But anyway, it's a dead cert that meat it the most important food item to me. I've tasted my fair share of a variety of meat - chicken, venison, beef, mutton, lamb, pork, fish, squid/calamari, prawns/shrimp, alligator, rabbit, snake etc etc. So I was thinking (and I have been asking people this), if you could eat only one type of meat for the rest of your life, which one would it be? Or, in other words, which type of meat would you be most loathe to give up?
The choice was difficult for me, as you shall see. But anyway, here's a top 5 list of meats for which it would be super duper difficult for me to give up (No. 1 means it would be the meat I would choose to eat if I could only eat one type of meat for the rest of my life).
Firstly, let's rule out stuff like alligator, snake and that sort of thing because, well, I don't really eat that that often. Just a once in a lifetime thing to try it out. So, they don't even rank. Secondly, ranking the top 5 was extremely difficult for me, particularly when we get into the top 3. It's like picking your favourite of your 5 children (okay, I know people generally don't eat their children so the analogy isn't the best but I'm just saying the choice was as difficult as that).
Just missed the cut:
Fish - I know there are many different types of fish and each one has a different taste but I don't think I would miss fish. I eat it when it's there and if it's good, it's good. But it's not something I think I've ever really craved.
Venison - Venison is really good but I don't eat it enough (though more than alligator, snake et al, in fairness) and I don't find myself missing it all that much.
Mutton - Mutton is the definition of a "distinctly average" meat.
Prawns/shrimp - Great as a complement to certain types of dishes but overall, I can't see myself eating a whole meal of shrimp, so there.
And now, the top 5
5. Lamb
The argument for lamb:
Just looking at it makes me want to eat lamb.
The argument against lamb: Well, I believe in the Well-Ordered principle. I think that everything can be ranked, regardless of whether people choose to rank them or not. And it's just a preference thing for me. I would rather give up lamb than the next 4 foods.
4. Calamari/Squid
The argument for Calamari/Squid:
The sambal sotong from nasi lemak. It's my favourite meat to go along with nasi lemak. Also, there's fried calamari which is a great appetiser.
The argument against Calamari/Squid: It's too light for a regular meal. As in, you won't feel yourself stuffed with calamari/squid the way you can feel yourself stuffed with satisfaction after a great piece of lamb or a great piece of steak.
3. Pork
The case for pork: The most versatile of all the meats. There's so much you can do with it in so many ways. There's pork chops, pork sausage patties, pork sausage links, char siew, siu yuk, trotters, the list goes on and on really.
My favourite:
The case against pork: Very, very difficult to drop but ultimately, while I can force myself to live without pork, it would take a straitjacket and chains and bonds to keep me from eating the next 2 items for the rest of my life.
2. Chicken
The case for chicken: The only reason I pick chicken, really -
I've gone nearly a year without KFC (just to prove my personal willpower) and it's killing me. Seriously, the only reason why chicken beats out everything before it is just through KFC.
The case against chicken: The next one is just better.
1. Beef
The case for beef:
Ignore the green crap at the back. Nothing, and I meant nothing, beats a brilliantly grilled (medium-rare) steak. I could not deal with not eating steak for the rest of my life. More than KFC. More than pork. More than anything else.
The case against beef: Yeah, right.