Preparation
The Japanese way of cooking insects is tsukudani which is a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, sake (rice wine), and mirin (a kind of cooking sake), and sometimes a bit of ginger. The ingredients are mixed in a cooking pot (ratios to one's own liking), and the insects are added and left to simmer. When all liquid is gone, the tsukudani preparation is done and the insects are ready to eat.
Species and Products
INAGO, rice grasshoppers (Oxya spp.)
Inago means rice grasshopper in Japanese.
Inago means rice grasshopper in Japanese.
HACHINOKO, larvae and pupae of yellow jacket wasps (Vespula spp.)
Ironically though, the favored ones are black- and white-colored yellow jackets, not yellow. In some places also known as hebo, which means in local dialect weak. This is directly related to the semi-cultivation of the wasps: they are not as aggressive as other Japanese wasps.
Ironically though, the favored ones are black- and white-colored yellow jackets, not yellow. In some places also known as hebo, which means in local dialect weak. This is directly related to the semi-cultivation of the wasps: they are not as aggressive as other Japanese wasps.
KAIKO, silkworm pupae (Bombyx mori)
Pupae of the domesticated silk moth. A by-product of silk production.
Pupae of the domesticated silk moth. A by-product of silk production.