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A feast of strange insects
In the beautiful "flower waist Dai town" Mosha town has its own unique cuisine, and there is a kind of food, want to eat it, not only to the timing, but also need to have great courage, today we will take you together to see this food that people love and fear - "insect feast".
In the food culture of the Chinese nation, the history of eating insects can be traced back to more than 3,000 years ago, and there is a record of cicadas as a dish in the Northern Wei "Qi Min Zhi Shu"; in the "Zhou Li Tianguan" contains the folk processing insects into food into sauce for the Zhou Dynasty emperors to sacrifice and eat; the "Book of Rites" has records of the emperors and nobles before the Qin and Han Dynasties using cicadas and bees to make delicacies, and Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" in the Ming Dynasty recorded a total of 76 kinds of edible and medicinal insects. And edible insects continue to this day, different customs and habits have been formed in various places, Xinping County Mosha Town because it is located in the eastern foothills of Ailao Mountain, the middle and upper reaches of the Red River, the climate is warm and humid, the vegetation is luxuriant, the insect resources are very rich, fried insects, fried know-it, ant eggs, water centipedes, etc. These are rare delicacies on the Dai family's table.
In Mosha, a flower-waist Dai settlement, there is a saying: "One move is meat, and one green is vegetable." "Here, people seem strange and even some crazy insects, most of which can be transformed into a delicious meal on the table." Some are said to be good for health, while others have a good taste.
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Fried lychee bugs
Lychee bugs, also known as "stinky farts", grow on lychee trees, take them and use boiling water to boil, de-wing and fry, and their taste is crispy and delicious. Lychee bug contains fat, protein and chitin, fat contains stearic acid, palmitic acid and oleic acid, its discharge of urine odor originates from aldehydes and ketones, lychee bug in traditional Chinese medicine, rational qi pain relief, warm aphrodisiac effect, can cure pain and stuffiness, spleen and kidney deficiency, waist and knee pain, etc., its dietary health care effect is the same as salty.
Regarding "Lychee Spring", Dai Xiang has such an allusion, saying that this "Lychee Spring" is changed by a woman who has done bad things, and because she is unfaithful and filial piety and cheats on her husband, she has become a nasty stink bug on the lychee tree. And the Dai family eating stink bugs is to warn people, don't forget loyalty and love.
Fried knows
In the desert sand, in midsummer, the chirping cicadas (knowing) are constantly heard. At this time, people will search under the tree according to their calls and capture them with a mesh cover. After returning from the harvest, the wings and feet will be removed one by one at home, and then boiling water will be used to pour the good knowledge into the oil pot, with the crisp "howl" sound in the pot emits a rich aroma, and when it is fried until golden brown, it can come out of the pot. The fried oil is shiny and shiny, and then it can be plated with paprika or other seasonings.
Eat fried to know, see more than chopsticks. It is really difficult to look at its unassuming appearance, but it cannot resist the unknown temptation, clip one into the mouth, after chewing, the lips and teeth are fragrant, after which the chopsticks will unnaturally reach into the plate to feast.
Known as the cicada insect black grasshopper, into traditional Chinese medicine and ethnic medicine, has the effect of clearing heat, often used to treat children's wind, night crying, etc., after eating has an excellent calming effect.
Fried bamboo worms
Bamboo worms as the name suggests is a worm that grows in bamboo, about 2 cm long, conical at both ends, the body is milky white, rich in protein, fat, calcium, phosphorus, iron, etc., after frying, crisp and refreshing, dry and fragrant, with the best wine.
Flower waist Dai people regard bamboo insects as a delicacy and are often used to treat guests.
Ant egg leek soup
Ant eggs are actually the eggs of ants, which are rich in formic acid, protein and a variety of vitamins, etc., which can cure rheumatic pain, hypertension and other diseases, and is a medicinal diet. Locals used to sauté the salt and boil it in oil and water, pour in the leeks and cook slightly, then add the ant eggs and cook until boiling for about 10 minutes. The soup is luscious and sweet, extremely appetizing.
Speaking of this dish, There is such a story in Mosha Town. Legend has it that one day in the middle of summer, when an old man went to work in the field, he suddenly felt dizzy and dizzy. The old man casually picked up an ant nest from the side and went home to cook leeks, and after eating it, he felt comfortable, and the feeling of fatigue and discomfort disappeared. Since then, ant eggs boiled leeks have been born.
Ant eggs are not just eaten. It is understood that ant eggs can be made with Shinpei pickles, chili noodles, mint, green onions, etc. to make cold dishes, and can also be accompanied by green thorn sauerkraut to make a unique flavor dish. Among them, the yellow ant egg with green thorn tip is not only a mountain treasure, but also a local ethnic hospitality.
Let's take a look at the other delicacies at the insect feast
Insect feast to eat or crisp and refreshing, or delicious and sweet, insect feast is relatively simple, but catching insects is not so easy, such as catching lychee bugs, catching bee pupae, catching ant eggs, these need skills, if you are not careful, you may be stung by bees, ants, burned by the urine of lychee bugs, if splashed into the eyes of the serious can cause blindness, so it is not easy to prepare a table of insect feasts, and things are rare and expensive, sometimes even if you walk through the mountains, you may not necessarily find a hive or a nest of ants, Catching insects takes a lot of effort, so the Dai family prepares a table of insect feasts for you, which is both their intention and our luck, we may as well pluck up the courage to taste this delicious, healthy and full of love dai food, maybe you will love it once you taste it!