A New Use for Boiled Water

“Have you seen the mice on the sticks yet?” asked our newfound Canadian breakfast companions.
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah, the guys who sell mice on sticks, like, on the side of the road.”
“Um, no, I, uh, haven’t seen them.”

As breakfast conversationalists, these Canadians were leaving something to be desired.

Only a couple of days after hearing the rumor, though, it was proved true on my way down to Blantyre. About two hours into the trip, the car slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road. I figured it would be another typical pit stop: grab some maize and a coke, stretch my legs, nothing too exciting. But then four or five men swarmed the car holding sticks with dead mice on them. These types of things have ceased to amaze me.

A winter-time delicacy in Malawi, my coworkers were delighted to have found the mice vendors. So about four sticks with upwards of 10 mice on each joined our carpool.
Boiled, they are eaten whole (fur, tail, head, guts and all). They are arranged on the stick with the smallest ones on the top and increasing in size as they go down. The smallest ones are the most delicious (reportedly). Someone made the really sick (but weirdly true) argument that baby animals are always more delicious meals than adult ones.



I didn’t try any, but I’ve heard only good things about their (reportedly) pork-like taste.

Maybe next time.