To many palates, raw fish is a big ol’ nasty no-no.
But buried in sriracha, cream cheese, teriyaki sauce, and panko flakes? Even
the pickiest eaters can be persuaded.
Maybe it’s time we applied the same logic to bugs.
That’s what Texas sushi chef Peter Yung is thinking, anyway. At Austin’s How Do
You Roll, the co-founder and executive chef partnered with edible insect
company World Ento to create a new kind of sushi filled and topped with two
kinds of crunchy creepy crawlies. A “Spicy Insectopia Roll,” he calls it, and
it’s made by dressing a whole bunch of crickets in sesame oil and teriyaki,
setting them atop a bed of rice, seaweed, cucumber, and jalapeño, rolling them
into sushi form, topping the rice with marinated mealworms, and then drizzling
the whole mess in enough sauce so that the insects are nearly unrecognizable.
You know, until they wriggle. (Totally kidding.)
According to Prevention Magazine, mealworms in particular
carry significant health and eco-benefits, such as containing 50% protein and
omega-3 fatty acids, and only requiring 1/1000th of the amount of water needed
to raise cows.
If that isn’t enough to sway you to the buggy side,
Prevention writer Mandy Oaklander claims the roll was not at all slimy and
actually retained a nice, sweet crunch.