Some foods are against my usual diet simply because they are as far from kosher as any food might get. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to try them on this once in a lifetime trip to South Korea. And that is why when on my trip to a Buddhist temple I happened to stumble upon cooking silk worms... well I had to give those a try.
And I am very glad I did. They tasted like shrimp (also not Kosher, but who is counting right?) with a slight hint of almonds. The texture was a little of a shock since they weren't overly chewy or crunchy. And the "goo" inside, to me anyhow, was where the majority of the flavor came from. The broth or sauce that they had been cooking in was not very flavorful or at the very least didn't overpower the flavors of the protein itself.
Having never had this type of food I do have to admit that my western mind took a moment to grasp that these little bugs were normal cuisine to the town people of Yeongneung. But after watching several locals pick the stall at which I ate I decided to give it a go.
I'm not sure yet if their are other bugs out there that Koreans find appetizing but my appetite for these little morsels has been spiked. It has always been fascinated to me what different cultures find to eat in the parts of the world G-d has placed them. And this to me is a gateway into the culture of resilience that has flourished in Korea and its people for centuries.
So as my role-model says... "If it looks good, eat it!"
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