Yahoo Finance Ratting out Moscow’s latest culinary trend
2016 saw the explosion of restaurants specializing in the Hawaiian raw fish disk poke, among other trends, but in Russia, foodies have been scarfing down a different dish: rat.
According to The Guardian, the river rat, also known as the coypu or nutria, has been turning up on menus across the Moscow this fall.
They’re not exactly the most aesthetically pleasing animals. With thick, dark coats and prominent orange-yellow teeth the beasts resemble beavers.
But that hasn’t stopped chefs like 35-year-old Takhir Kholikberdiev from offering up nutria as part of an array of dishes in his restaurant Krasnodar Bistro in the centre of Moscow.
A photo posted by Krasnodar Bistro (@krasnodarbistro) on Nov 12, 2016 at 6:22am PST
The recently opened eatery, named after Kholikberdiev’s hometown, is hoping to attract middle-class Muscovite foodies, who are searching for high-quality local ingredients.
And while rat meat doesn’t normally imply quality, Kholikberdiev told The Guardian that coypus check both boxes.
“It’s a really clean animal. Not only is it a herbivore, but it washes all of its food before it eats,” he said (coypus feed on river plant stems).
“And it’s very high in omega-3 acids. A lot of doctors and dietitians recommend it.”
Nutrias breed quickly and consume about 25 per cent of their body weight daily, year-round, causing them to be labelled pests in many regions.
Their ability to rapidly reproduce also makes a relatively easy and cheap animal to farm.
In the 1990s, coats made from animal’s fur became a popular substitute for the more expensive and traditional varieties made from fox or mink.
And instead of letting the excess meat go to waste, that’s when Russians began using the river rats for food.
“Every village in the Krasnodar region would have 100 or so nutrias, and when you went to stay with your grandparents, they would always stew one up for you,” said Kholikberdiev.
And while the delicacy isn’t always readily available in Moscow, Kholikberdiev it is popping up in eateries across the city.
“I have it here and at one of my other restaurants,” he said.
“Other chefs have started to use it here. And now, if you go to the market in Moscow, they might not have nutria available every day, they’ll get it in for you within a week if you ask.
At Krasnodar Bistro, you order a variety of nutria-based dishes, including hot dogs, dumplings and cabbage wraps.
