, just waiting to be eaten.
Hey, don’t judge…
slow cooked in red and geen chili
Maybe a little bit of background first. East Timor – officially Timor Leste– underwent a long and painful bloody invasion that only ended 16 years ago. The country suffered from famine during the long lasting war and people were left with no option but to eat anything edible they could lay hands on, such as dogs.
Once the situation improved, people had gotten accustomed to the taste of dog meat and truly enjoyed it. We spoke with a local Timorese who explained that even though they would see the dogs eating the human corpses lying on the street, they’d still choose eat the dogs. Partly out of necessity and partly because they liked meat.
first bite is the hardest?
Since 2002, Timor-Leste is recognised by the UN as an independent country and things have been looking up. Even though the economic situation is still deplorable, dog meat is no longer a necessity. Yet, many Timorese still enjoy a good serving of dog while others refuse to consume it, as it reminds them of bad times…
Timor-Leste is a catholic country where a significant amount of muslims reside; Indonesians, Indians, expats and locals. Since dog is ‘haram’ in islamic culture, the Timorese keep the dog meat (RW) in a separate cabinet, so it wouldn’t ‘contaminate’ the rest of the food.
know your meats… “RW” is no chicken!
Anyways… I ate dog stew. How was it?
The sauce was delightful; it had a nice little kick to it but overpowered the gamey flavour of the meat, which was tough and chewy. Its texture was comparable to that of an old piece of beef you find at the bottom of your freezer. This wasn’t a beautifully cut steak I got, just some random squares of meat, consisting mostly fat and skin… I wanted to be brave and I didn’t want to waste food, but… I couldn’t finish my plate. With every bite, I couldn’t help but picture myself nibbling on one of those scabby streets dogs. So, I put down my fork and drank a litre of water. I’ve tried it and now know for sure; I do not like dog meat.
What’s the most unusual meat you’ve ever eaten?
The post “Eating dog in East Timor” first appeared on Travel Cake.
13 comments
interesting! I saw it all over North Vietnam also but decided not to try it, because there they actually burn the dogs alive before killing it, the adrenaline makes the meat taste better… a bit too cruel for me personally, seeing the ‘screaming’ looking chopped of heads of the dogs in the markets etc.
Somebody told me in Chinese medicine dog meat creates a lot of heat which is good against diseases, and therefor also popular to eat.
Anyways, interesting to read how you liked it! If you think about it, in our diet and even in nature predators tend to mainly eat ‘vegetarian’ animals… maybe that’s why it tasted weird texture-wise!
enjoy your travels!!
Marie-Line
I must be honest, I have no idea how they killed the dogs or where they came from. I’m sure if that was somehow clear or if the dog was grilled as a whole, I would have more difficulty trying it. In the form of an already made stew, it was so much easier to give it a go. Good point about the vegetarian animals! I hadn’t though of that! 🙂
Do they really eat street dogs or is there a certain breed of dog that they eat? I don’t think I could’ve done it because I would’ve been thinking about the dogs I’ve had in my life, but hats off to you for trying something new!
I get what you mean! I’ve never had a dog, maybe that’s why I could do it, although just barely. I don’t know if they use street dogs, but I wouldn’t be surprised as there are so many stray dogs and I can’t imagine there being a farm of some sort where they breed dogs to consume. :s
super interessant om dit te lezen. Ik kom niet verder dan krokodil, struisvogel en kangaroo
Lekker! 😀
Wow, what a fascinating insight…
I can appreciate that some would not want to be reminded of bad times when eating the food.
I can also appreciate that you would not want to finish that dish. While I was in Mongolia this summer, we were being fed mutton non stop, and it was truly mostly fat blobs. I find nothing about fat blobs appetizing. So… we ended up just telling the rest of our hosts that we were vegetarian, and that made mealtime a lot more pleasant. It was a fine balance between not being rude, trying to explore the food and culture and also not be wasteful.
Fat blobs are the worst! Claiming to be a vegetarian does indeed allow you to get out of these awkward situations! Unfortunately, I only remember that when it’s already too late and those unappetising meats are being served to me. I’m sure I’ll remember if I ever make it to Mongolia! 😀
I’m sorry, but I could not go past this article without replying – there is so much mis-information.
There was not a ‘civil war’ in East Timor. The Indonesian military invaded and spent 24 years here, ravaging the country. Through general killing, massacres and enforced starvation, they eliminated an estimated 200,000+ East Timorese.
Human corpses were not’ left lying on the street’ for the dogs to eat, the Indonesians disposed of them quickly, so that information would not reach the outside world about what was happening here.
Dog meat is no longer a necessity? A large percentage of Timorese cannot afford goat, buffalo etc., so they just grow their own puppies until they’re big enough, or, mostly, steal other people’s dogs.
Only around 1% of the population is Muslim, therefore the Timorese have no concept of “haram”.
Eating dog is supposedly banned here, but live dogs can still be found at some markets. They are treated abominably – trussed up, often by the back legs, and in great pain. They are killed by smashing them around the head with a lump of wood or metal. Can often take up to five minutes. The screaming is awful, I’ve heard it. I don’t pass judgement on the Timorese for eating dog meat, but on the method used to kill the dogs.
Please check your facts for future articles. And maybe next time you try a dish, think about its ingredients and how it got onto your plate. Hopefully, with education, this practice may end one day.
Dear Shona,
I really appreciate you taking time to set things straight/sharing your opinions.
You are totally right, there was not a civil war in East-Timor. Although I am aware of what happened there, I made a huge mistake in my choice of words. I have adapted “civil war” to “bloody invasion”, which I think is a more appropriate term.
About the corpses on the street; the Indonesian government may very well have removed them quickly for the outside world not to know what was going on, but they could never be fast enough to beat the hungry street dogs to the punch. A young man who has survived the invasions, told me his story. He told me in all honesty about his family seeing dogs eat corpses. I’m not trying to say the bodies were left out for days or weeks but just 5 minutes is enough for a dog to find a body.
I know many people in East-Timor are extremely poor and can’t afford to buy more traditional meat. However, some people who are eating in restaurants choose to order dog meat even though they could just as well have chicken, beef or fish. What I mean is that nowadays, other meats are sold, other animals are grown for consumption yet some people choose to buy/steel dog. Why not a chicken or a fish? Why choose dog on a menu when there are other options? Why offer dog in your restaurant a long with other meats? There are more options now but some people just like to eat dog. The government banned dog meat BECAUSE there are other options nowadays: it’s no longer NEEDED to eat dog.
It’s true, the Timorese are not muslim BUT as I wrote in the article, there are many foreign muslims living there: Indonesians and expats from all over the world. These foreigners are the people spending money i.e eating out in restaurants. Padang owners take these customers into consideration. I didn’t make this up: I asked the padang owner why the dog meat was kept in a closed off, separate cabinet. Her exact words were: “so it wouldn’t “contaminate” the rest of the food. Dog meat is haram.” Maybe she was Indonesian, that I couldn’t tell you. I found it very considerate that they keep the controversial meat separately so customers that do not agree with the practice will have nothing to do with it. In the article I clearly stated that East Timor is Catholic but that there are a lot of the foreign (muslim) resident.
Dogs are treated very badly in this part of the world, as in many non-western countries. Just like you, I’ve seen them in markets being roughed around. Same goes for the pigs that were being sold. Just horrible. In fact, I would say animals in the market are generally mistreated. However, I am not a vegetarian. That means, I also ate the mistreated cow, pig, chicken ect… I don’t consider dogs to be superior to other animals. By no means do I agree with these practises but at the same time I know it’s part of their current culture. As in many parts of the world, animals are just not viewed in the same way as we do in the Western world. That doesn’t mean it shouldn’t change though. Like you say, with education this may change one day.
This is a topic that is often debated about and being from both the “western and the non-western world” I understand where the cultural misunderstandings (in terms of animals) lie. I suppose you are a vegetarian?
I knew writing this post, it would stir up some opinions. I’m happy you contacted me and that I too had the opportunity to defend my points.