What is a tour without the exotic? In this case, fried insects?
For the record, fried crickets taste like nuts. Friend grasshoppers, not nearly as good - bitter aftertaste.
We also went to a Night Market. All kinds of things were offered here. It was the first time I had seen a wet market.
The fruit selection in Cambodia and Vietnam is a tropical fruit lovers dream. Jack fruit, in this case.
Fried insects TB? Cue nope..nope..nope GIF.
ReplyDeleteWell, we only live once Nylon12.
DeletePass on the fried insects here too.
ReplyDeleteNot something I would regularly do, Leigh.
DeleteI will say that I have had crickets as novelty souvenir snacks. These were far better.
Wet markets are an unique experience and certainly give me a lot of pause coming from our highly sanitized, Styrofoam and shrink wrap markets here. But I have never once gotten sick from purchasing meats cut on a bloody chopping block, with a dirty cleaver and tied up in a recycled plastic shopping bag. I have always attributed it to most Asian cuisines containing meat are cooked in liquid preservatives like vinegar and soy sauce to a state of well done.
ReplyDeleteBack in college, the local entomology club always hosted a insect buffet during our annual college spring festival and I always chowed down on lots of different insects. I don't remember the individual tastes now after all these years but I remember not finding anything unpalatable to eat. They did a lot of frying and dipping in chocolate for some insects which as one might expect, made them actually quite tasty.
Ed, the one thing our guide pointed out on meats is that if there were no flies on the meat, it was fresh. It was only meat that was older that would have flies (I did not test this theory, however). Cooking techniques can help as well, I am sure.
DeleteI think I also had a spider leg - again, not really my thing, but not unpalatable.
Yes, freshness plays a huge part. I've gone to the wet market early in the morning in the Philippines and they might have some animals still tied up to the rail out back waiting their turn at being cut up should they need more meat for their stall.
ReplyDeleteEd, we will end up at a wet market in Vietnam before this is done. Similar observations.
DeleteI'm not sure I want to know, but I feel compelled to ask... exactly how does one eat fried insects? Do you bite into them, or just pop them into your mouth whole and chew? I know I'm going to regret hitting "publish", but here goes...
ReplyDeleteBecki, I think it depends? For crickets, they are bite size. Grasshoppers were more of a multiple bite scenario. I imagine the larger ones would be the same...
DeleteThis reminds me... years ago I had the opportunity to try fried baby octopus. They were breaded, and I'm sure they were tasty. I just could not wrap my mind around the idea of feeling those little tentacles in my mouth and chewing the little octopus. What I imagine to be the brittleness of fried insects is another thing all together. I wish I was so adventuresome, but the will in me is simply not that strong.
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