April, around Songkran, is a good season to pick up ant eggs.
At this time, when visiting the Dai family of Menglian (Menglian Dai Lahu Wa Autonomous County), the locals like to serve a special dish to entertain guests - sour ant eggs.
This dish is a major spectacle of Yunnan insect cuisine, and it is a "dark dish" in the eyes of many outsiders. But for the Dai family, this is a traditional dish, which is not only delicious, but also rich in high protein and amino acids, with high nutritional value.
The sour ant is not very large, yellow, and the egg is a little larger than a grain of rice, much like a bee pupa.
The Dai are recognized as experts at picking ants, and an iron rod and a hoe are basically all their tools. Looking for ant nests, generally choose a large field with a slope, poke the ground with an iron rod while walking, observe the growth state of plants, such as a piece of grass that is very brightly colored, or suddenly grow a certain Chinese herbal medicine, which is the characteristic of ant egg hiding.
The Dai family believes that the most advanced ant eggs, eaten raw and sweet, have an aroma of almonds and walnuts.
Ant eggs are usually eaten raw, or made into a cold dish, such as shredded lettuce, pickled vegetable water, millet pepper, and chopped coriander, which is a refreshing side dish.
The rest of the recipe is ant egg stew, which is known by the locals as "two eggs and one star". Add lard, salt to the ant eggs, stir in the eggs, sprinkle with green onions and steam.
In addition, Dehong's famous snack "over-hand rice noodles" is often eaten with ant eggs.
Of course, sour ant eggs are not eaten all year round, and it is not an easy task to take sour ant eggs. According to the Dai family, in the spring, the acid ants will begin to lay eggs, and after the Songkran Festival, the rain will not give birth.
How, as a Yunnan native, have you ever tasted ant eggs?
(Image from the Internet)