Sugarcane Mongoose

Sugarcane Mongoose

　　　The sugarcane mongoose, also known as the cane rat, has high medicinal value. It is sweet and cool in nature, nourishing yin and blood, clearing deficiency heat, and tonifying liver and kidney. It is a dietary remedy suitable for all ages, hence the reputation of “one rat equals three chickens.” This type of rat is a specialty of the Zhuhai area, as renowned as the rice field sparrow from Sanshui City. The sugarcane mongoose is mostly found in sugarcane-growing areas around Xiaolin and Doumen’s Qianwu, Wushan, and Pingsha. It feeds exclusively on sugarcane, growing up to over 2 jin (about 1 kg) in weight, and comes in black-furred and yellow-furred varieties. When the north wind begins to blow and the sugarcane harvest season arrives, the sugarcane mongoose becomes particularly plump. Due to its long-term diet of sugarcane and pond plants, minimal digestion, rich sweetness, and prolonged habitation in shaded areas with constant feeding, its meat is especially sweet, tender, and smooth, with bones soft as crisp pastry. As a result, villagers often catch them, cure and sun-dry them into rat jerky as a preserved meat, while local restaurants use them to stir-fry, bake, braise, steam, red-cook, cook in hotpot, or make into soups, creating a variety of rat-based dishes. A common dish is “Black Potherb with Braised Sugarcane Mongoose,” which is deliciously fragrant, smooth, and endlessly flavorful.