Insect delicacies of the Dai people

Insect delicacies of the Dai people

　　The Dai-inhabited regions are humid and hot, with a wide variety of insects. Using insects as ingredients to prepare various flavorful dishes and snacks is an important part of the Dai diet. Commonly consumed insects include cicadas, bamboo worms, giant spiders, water bugs, and ant eggs.

　　Cicada catching occurs in summer. Every evening, when the cicadas settle in the grass and their wings are moistened by dew and unable to fly, women quickly gather them into bamboo baskets. Back home, they are roasted in pans to make cicada paste. Cicada paste has medicinal benefits such as clearing heat, detoxifying, relieving pain, and reducing swelling.

　　The Dai people generally enjoy eating ant eggs, with a common variety being those laid by yellow ants that nest in trees. To harvest the eggs, the ants are first driven away before collecting the eggs. The ant eggs vary in size—some as big as mung beans, others as small as grains of rice—shining white and translucent. After being washed and dried, they are stir-fried with chicken eggs. They are delicious both raw and cooked. When eaten raw, they are made into a paste, while when cooked, they are coated with egg and deep-fried. Commonly used acidic fruits, bitter melon, bitter bamboo shoots, and fiery chili peppers are complemented by wild Sichuan peppercorns, coriander, garlic, and lemongrass, resulting in a pure flavor, cleanliness, and hygiene.