It is very popular to drink a concoction of high proof rice wine with the gall from a freshly killed snake in China. I’m not sure about the folklore behind it, but as with most Chinese “tonics” it’s supposed to boost your virility/gives you courage/(insert superlative).
The gall is prepared separately from the snake blood – it’s supposed to be done in two courses. The snake was gutted and the gall extracted before being plonked into the high alcohol content rice wine. The more poisonous the snake, the more sought after the gall is. I’m not sure how toxic it is to eat snake gall, I didn’t Google it before I actually ate it (and not even after that). 
I didn’t swallow the gall wholesale, I wanted to taste it so I bit down on it and it burst in my mouth, filling it with juicy and possibly poisonous goo. I can’t say I could taste anything though coz the alcohol numbed my taste buds and it tastes like raw offal anyway.
Well, like I said in the video, I’m still alive and I still highly recommend it for the full snake experience!
poison comes from the glends in the head, but I suspect you will probabaly get food poisoning from the dodgy looking sink/slaughter area. Thank goodness for the high alcohol content rice wine to sterilise the germs.
would love to try some myself!
I’m quite surprised that you are still very much alive from all that snake.
No thank you. I rather not have anything to do with snakes…
rocket: Heh! Nah, I was fine except for a permanant itch in my nose the next day. It went away after a couple of days though so no worries on that account.
Heh! Yeah, actually I’ve seen worse kitchens, this is actually quite good by China’s standards. 😉
KY: Yeah, it’s nice to eat the entire snake from blood to meat. Kinda like Peking duck – a course of sorts. 🙂
Michelle Chin: Heh! It’s not that bad, snakes is an edible animal, like most other animals. I had wanted to eat rat actually, and I don’t know what I ate (post up soon) – something like a huge rat or a guinea pig with a rat’s tail. Hmm…
🙂
eiling: Snake meat is pretty good. I really liked it. The blood and the gall is to complete the course but the skin and the meat is the best part of the meal! 🙂
Oh bejeezus that looks even nastier than it sounds!
cynthia: Heh! It’s definately an experience you should try at least once though. Eating the entire snake – it’s a course – start from the blood, followed by the gall, and with the snake skin as an sppetizer followed by the snake meat – the main course! =D
wondering will u change skin few months once.. then i can collect it and make a new handbag ? hehe !!
look at the first picture, bottom right, what’s with the old fashion scissors? And what’s with the filthy kitchen? That’s one thing I don’t understand about Chinese. So fucking dirty and the constant spitting. For fuck sake, get your shit together. HB, set your Extra-ordinarily-large Dog on them.
I can eat I can drink. But there is only one thing I cant stand!!! SLimy black color snake!!!! argh!!!! Other color is ok!!! urgh!!!
is this your last snake post? i sure hope so! hahahaha.
p/s : just remembered my off day is on a friday! but i’m free at night, so if you drop by Penang during the weekends i can still makan with you! 😛
Jes: Haha! Sure thing, if that happens. I don’t mind donating my skin. =D
rocket: Well, it’s China! They’re not exactly known for hygeine.
BTW bro I still don’t get the dog reference. 🙂
nicole: Oh, you can choose other colored snakes too. But the more colorful the snake, chances are it’s more poisonous. 🙂
chefmel: It’s my second last! The last one would be snake meat itself.
Okay, will do! Give me a bit of time though, gotta get to Melbourne first. 🙂
HB,there a store in San Francisco that sell interesting food items like frozen and can snake meat,alligator meats,ect. I say ect. for there so many kinds listed. It owned by an American person.
I bluek once, and I’m gonna bluek again.
Michael (MIke): Nice! I would love to eat an alligator! 🙂
Yiling: Haha! It’s good stuff though. 🙂
u can get croc steaks pretty easy down under, my butcher sells croc sausages. tastes like a gamey version of chicken!
this post reminds me of the time i drank snakes blood fresh from the snake. apparently its a cure for asthma. cant say if it works or not though the asthma is gone – i’ve had everything under the sun for it.. including croc gall bladder.. ah.
steph: Nice! I shall try that when I go to Melbourne! Have a nice croc steak and get some croc sausages to bring home too.
Interesting! It’s a cure for asthma!
Mmm…croc gall bladder…never had that before, gotta try it!
Thanks Steph! 🙂
haha. while you’re in melb, there are camel/kangaroo/emu steaks as well to complete the game experience if u haven’t already crossed that off your list!
why i like ur blog is because you have that ‘don’t knock it til’ you’ve tried it’ attitude..
nothing wrong with eating these animals (unless they are endangered of course) – if we haven’t discovered fire we’d still be eating them bahahaha
steph: Awesome! Emu sounds good, have eaten kangaroo’s tail before while camping in Melbourne. 🙂
Thanks Steph, appreciate the kind comments!
You’re like my blog guru, the person who inspired me to blog! 🙂
Well. I would never try this out!
university student: You should! It’s pretty good stuff! 🙂
I’d come to make a deal with you one this subject. Which is not something I typically do! I really like reading a post that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to speak my mind!