Friday 19 October 2007

ONE MAN’S FOOD IS ANOTHER MAN’S POISON

(Note: The photos in this article are not meant for those who have weak tummies)

INSECTS2

If you have watched the 1994 Academy Award Disney’s movie Lion King, you would have known that there were 2 very comical characters, Timon, a meerkat, and Pumbaa, a warthog. What was their favorite food? Insects, insects and more insects. Scary right? Well, not exactly that disgusting as you may be in the cultural minority. Throughout history, people have relished insects as food. Today, many cultures across Africa, China and Latin America still do.

There are all together about 500 types of insects that are edible. Some of these insects are used as medications and supplements. They are considered to be of high nutrients and protein which are good for the human bodies. In this modern day, some of these insects are even served in banquet in China. Leave it to the Chinese as there is a term for them. “The Chinese will eat anything with four legs except a table, with wings except an airplane!” They are a bunch of adventurous people who will go all out to test out any kinds of creatures and insects.



In, Thailand, grasshoppers and worms are deep fried or barbequed. In Ghana, winged termites are collected and fried, roasted, or made into bread. In South Africa, the insects are eaten with cornmeal porridge. In Japan, aquatic fly larvae are fried in sugar and soy sauce. In Bali, de-winged dragonflies are boiled in coconut milk with ginger and garlic. In Papua New Guinea and aboriginal Australia, beetle larvae are savored. In Latin America, cicadas, fire-roasted tarantulas, and ants are prevalent in traditional dishes. In Mexico, the Agave worm, is eaten on tortillas and placed in bottles of Mezcal liquor in Mexico.

Would you believe that a simple hamburger contains about 18% of protein and 18% of fat whereas a cooked grasshopper contains up to 60% of protein with just 6% of fat? Moreover, like fish, insect fatty acids are unsaturated and thus healthier. Thanks to EastCoastLife, we can now see some of these “delicacies”.

INSECTS

Psss…guys this one is interesting… regular eating of bee larvae can make you virile.

BEE LARVA

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

well well... eye opener indeed... you couldn't pay me to eat cockroaches, worms and spiders though. *eurgh* so... do you need any bee larvae to spice up your life Criz? ;)

eastcoastlife said...

hehehe.... you don't need the bee larvae lah, anyway it takes months to achieve the required power. I have another very powerful concoction, wait for my post on that! ^-^

Muse Princess said...

wow...
well...
i dunno about the rest of the 'delicasies' but i certainly know about the fried insects stall in Thailand...
Me and my sister bought a packet of wat the lady claimed was 'bamboo worm'...
Surprisingly it tasted like belief it or not, keropok... haha...! =D
and we both actually finished the whole packet, we din even bother offering to our parents, our brother or our grandparents...
hahaha...

Boy do i miss Thai food... haha....

JPP Papa said...

Man, this is totally interesting foods. I can only eat our local "Butod" aka ulat sago :)

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