‘Creepy crawly cuisine: Would you eat bugs on holiday? I did!’

As we get older, the subject of food often comes up. Gluten, fat, dairy, meat and other culprits all come under close scrutiny especially as we deal with dietary issues. It’s hard to know where to turn. Here’s a solution.

Ever eaten any insects? Before you say “Yuck!”, they’re all the rage these days.

Crickets, grubs and grasshoppers are only a few of the delectable menu items available nowadays for the adventurous. They’re almost all protein, cost far less to raise than cows, chickens or other animals, and if properly camouflaged, can actually be quite tasty.

Strangely enough, in many cultures, bugs are a no-brainer. Throughout history, the popularity of bugs is widespread. Today, they remain a traditional food throughout many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

For example, both the Romans and the Greeks consumed insects. Aristotle knew quite a bit about cicadas, claiming that the males are better to eat at first, but after copulating with the females, the ladies taste better as they are full of white eggs. You go girl!

The Japanese often favour aquatic fly larvae sautéed in soy sauce and ginger. In Bali, they often rave about de-winged dragonflies boiled in coconut milk with ginger and garlic. Hmmm, talk about a wing and a prayer …

In Ghana, winged termites are often consumed during the spring rains, and are either fried, roasted or incorporated into bread. In South Africa, termites are utilised in cornmeal porridge.

Fire-roasted tarantulas are common in Latin America, and who hasn’t toyed with the agave worm, tempting you at the bottom of mezcal liquor in Mexico?

In fact, Americans and most European countries are a minority when it comes to their consumption of these earthly delights. Apparently, after Europe developed into an agrarian society, insects were viewed as the culprit to crops.

We’re usually conditioned against eating certain things. What child would dream of eating snails, frogs legs or uni? But as the palate matures tastes change. Maybe it’s time for you to also consider bugs.

As a travel writer, I’ve sampled cuisine from many parts of the world. Most of it would be classified as edible. Cuisine that’s deemed inedible is another story.

The first time I went for this low-hanging fruit was at a Pan-Asian restaurant that has now gone out of business. No, it wasn’t because they served bugs on the menu. They were caught selling whale meat, a big no-no in California.

Typhoon restaurant in Santa Monica featured cuisine from places like China, Korea, Thailand and many surrounding countries. It was also one of the few places in town that served grubs and bugs.

We were ushered to our seats and given the menu. There they were, right in the middle of the page. I had my first glass of wine to get me prepared.

We began with the Taiwanese crickets, which were quite tasty. They were stir-fried and included raw garlic, chilli and Asian basil.

Honestly, it was like inhaling a crop of potato chips, reminding me of having a picnic on the beach. So what if there were a few brown casings in the mix? They were crunchy, just like the rest of the dish. What’s next?

Along came the Thai-style sea worms, deep-fried on top of baby lettuce leaves, with ginger, Chile pepper, peanuts, lime, and accompanied with a tamarind dipping sauce. I love escargot, so maybe worms would be similar to snails.

This was a beautiful presentation; the little worms hardly a reason for squeamishness. The fact that they weren’t moving was a huge plus. I’ve seen a few of those Asian videos on YouTube with live creatures being eaten, and they were real page-turners.

The dish was quite hot though. If the worms weren’t already dead, that sauce would have demolished them for sure.

I was still breathing, so our next feast was the Singapore-style scorpions, which were smiling at me on top of shrimp toast. I had already visualised this one, pretending the scorpions were baby lobsters. I love lobster, and that fantasy seemed to work well, especially since I had taken another stiff sip of my cabernet before I looked closely at the little darlings.

Don’t scorpions kill people? What am I thinking? We both gingerly took a taste, and then in three bites, those little suckers were gone. No stinger, no poison, just a good fishy-like sandwich. I think my gal pal Erika might have even used one of legs as a toothpick.

We survived, and are here to tell the tale. I’d like to up the stakes next time when I have the opportunity to go for bugs.

How about some large locusts, spiders or something else from one of those lousy 1950s movies? There are some pretty hefty restrictions on some insect imports right now, so perhaps when these subside, I can have another entomological journey.

Care to join me?

Been travelling? Travel at 60 wants to publish your story. Simply sign up as a contributor and submit your stories. When your story is published, you’ll go into the draw to win some great weekly prizes. You can also join the Travel at 60 Travel Lovers Club on Facebook to talk to other travellers in the Travel at 60 community.