Stir-fried fragrant worms of the Miao people

Stir-fried fragrant worms of the Miao people

　　The Miao people live among towering mountains and hills, beside streams and ponds. These natural habitats are home to a variety of insects. They select a small portion of these as food, such as the larvae of large hornets, flower-legged hornets, seven-mile hornets, and millet hornets. Whenever they discover colonies of these wasps, they track them down through various methods to locate their nests. Based on experience, they determine when the larvae are plump, then dig out the nests and harvest the worms. These can be stir-fried fresh, made into soup, or dried and roasted, resulting in an exceptionally delicious flavor. Another option includes the larvae of longhorn beetles and dragonflies. The larvae of longhorn beetles are wood-borers, including those that infest pine, oak, chestnut, and kudzu vines. Their preparation methods are similar to the aforementioned.