Comments on: Insect Fare

By: Patrick

Patrick — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:39:26 +0000

Very cool! I wish we had something like this in NJ.

By: Dave

Dave — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:47:29 +0000

Hey, that’s almost exactly what I put in a fried tempeh sauce!

By: David Harmon

David Harmon — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 13:56:23 +0000

Just to follow up, I got the tempeh, but not the lotus root. (After hitting three big-box supermarkets in a row, my sensory overload left me too fried to get out to the Asian market.)

I’d forgotten just how scary that stuff looks raw, but it fried up nicely with a bunch of veggies. (And sauce! balsamic vinegar, soy and hoisan sauces, chopped ginger, hot and sesame oils.)

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:27:44 +0000

That’s natto. I like the earthy taste of the slimy rot, but it’s definitely an acquired taste.

By: Lucy

Lucy — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 16:18:00 +0000

‘It’s funny the prejudice we have against consuming terrestrial invertebrates, especially considering how much we prize certain aquatic invertebrates ‘ , yes, I’ve often wondered about this, somehow we assume water’s cleaner than earth, whatever the facts. Have to say I’m only really comfortable with snails if someone else has prepared them and chopped them up with garlic.
What’s that Japanese accompaniment thing that’s fermented beans ?- Not miso, I’m fairly sure, I know and like that. The beans are partially intact and sort of slimy and snotty. Anglo- Japanese, whose cooking I usually loved, used to serve it. I ate it but didn’t see the appeal.

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 04:02:59 +0000

That’s Korean. But yeah, I love that stuff.

By: David Harmon

David Harmon — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:33:11 +0000

PS: Kim chee!

By: David Harmon

David Harmon — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 00:31:48 +0000

Hmm. I often put wakame or laver in soups, ditto ramen. (It’s been a while since I found a really good udon/ramen restaurant that I could afford, though.) I’ve rarely met a dumpling I didn’t like, unless it was badly mis-cooked. I’ve had lotus root a few times (candied was interesting), maybe I’ll try frying some into my next stir-fry (with the tempeh?). I do like sushi and sashimi, but I think twitching sashimi would give me the twitches!

(google google… ah!) The Japanese pickles I’ve seen in restaurants were too sweet for my taste, not to mention alarmingly Technicolored. The Wikipedia article on okonomiyaki looks interesting — I don’t usually mess with batters, but maybe I’ll try making some variation.

Dang, but you do some cool blog… photos, poetry, nature, food….

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 02:26:36 +0000

Wow, that’s certainly a different take on the subject! Thanks for stopping by and making the connection, Ernesto. Obviously, I disagree with the perspective that “bugs are just gross.” I think many people would agree that the majority of beetles, crickets and katydids are quite charismatic – to say nothing of butterflies and moths. Wasps and bumblebees are also quite cool. Then there’s mantids, and syrphid flies, and… oh yes, cockroaches. Those guys are gross.

By: Ernesto

Ernesto — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:36:41 +0000

Hey Dave, thanks for your visit at Never Neutral. I thought you migh like to read my friend Adela's latest post, here. I also recommended this post of yours to her and her readers. Greetings from London.