Asian exotic cuisine, true taste of exotic insects

What to try in Asia? Believe it or not, the exotic cuisine of Asian countries made of insects or other living organisms that are terrible for us is not so scary in taste, although it is not pleasant to look at. We will tell you what exotic cuisine really tastes like from our own experience. We dedicate this article to all the insects that were used as an experiment and taste sensations in a new topic for us - Asian cuisine. To be honest, I always wanted to try exotic cuisine with diverse exotic dishes.

Is exotic insect cuisine stepping on the feet of traditional cuisine or what to try in Asia?

For starters, it is worth noting, after reading many magazines and articles about the exotic cuisine of Thailand and other countries, cooking beetles, insects or other proteinaceous organisms, we learned about the evidence from academic studies that the diet of a person using exotic kitchen insects, fuller than those who eat meat or fish.

Moreover, it is said that, unlike animals or plants, insects were not fed with chemistry, geno-modified additives, it follows that such food is much safer for humans, don't you think so? We think it's time to abandon the stereotype of eating only the food we are used to. By the way, mushrooms growing in the forest can also be attributed to exotic cuisine; in the Middle Ages they said the same thing as they say about insect cuisine now.

There are already many people in the world who have included insects from exotic Asian cuisine in their usual diet. Moreover, according to statistics, many begin to use exotic cuisine after visiting Asian countries. So we are on a trip to Thailand, having spent about two months here, thinking about new tastes, which many people are already talking about in the world.

In almost 100 countries Asia, Latin America, Africa the locals know a variety of dishes from more than 1,500 species of variegated edible animals. Most often, ants, bees, wasps, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, butterflies, and moths are eaten in exotic cuisine.

Those who have traveled to Europe and America have probably already met establishments where delicacies from exotic cuisine insects are considered a fashionable and very popular trend in the world of tastes of various world cuisines. For example, our friends from Germany were in restaurants where dishes of all kinds of insects are served with spices and white wine, earthworm cutlets, pizzas with larvae.

In the USA, for example, dinners of exotic insects are always arranged for visitors to fashionable establishments, and in Australia, “honey ants”, slightly fried on a fire, are in great demand. Desserts in the form of ice cream made from flour worms and rum, dragonflies in coconut oil, but a delicious beetle - darkling beetle can be tasted despite all the stereotypes of sushi and rice in Japan.

From all this, we can say that exotic cuisine and insects are really gaining momentum not only in the countries of Asia with their unique Asian cuisine, but also around the world.

In one of the articles of a well-known world magazine in Thailand, we read that, according to the forecasts of futurologists (those who predict the future), in 17-20 years the food crisis will become a global problem for mankind and force all mankind to move to a new level of food intake - this is genetically - modified food and protein food from insects, which are already found in the exotic cuisine of the world more and more.

Therefore, while traveling in Thailand, we tried local preparations from insects, let's say one thing, the food is really exotic, we have not seen such tastes. Having decided to plunge into the question of exotic cuisine, we began to look for a variety of recipes, learned new tastes of this cuisine, mastered the preparation of exotic cuisine. Therefore, if you have questions about exotic cuisine, ask!

What does exotic cuisine taste like and how did we choose insects in the market in Thailand?

Traveling to different countries of the world, we always try the cuisine of the country in which we are. Traveling around Thailand, we learned exotic Asian cuisine, to be honest, the desire to try insects arose for a long time, but they did not come in such a huge amount as in Thailand.

What to try in Asia Walking through the Patong night market, we constantly looked there, at first we went as if on an excursion, but each time more and more there was a desire to taste the exotic cuisine of Thailand. So, having made up our minds, we saw a table with more than ten species of insects, a deep fryer and a Thai seller, wary of the Russians.

The look of the Thai told us: "All the same, you will not eat this rubbish, what are you spinning about!", We especially liked the inscription"Don't take pictures if you don't buy!”. The cost per 100 grams varied from 80 baht, which is about 90 rubles for our Russian money. You can find out about the cost of food in Thailand by reading our article on prices in Pattaya.

From everything presented in the window, to the surprise of the seller, we bought frogs, several species of larvae, locusts, grasshoppers and two species of tropical cockroaches, in general, bought almost all Asian exotic cuisine.

Frogs they tasted like small anchovies with tender meat, which can be eaten with bones, the larvae, despite their small size, turned out to be very satisfying and had a lot of protein - ate a handful, and was full almost all day!

LocustIt crunches very attractively and resembles chips, but before eating, do not forget to break off the hind legs so that the sharp thorns do not stick into the gum. They taste very much like scalded with salted boiling water. Baikal bormysh... Grasshoppers tasted the same exotic dish as locusts, only smaller in size and you can chew without fear of hurting your gums.

Cockroacheshave a hard shell, and their insides are like fatty butter - their rating turned out to be the lowest, so they are the only ones from the whole flock of purchased exotic cuisine left not eaten. My gastronomic addictions did not find support among friends and acquaintances at that moment, so I had to try everything alone, the author of the travel-picture.ru blog.

Food in Thailand, what to eat ⇒

Every time I visited this market, for some reason my addictions remained true to frogs, grasshoppers and larvae. The seller soon began to recognize me and, with a smile on his face, was selling me Asian exotic cuisine, saying in Russian: "Come again!"

Frogs in traditional exotic Chinese cuisine wildly popular, having visited Thailand, we were convinced of this. Here they are prepared in all sorts of ways: they make soups, make hot dishes, bake them on the grill, breaded, serve with sauces.

Having tasted frog thighs, I became a lover of frogs and exotic cuisine for life, whoever tried it will understand. In general, the meat resembles tender chicken or tender fish meat; frog meat does not have a specific smell. One Chinese man once told me: "There is no inedible food in nature - there are bad cooks", I completely agree with him!

A completely different exotic cuisine - the traditional Haggis dish

First Haggis — traditional scottish dish, and not diapers as you thought, from mutton giblets I tried in France, I don't know if it should be attributed to exotic cuisine, but for me the taste was exotic and amazing.

Haggis boil from giblets in the stomach of the same animal with onions, millet, spices, and lard, we tried all this in one of the expensive restaurants in France in Lyon.Always being in a new country, you are tempted to choose something not original and exotic in the cuisine of the world.

Contrary to all expectations, Haggis was brought to us in a typical modern form: like a cone-shaped pudding of turnips and potatoes on which baked giblets mixed with millet and onions with spices and poured with meat sauce were laid on top. But most importantly: one malt whiskey is recommended for Haggis, this combination of exotic cuisine seemed to me the most ideal.

The taste of Haggis is peculiar and not always bright, and whiskey perfectly complements it and, moreover, facilitates its digestion.

Interesting facts about the exotic cuisine of the world

• Until the mid-1980s, all insects known to us in Thailand were used in food only in the form of spices. But after a massive invasion of locusts on the crop, farmers from hunger began to catch, fry and eat it.
• Up to 15 cm in height, disturbed larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei can jump out of the cheese, which participates in the creation of the amazing-tasting Sardinian cheese Casu marzu.
• Since the third century BC, snakes are mentioned as a delicacy in Chinese manuscripts, exotic cuisine is much older than we thought.
• In Chinese cuisine, well-known reptiles are already filling more than 70 Chinese exotic dishes.
• Large spiders - tarantulas, which are eaten in Venezuela, simply baked on coals, reach almost 30 centimeters wide.

Exotic insect salad recipe

Of course, having lived for six months in Thailand, you can taste not only exotic cuisine, but also a variety of exotic dishes, including exotic insect salads. I decided to reveal the recipe for one such salad to you:

Ingredients of exotic insect salad:

• Lettuce leaves - 1 bunch
• Walnuts - 12 pieces
• Raisins - 3 tablespoons
• Locusts - 30 pieces

To prepare a sauce for an exotic insect salad, we need:

• Liquid honey - 3 tablespoons
• Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
• Cream - 3 tablespoons
• Add pepper and salt to taste

In a bowl, mix lemon juice and honey, add cream, salt and pepper, mix well. We wash and dry the lettuce leaves. Put it in a bowl. Top with crickets and pour over the sauce. Add raisins and walnuts. Serving exotic insect salad with good champagne.

Exotic cuisine - it is a window into the world of a person unknown to taste. What to try in Asia? On your own fear, you can taste, or you can continue to be afraid of worms and larvae, spiders. Yes, at first, insects are disgusting, but gradually everything begins to be perceived as commonplace and there is an interest in Asian or other exotic cuisine of the world.

Many people write that such exotic cuisine can be poisoned, probably everyone has their own stomach, but I liked everything, gave strength and spirit to further learn new things while traveling the world and write about my impressions on my favorite blog travel-picture.ru. Subscribe and ask questions, I will be happy to answer! Well, I will be grateful for a click on social networks.
As a bonus, we post a section about interesting places where to go to China will be correct and profitable.