Imagine a place where in addition to the usual Meat and Fish categories on a dinner menu, you had your choice from Insects and Amphibians. If you grew up with it, you probably wouldn’t think it unusual in the slightest. In fact, some 1,700 species of bugs are eaten in more than 100 countries around the world.
That’s what the waiter at Typhoon restaurant in Santa Monica told me when he saw my jaw drop into my lap upon scanning their menu (ants, sea worms, and frogs’ legs are just a few of the delicacies they feature). And no, I wasn’t really feeling squeamish, just taken by surprise. Of course, I knew insects were consumed back in ancient Greece and Rome. In fact, the 1st century Roman scholar Pliny wrote that aristocrats enjoyed beetle larvae. And in one of his writings, Aristotle described the ideal time to harvest cicadas for the best taste.
And, sure, I’d heard about people eating dogs in parts of China (check out this vid here for proof—however, not for the faint-of-heart). And, sure, I even know people right here in this country who like to eat things like turtle soup, or shark (thresher shark sandwiches are a staple at this Naples, Florida restaurant), but the items on Typhoon’s menu really knocked the wind out of me for a second. And made me curious as to what else I could find on some menus around the world. Here are the results:
1. Scorpions
To insects, all species of scorpions are poisonous and usually deadly. But only a very small number of the more than 1,000 known species can be dangerous to humans. In Singapore, where Scorpions are eaten most often, the bugs are usually fried and then skewered. Some eateries, however, will serve them on a chunk of battered white fish, tempura-style.
2. Grasshoppers
In Mexico they call them chapulines, even though that’s not the Spanish word for grasshoppers. No, the word chapulines comes from the Nahuatl language and is most often used in Oaxaca, where the special grasshoppers are consumed in abundance when in season (between May and September). They’re sold as snacks at baseball games, where they’re fried or barbecued and then seasoned with garlic, chiles and lemon. In Oaxaca City, they’re also often found stuffed in quesadillas.
3. Locusts
Not too long ago, Thailand was facing a major locust problem. Even though they’re considered clean because they mostly feed on the leaves of rice-plants, who wants locusts taking over their country? When traditional pesticides didn’t solve the problem, the country hit upon a solution: Eat ‘em! That’s right, the government even handed out special recipes explaining how the critters could be enjoyed in a variety of different ways. In this photo you see them served fried.
4. Maguey Worms
Considered a delicacy in some parts of Mexico, these worms, or larvae of a giant butterfly called the tequila giant skipper, or aegiale hesperiaris, are actually very healthy and nutritious. Usually deep-fried or braised with a spicy sauce, they’re most often served in a tortilla.
5. Crickets
The Taiwanese eat lots of different kinds of bugs, including sautéed caterpillars, but crickets are one of the most common delicacies you’ll find. They’re prepared by stir-frying them with chili pepper, basil, garlic and then mixed and served atop a bed of shoestring potatoes.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten and where did you have it? Would you try it again?
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Reindeer and Ox in Norway and Sweden. The reindeer was good. The ox, not so much.
posted by Steven on 10-12-2009 at 11:48 am
In Thailand locusts are no big deal – many people, even expsts and tourists, will try a few – they are a bit like a small deep fried prawn (shrimp). The locals also eat crickets, silk worm larvae, scorpions (expensive), frogs, ants, and a thing called Maeng Dah (water bug) which usualy grow to about 50mm long (2″). There are a whole lot of other insects that are eaten locally too..yum…(burp)…!
posted by Greer, Bangkok on 10-12-2009 at 11:56 am
I had moponie worms in Zimbabwe not sure if that is how you spell it but they are a type of caterpiller that are not very good at all, also i have had gator and croc and both of those are excellent
posted by Bubba on 10-12-2009 at 12:03 pm
I ate live octopus in South Korea during their version of Thanksgiving. Needless to say I missed turkey that year. I’ve also eaten fried tarantula in Cambodia. It tasted like deep-fried hair.
posted by Corey on 10-12-2009 at 12:04 pm
Chicken-stuffed water bug at Typhoon. So wrong on so many levels. (But I really liked their sea worms and the Manchurian ants).
posted by VM on 10-12-2009 at 12:12 pm
Reindeer and Ox? Those are considered insects in Sweden?
posted by Admiral Byrd on 10-12-2009 at 12:27 pm
Except that scorpions are not insects. They don’t belong to the Insecta class, they belong to the Arachnida class. Counting the legs usually helps differentiate one from the other, and that would bring you to the same conclusion about spiders.
Great post! :)
posted by Danilo on 10-12-2009 at 12:33 pm
I had grasshoppers while in Mexico a few years ago. They tasted a lot like bbq potato chips… with legs.
posted by kp on 10-12-2009 at 12:42 pm
I ate cow tongue once in France. The taste was fine (just like chicken) but the texture really creeped me out. The cow tongue’s little bumps (taste buds, right?) kept rubbing against the little bumps on my own tongue and I couldn’t finish the whole thing. A bit chewy, too.
posted by Sally on 10-12-2009 at 12:45 pm
Fried rattlesnake. When I was a kid we drove to Freer, Texas for the annual Rattlesnake Roundup. Yup, tastes like chicken.
posted by Egg Go Boom on 10-12-2009 at 1:05 pm
Where I grew up is home to the Hotlix insect candy company. Crickets, mealworms, and ants are all much easier to eat when covered in chocolate.
posted by Kathryn on 10-12-2009 at 1:22 pm
in some parts of China they will capture a monkey, put it in the middle of a table. They then peal the monkeys scalp (while still alive) then crack open the skull, and eat it while the monkey is alive.(no I’m not an activist trying to make you feel guilty) the Chinesse who do this believe the brains will cure impotency. And while they eat the brains of a monkey to get a hard on I will simply have a viagra… god bless the USA
posted by Jeremiah on 10-12-2009 at 1:43 pm
as goes for insects… try eating grasshoppers. they arent bad even raw. I went camping, got lost for a day, and ran out of food so I ate some grass hoppers and grubs… not that bad as long as you close your eyes and forget what youa re eating
posted by Jeremiah on 10-12-2009 at 1:47 pm
I can’t think about eating those kind of so called “food”… I really need to be in trouble to start eating insects or scorpions cause i considerer it disguisting… Nice post and good pictures… i think! :)
posted by Pascal on 10-12-2009 at 2:41 pm
They have all kinds of insects to eat at the Bug Festival/Fair at Purdue University. If I remember correctly, it is held in Febraury. The one insect I remember very well is the chocolate-covered crickets. Kids love to go and gross each other out!
posted by sandra on 10-12-2009 at 2:48 pm
Boiled silkworm cocoons in Korea
Cows blood soup in Korea
Goose feet in China
Steamed turtle in China (very chewy)
Blackened gator in Florida (so yummy)
Squid jerky at the movies in Korea
Pasta with tomato sauce and snails in Korea (every Friday night with friends)
The ever politically incorrect but terribly yummy birds nest soup and sharks fin soup in China. So good for the skin!
Stuffed Pigeon in Egypt. Ick.
I am sure there are more that I have repressed!
posted by Mandy on 10-12-2009 at 3:14 pm
Scorpions are not insects, they are arachnids.
posted by Alex on 10-12-2009 at 3:24 pm
I’ve had iguana. Pretty good, though did taste a little like a salt water fish.
posted by Laura on 10-12-2009 at 3:58 pm
I have tried pig brain before….
it was on a dare one time.
strangely, it tasted like another particular pork product. But I think I will leave which one out of the conversation…should anyone get sick.
posted by Kirk on 10-12-2009 at 4:04 pm
Oh let’s see. These are all from the north of China.
Sea cucumber soup, fried scorpions (really good,) cicada pupae (not so good) and silkworms were the strangest I think. I’ve had dog too which was pretty tasty. I’m sure there’s more but you learn to just not ask sometimes.
posted by Ben E. on 10-12-2009 at 4:33 pm
I’m a Singaporean, we don’t eat scorpions in Singapore :)
posted by XP on 10-12-2009 at 8:47 pm
Mostly stuff other people have mentioned. Dog soup, pig’s blood soup, raw sea cucumber, live squid, silkworm cocoons, snails, dried squid. Gonna try to go out for horse meat soon.
posted by JT on 10-12-2009 at 9:11 pm
I am vegetarian, but I LOVE calamari!
Squids don’t have souls and they are DELICIOUS!
posted by Justine on 10-12-2009 at 9:16 pm
scorpions?
well they taste like nothing but crunchy flakes (I should know, I ate a skewer of them in Beijing).
recaptcha: argu- shamed
…
posted by marc on 10-12-2009 at 9:30 pm
I’ve had ants before, pretty tasty if you ask me. I’ve also eaten house cat…. yeah, that was kinda greasy…
posted by Steve on 10-12-2009 at 9:34 pm
Rhea and raccoon. And raccoon is greasy, too. The rhea, however was some of the best fowl I’ve ever eaten. It’s actually more like beef than any kind of fowl. Red meat, when raw.
posted by Vickey on 10-12-2009 at 10:23 pm
I have eaten gator many times, love it. I have eaten everything a sushi bar will serve, and can take or leave a lot of it. I am an ethical eater and don’t eat anything exotic but gator that is farm raised.
posted by gckittehmom on 10-12-2009 at 10:25 pm
I’ve eaten fried larvae. They’re crunchy and you can buy them in large packs in markets in Thailand (I lived there for six years).
posted by Frannie on 10-12-2009 at 10:31 pm
I’m a Singaporean and I highly doubt that we eat scorpions.
posted by Hannah on 10-13-2009 at 4:28 am
I’ve tried roasted crickets before. They had a slight nutty flavor, but other than that they were pretty bland. I don’t think I could eat them as part of a meal, though.
posted by Kelsey on 10-13-2009 at 9:35 am
Starting a new diet today. Thank you so much for the help! Yikes! I can’t think of eating anything after seeing those pictures! I will refer to this blog often over the next weeks and months!
posted by Hyacinth on 10-13-2009 at 9:49 am
I’ve tried dog meat. It’s actually really good. Eaten a spider or two, raw, to impress the troubled teens I work with. And I like to snack on ants, they taste like pepper.
posted by bryan on 10-13-2009 at 10:37 am
I’ve eaten one bite of Balut (fertilized 19-day old hard boiled duck egg) in the Philippines. They claim it is a delicacy, but I tend to disagree.
It also gave me horrific digestive pyrotechnics the next day. Horrific.
posted by josh on 10-13-2009 at 11:05 am
cow tounge
posted by poo on 10-13-2009 at 11:22 am
I actually like Cow Tongue. They consume it in many Hispanic countries. Tacos de Lengua are really good!!
posted by Elizabeth on 10-15-2009 at 6:06 pm
i’m singaporean and i can tell you that we DO NOT eat scorpions, or any bugs for that matter..
posted by Caline on 10-17-2009 at 9:20 am
In south Louisiana’s Cajun Country, we eat anything that doesn’t eat us first. I’m game to try just about anything. :)
posted by Heather on 3-25-2010 at 11:21 am
CNN also seemed to mislabel scorpions as a Singaporean delicacy, comments on this CNNGO post say the same:
http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/eat/10-grossest-foods-singapore-484694
Seems like scorpion may be more of a tourist delicacy than anything else :)
posted by JK on 4-29-2010 at 4:12 am