Beijing pest is also a tasty, crunchy treat

The Straits Times ^ | July 19,2002 | Editorial Staff

[vannrox]

JULY 19, 2002

Beijing pest is also a tasty, crunchy treat

BEIJING - They are flying about the capital in swarms, and residents are capturing them by the bagful. They're filled with protein and, some say, are delicious - and crunchy - when deep-fried.

Beijing's summer locusts have arrived, though experts say the sand-hued, beady-eyed bugs are more of a nuisance this year than a danger to crops.

The insects, from the outskirts of Beijing or Inner Mongolia, are not the destructive migratory species which laid waste to millions of hectares of farmland around the country earlier this year, said Mr Lei Zongren, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Institute of Plant Protection.

A continuing drought and a warm winter have provided ideal conditions for locusts to hatch in great numbers. The young, called nymphs, are wingless and thrive in heat.

The species in Beijing cannot fly long distances. The 5-cm-long insects have reddish legs and wings mottled with black.

Annoying as they can be, they have long been considered a delicacy among many Chinese.

'Locusts are good food. They have a high protein content and the taste is not bad,' entomologist Wu Jichuan said.

Eight-year-old Zang Quchen agrees. She has been chasing locusts since she was five.

'I usually catch a big bag. Then my grandmother fries them in oil.

'I can eat about 10 at a time,' she said proudly.

A restaurant owner quoted by the Beijing Morning Post said deep-fried locust, also known as 'flying shrimp', is very popular. A reader compared the taste to cured salted fish. --AP

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[vannrox]

An interesting and amazing read.

[cmsgop]

[DittoJed2]

Ahem! Where is the "barf" alert???

[Myrddin]

The U.S. has a surplus of locusts this year too. The farmers could use another cash crop with the current drought.

[TBall]

I'd fry them up in hot oil and then add salt and butter.

[TBall]

When I was a kid in summer camp we did this with grasshoppers. Just like chips.

[encm(ss)]

Yum. Yum.
Our POW's in Viet Nam would hunt for the protein. In POW training we were instructed on the varity of bugs that were edible.
John the Baptist ate locusts in the desert. (Or is that desserts?)
On my trips to South Korea I dined on a small snack of silk worms. Yum. Yum. But I love lots of Asian foods. Raw fish is my favorite. Red tuna and salmon are the best.

[maui_hawaii]

I have eaten this before.

[Rainmist]

My dad ate quite a few strange things in his overseas days during the war. He said he once ate chocolate covered crickets !!!!!

[jonatron]

How about boiled cajun-style like crawfish?

[Gwaihir]

"flying shrimp"

I do love the spin on that one.

[Enemy Of The State]

I just returned from a trip across China and while in Shenyang I went to see an traditional doctor for my migraine headaches. After several acupuncture treatments he also provided me with a large quantity of traditional Chinese medicine some of which consisted of dried locust shells which had to be ground into pouder and taken with other herbs and insect carcasses. It seemed a little odd to me at first but hey, if it works you wont hear and complaints from me.