ENTOMOPHAGY report on eating Thai giant waterbugs

[Guest guest]

FOOD OF PRINCES

While I realize much more pressing (no triple-pun intended) matters

have been occupying the attention of list-members recently, I will

intrude here with more of my selfless efforts to deliver the vital

dietary information needed to sustain our collective grappling with

the WAPF lifestyle.

Though there's very little food I buy from stores these days, my

affection for fresh ginger root gave me a good excuse to visit an

Asian shop yesterday, and one I hadn't patronized before that turned

out to be of Thai pedigree unlike the Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean

stores that are more familiar. While browsing through the array of

small fish in the freezer section, I came across a small, non-

descript, almost entirely unlabelled package with four very large

insects proudly arrayed on a styrofoam tray beneath a clear plastic

protective layer. My excitement can hardly be described. Sifting

through a small box I discovered a goodly supply of these packages

mingled with identically-packaged offerings of two other bug

varieties, one appearing to be small larvae of some sort, and the

other some kind of thick mealworm-like item. Recognizing my initial

discovery as the prized Thai giant waterbug, I immediately decided

not to let this opportunity for entomophagical progress go

dishonored. Unfortunately the only information on the package was

its Thai name " maeng-da-na " , but a little internet sleuthing

confirmed my suspicions regarding the identity of my new dinner

guest, and I'll mention its scientific name for reference: Lethocerus

indicus.

These noble creatures are said to be the largest native insect

species in Southeast Asia, and indeed they measured a bit over 9cm

(3.6 inches) in length with a pleasantly plump midriff. I selected

two as a main course for myself, leaving the other two in the freezer

in case of any hungry guests before I could replenish my supply. I

opted to steam them for a few minutes, one whole and one butchered

and dressed to the extent my unschooled efforts would allow.

Attending first to the whole waterbug, I saw no reason to accept the

burden of eating such a large and heterogeneously textured creature

in one mouthful, chosing rather to tear bits off at a time to make

more anatomically specific assessments of its gastronomic merit. It

came as little surprise that the large, thick chitinous wings

required a modest bit of chewing, not notably different than the

unshelled larger shrimps I gladly masticate. However, even such a

pedestrian portion of the waterbug offered hints of the flavor

immersion to come. It should be noted that even just placing the

creature within the general vicinity of my nostrils offered a novel

and entirely gratifying experience. Before cooking it was mild and

pleasant; after cooking it was potent and defiantly singular. There

is simply nothing in the annals of our culture I can direct your

attention to that would hint at the nature of the flavor that

intensified as I crunched my way further along its body. Even a

single thin leg (which admittedly did extend as much as 4cm or so)

produced an overwhelming sensation as it met the rigors of my

molars. The sheer intensity gave credence to the lore of the

waterbug's glandular potency. (See the first two reading items

below.) Yet far from being objectionable or intolerable, it was

forcibly enlightening.

Moving on to the next serving, before cooking I made a few clumsy

gestures with a paring knife and gained access to the waterbug's

unfamiliar innards. It must be acknowledged that, as with crabs, the

visual elegance of arthropodic cuisine goes no further than the

creature in its initial pristine state of bodily unity. At this

point I took a few deliberate whiffs. Writing afterwards now I can

state with confidence that those acts of aromatic perception count as

milestones in my budding life. The experentially robust referents of

apple and pear came to immediate and unmistakeable prominence, with

the pear note settling into dominance as the event unfolded.

Keeping my nostrils engaged in the proceedings, I noted a pair of

tiny fleshy chunks that submitted to effortless extraction. Holding

one of these morsels that henceforth must be given the reverential

title of " tenderloin " , I again revelled in the fruity bliss of its

scent. My instincts compelled me to sample it raw, upon which the

olfactory experience was subdued and replaced by the rich,

unapologetic spirit of lamb or goat and the tender mouth feel of

crab. Revelation stacked upon revelation. I then proceeded to steam

the mangled pieces and revisit the immersive wonders of the previous

serving.

Without inhibiting the the complex gratification afforded by these

giant waterbugs, leaning over the pot as they cooked gave the

familiar, strong, and relatively uninspiring aroma of a simmering

lamb or goat stew, and I'm led to speculate about the connection in

regards to hormonal secretions.

Altogether, an experience to be revisited regularly as supplies

permit. On that topic, at a price of $2.99 for the four specimens

that totalled 34g, this is a delicacy that calls a tune of $40 per

pound. However, before you exclude this from your " feeding a large

family NT-style on a budget " file, I must share the good news

reported in Gordon's widely-cited " The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook "

regarding a sister species: " Lethocerus americanus is both big and

abundant, easily plucked from slow-moving rural creeks and streams

across the United States. " He goes on to suggest using a lantern at

nighttime to abet a fair harvest. Once these winter days recede I

shall be sure to seek first-hand verification of this enticing

prospect. A report is sure to follow.

To ensure this festive undertaking was done with a greater sense of

Thai cultural presence than would ordinarily be afforded by my rural

Pennsylvania home, I noticed my copy of " Thai Elephant Orchestra " was

lying near the stereo and it seemed like a good fit. Even as the

aftertaste of my first Thai giant waterbugs gives way to my warm

memories of the pear aroma and I issue this brief report, it's

comforting to have these Thai sounds persist. Not quite a recording

of Thai traditional music, this is rather the project of Dave Soldier

and Lair recording elephants playing traditional Thai

instruments like gongs, metallophones, drums, and reed instruments in

Thailand--not unsuccessfully at all and with a pleasantly

unconventional rhythmic sensibility I might add--and also has some

choice field recordings of elephants making sounds with their own

anatomical equipment afterwards. Entirely recommended as an

accompaniment to waterbug dining.

For those whose visual memory of the Thai giant waterbug needs to be

refreshed or even installed for the first time, the following link

suffices:

http://www5f.biglobe.ne.jp/~Dytiscus/TAGAME/indicus.htm

Some very worthy reading is offered below.

Post-rapturously yours,

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

--------------------------------------------------------

Here are two fascinating and excellent short articles.

http://tizwason.notlong.com

http://jamjugil.notlong.com

Don't have a fully solid handle on this bit though:

" He also recalled an earthy proverb: Ca cuong chet den dit con cay

(the ca cuong, dead, on reaching the anus remains intense). It is a

variant of the adage that no one can change the basic nature of

things. That the ca cuong is widely believed to be an aphrodisiac

adds further ambiguity to the proverb. "

-------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.kowloontraders.com/ampjan00.html

Dear Mr. Ping,

You are accounted a genius by many of your fans, but I believe I have

a question about Asian food that will stump you. When I was in Laos

at an official banquet, a very snooty looking waiter was standing by,

holding a medicine dropper containing some mysterious colorless

liquid. Occasionally, some gourmet would signal to this waiter upon

which the snooty fellow would squeeze two drops of this fluid upon

the particular dish indicated. After this banquet, I tried to find

out from my friend what this stuff was, but was ultimately

unsuccessful. What was this prized fluid?

Curious

Dear Curious ,

Aha!!!! You thought you could stump me, Mr. Ping, the Scourge of the

Internet, but alas, you cannot. Since this banquet took place in

Laos, a lot of other less worthy sages might think that special fluid

was some kind of vintage fish sauce, made from the liver of the

monster catfish, the " pa beuk " which prowls upon the Mekong,

tantalizing fishermen with its choice fish head. But it is not. (HA!)

That fluid was actually the glandular secretion of a live Asian water

bug, the Lethocerus Indicus, a bug of such rarity that each precious

drop of its juice is worth $30 !!!! So what does this millionaire's

version of MSG taste like? It is hard to describe, since the flavor

is so unique, but the closest I can come is the word " musky. " To be

more precise, it is like tasting the buggy essence of some heavenly

aquatic potion personally decanted by the Great Buddha Himself. So if

you ever visit Laos, Curious , you must go to some fine

restaurant, look for a guy with a medicine dropper, and request a

taste of this marvelous condiment.

---------------------------------------------

A wealth of information on waterbug cuisine is found towards the

middle of the following page, and the other snippets below are from

the same site (<food-insects.com>):

http://somnitar.notlong..

Some excerpts:

" It is a great delicacy which is shared by Laos and Siamese alike; it

reaches the tables of princes in Bangkok. " The usual methods of

preparing it are described as follows: " 1. Steam thoroughly and then

soak in shrimp sauce. The insect is then served up and picked to

pieces, each piece yielding a little meat from its inner side. The

flavour is strong and reminiscent of Gorgonzola cheese. 2. After

cooking, pound it up and use it for flavouring sauces or curries. A

popular sauce called Namphla is made by mixing shrimps, lime juice,

garlic, and pepper and then adding Mang daar [Mang daar nah is the

Lao name] to finish up with. Vegetables are dipped into this sauce. "

" Shoppers were used to stick a toothpick, which was served by the

shopkeeper, in the abdomen of the bug and then smell it in order to

buy a good one. Good one means the bug which has a stronger and

better flavor. Usually the male bug is more attractive, but the

female bug is also sold. "

----------------------------------------------------------

Belostomatidae (giant water bugs)

Lethocerus indicus Lep. & Serv. (= Belostoma indica Vitalis), egg,

adult

Bréhion reports that the giant waterbug, the con-bo capunoc, is

roasted and consumed in the nuoc-mam sauce, and in Saigon a pair

fetches 2 fr. 50.

The hemipteron, Belostoma indica Vitalis, the ca or dacuong of the

mites is sought not only for its flesh but especially for a

liquid that it secretes which is used as a seasoning for many dishes

and is considered indispensable for some. Nguyen-Cong-Tieu describes

in detail how the liquid-producing sacs are harvested. Belostoma is

also eaten although it is not very fleshy. After the wings, legs and

caudal appendages are removed, it is grilled over charcoal or steamed

in a special pan (double boiler, the upper part of which has a bottom

with a hole through which steam can pass). In either case, only the

soft parts within the thorax are eaten. A third procedure involves

chopping up the insect and sauteing it in fat, in which case the

entire insect is eaten including the chitinous covering. Children

collect Belostoma eggs from aquatic plants and eat them raw or

grilled. The adult bugs are captured using special " fish baskets " and

at lights.

See also Nguyen-Cong-Tieu and Esaki in the Introduction.

---------------------------------------------

Belostomatidae (giant water bugs)

Lethocerus indicus Lep. & Serv., adult

Delphin mentioned the giant water bug, Lethocerus, which is collected

in the Rangoon area as it flies around the bright mercury lanterns

that line the streets. The bugs are placed on hot coals, and the

cooked insides eaten just as one would the soft parts of the limbs of

lobsters and crabs. This practice, however, is not widespread.

---------------------------------------------

To recognize the preferences of different national palates, borrowing

from Curran's line of thinking, we can note that the giant water-bug

Lethocerus indicus, a favorite food throughout southeast Asia from

eastern India and Burma to Vietnam and southern China is now imported

and sold (as whole bugs, paste, or alcohol extract known as " Mangdana

essence " ) in southeast Asian community foodshops in San Francisco,

Oakland, and Berkeley (Pemberton, Pan-Pac. Entomologist 64:81-82,

1988).

-------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

Mike-

>I noticed my copy of " Thai Elephant Orchestra " ... Not quite a recording

>of Thai traditional music, this is rather the project of Dave Soldier

>and Lair recording elephants playing traditional Thai

>instruments like gongs, metallophones, drums, and reed instruments in

>Thailand

Your report is much appreciated (though I suspect that a translation of

" the nature of the flavor that intensified as I crunched my way further

along its body " for the rest of us would be " Yuck! Gross! " ) but this is

just one of those bizarre coincidences. I'd never heard of Dave Soldier

until a friend hosted him and a few other musicians less than a week ago

and he mentioned his elephant project, which sounded (and still sounds)

fascinating. Unfortunately, I loathed the music of his I did hear that

night, so now I'm halfway expecting to be disappointed by the elephant

project, which would be tragic.

-

[Guest guest]

>I must share the good news

>reported in Gordon's widely-cited " The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook "

>regarding a sister species: " Lethocerus americanus is both big and

>abundant, easily plucked from slow-moving rural creeks and streams

>across the United States. " He goes on to suggest using a lantern at

>nighttime to abet a fair harvest. Once these winter days recede I

>shall be sure to seek first-hand verification of this enticing

>prospect. A report is sure to follow.

Not only that, but waterbugs are REALLY EASY to grow. In fact,

they pop up in any backyard swimming pool if you don't

clean it out often enough. Hmmm ... now this lends itself

to some easy backyyard farming.

My goal is to someday have a big pond full of carp, trout maybe,

crawdads. I don't think big waterbugs live this far north.

Too bad you didn't live a few million years ago though ...

they say the bugs were a foot long or so, back then.

Very entertaining writup! Thanks for sharing.

-- Heidi

[Guest guest]

@@@@@@@@@@@@

Your report is much appreciated (though I suspect that a translation

of

> " the nature of the flavor that intensified as I crunched my way

further

> along its body " for the rest of us would be " Yuck! Gross! " ) but

this is

> just one of those bizarre coincidences.

@@@@@@@@@@@

Seriously, I think most people on this list (who are more food-savvy

than the general population) would like the flavor, but perhaps it

would need to be diluted like in the most common uses as a flavoring

for curries and things. I can't vouch for the quote that refers to

the flavor of Gorgonzola cheese by the way, although it has been a

while since I've eaten any so my flavor memory might not be crisp.

There is no " ammonia " -like component to the waterburg flavor. If a

similarity could be defended, I can say that eating the waterbug by

itself would be comparable in intensity to eating a chunk of the

cheese by itself.

@@@@@@@@@@

I'd never heard of Dave Soldier

> until a friend hosted him and a few other musicians less than a

week ago

> and he mentioned his elephant project, which sounded (and still

sounds)

> fascinating. Unfortunately, I loathed the music of his I did hear

that

> night, so now I'm halfway expecting to be disappointed by the

elephant

> project, which would be tragic.

> -

@@@@@@@@@@@@

Don't worry; it sounds exactly like what you'd expect from elephants

playing those instruments, no connection to the personality of the

humans involved... It's much more subtle than what you'd get from,

say, monkeys or children. Soldier's own work is just a typical mish-

mash of different strains of the avant-garde, some excellent, some

tedious, don't know much beyond a few things here and there with his

string quartet stuff to be honest... I'm pretty sure he's a " variety

pack " kinda guy...

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

[Guest guest]

Mike-

>If a

>similarity could be defended, I can say that eating the waterbug by

>itself would be comparable in intensity to eating a chunk of the

>cheese by itself.

Well, in the event I ever come across one of those bugs, I'll try it, but

I'm not especially optimistic. <g>

>Don't worry; it sounds exactly like what you'd expect from elephants

>playing those instruments, no connection to the personality of the

>humans involved...

OK, my faith is moderately restored.

>Soldier's own work is just a typical mish-

>mash of different strains of the avant-garde, some excellent, some

>tedious,

Well, what I heard (something that started out life as a recording of some

Dominican kids singing a traditional Dominican kid song, something to do

with skipping rope IIRC) was tedious in the extreme, but the idea of

elephants playing musical instruments is almost magically appealing.

-

[Guest guest]

Bravo, ! Amazing post.

Lynn S.

[Guest guest]

>reported in Gordon's widely-cited " The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook "

That's a great book, isn't it? I've been wanting to try the scorpion recipe

but we don't have them here.

[Guest guest]

@@@@@@@

> >reported in Gordon's widely-cited " The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook "

>

> That's a great book, isn't it? I've been wanting to try the

scorpion recipe

> but we don't have them here.

>

>

@@@@@@@@

Yeah, same here. I hear they have a lot meat on them. I'd like to

find out if there any good meaty spider species in the US.

I'm pretty dissatisifed with all the books out there on entomophagy

because of the emphasis on " novelty " recipes and the lack of " field

guide " and nutritional information, but overall I'd have to say

Gordon's book is the best outside of Bodenheimer's classic treatise

from 1951, sadly out-of-print. For fun travelogue-style reading and

pictures the " Man Eating Bugs " book is by far the best.

Mike

SE Pennsylvania

[Guest guest]

>@@@@@@@

> > >reported in Gordon's widely-cited " The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook "

> >

> > That's a great book, isn't it? I've been wanting to try the

>scorpion recipe

> > but we don't have them here.

> >

> >

>@@@@@@@@

>

>Yeah, same here. I hear they have a lot meat on them. I'd like to

>find out if there any good meaty spider species in the US.

>

>I'm pretty dissatisifed with all the books out there on entomophagy

>because of the emphasis on " novelty " recipes and the lack of " field

>guide " and nutritional information, but overall I'd have to say

>Gordon's book is the best outside of Bodenheimer's classic treatise

>from 1951, sadly out-of-print. For fun travelogue-style reading and

>pictures the " Man Eating Bugs " book is by far the best.

>

>Mike

>SE Pennsylvania

I also have " Entertaining With Insects " by but it's not as good as

Gordons. I just went looking for my bug books and I can't find Gordon's

right now. Don't know what I did with it but bugs are out of season right

now so I have plenty of time to find it before spring.

>