Donggou "Puppy Meat"

Donggou "Puppy Meat"

　　Donggou "Puppy Meat" is actually not made from dog meat but from rabbit meat. Every step of the preparation process is meticulously crafted, and even the name has an interesting origin. First, the selection of ingredients is particular. The main ingredient used is fresh, plump wild rabbit weighing between 225 to 250 kilograms. Qiu Hongjiang has a unique skill called "one look, two lifts" to determine if the rabbit is fresh. "One look" means checking if the rabbit’s eyes are bright; "two lifts" refers to lifting the rabbit’s belly. Domestic rabbits have overly loose meat with a poorer texture, so they are also rejected. Second, the choice of seasonings is essential. To eliminate the earthy taste of wild rabbit meat, Donggou "Puppy Meat" uses over 20 kinds of premium seasonings, simmered in specific proportions year after year. The longer the seasoning base is used, the more aromatic it becomes. No onions or ginger are used in the seasoning to ensure the "Puppy Meat" remains light, fresh, and fragrant. Third, the butchering process is precise. After removing the fur, the wild rabbit is divided into pieces—each rabbit is consistently cut into 36 pieces, each almost the same size. Fourth, there’s an art to selling it. Donggou "Puppy Meat" has special tools for hawking. The vendor carries a bamboo tube holding the "Puppy Meat" in the left hand and taps a specially prepared bamboo pole in the right. Tapping the bamboo pole is also called "knocking the pole," and must be done with rhythm, flair, and even a kind of "message"—attentive listeners can clearly hear what sounds just like "Eat—eat—have a taste." The name "Donggou Puppy Meat" also has a story. According to Elder Qiu Hongjiang, in the 1930s, many hunters from the Lianshui and Huai’an areas came to Donggou to hunt, staying in Xiaowang Village (today’s Shuguang Village). These hunters believed that rabbits run with the wind and that hunting them was bad luck, so they started calling rabbit hunting "hunting little dogs." Thus, Donggou "Puppy Meat" got its name.