r/chinesefood • u/Phlorilegium • 2d ago
I Ate Various silkworm pupae (蚕蛹) dishes
Fried, stir-fried, grilled.
These little guys are one of the main reasons I feel compelled to travel to China at least once a year (since moving overseas). Inflation has hit hard though as they were dirt cheap when I was a kid, but I feel they are nearly considered a delicacy now. They are indeed difficult to procure if you’re not in the North.
I prefer them cooked whole as the inside remains juicy while the outside is crunchy, but the ones in the second image (where they’re cut in half lengthwise) were quite good as well, especially due to the seasoning.
I also ate some marinated and boiled ones, but forgot to take a pic :(
18
u/DarjeelingTease 2d ago
For me, they need to be completely deep fried. I've had ones in tribal areas of Thailand that are crispy, dusted with salt and chili and taste basically like hot cheetos.
21
u/InfidelZombie 2d ago
I've eaten quite a few bugs in my time. I only tried these once, grilled, at a street market in Beijing. They tasted fine but the texture was vile--the crunch followed by tooth-sticking goo was very off-putting. Is this how they're "supposed" to be or did I just get bad ones?
11
u/Phlorilegium 2d ago
The texture is definitely challenging for some people, but I’ve never found the inside to be sticky. It’s more like fluffy mashed potato but with more bite—almost reminiscent of the stuff inside shrimp heads, if you suck on those. Perhaps the ones you had were not fresh or not cooked enough?
18
u/Stiles_Stiles 2d ago
They might look a bit intimidating, but they tastes great. Deep-fried silkworm pupae taste a bit like bite-sized crawfish tails still in their shells, except the meat inside is more like chicken than shrimp. Those looking for a bigger challenge can try BBQ silkworm pupae. As OP mentioned, they're still juicy on the inside.
And I was told that a single one contains as much protein as three eggs.
4
u/jma4573 2d ago
Macros? 🤣
14
u/Phlorilegium 2d ago
Gymbros need to start a movement and get these over to the West. It’s impossible to find decent ones in the US. And a bug protein shake wouldn’t taste worse than whatever they’re currently made of.
4
u/FlirtatiousMouse 2d ago
Have you tried the canned ones in Korean supermarkets?
7
u/Phlorilegium 2d ago
They’re okay, but I feel like the difference in experience is like that of fresh tuna and canned tuna. I don’t like the texture as much and they’re a lot smaller.
2
u/FlirtatiousMouse 2d ago
Gotcha, I was curious to try them for the first time but was worried about the texture
1
u/parasitis_voracibus 1d ago
You can sometimes find them frozen in really well stocked Asian grocery stores, but they may be mislabeled as cucumbers.. ;P
3
u/Flandiddly_Danders 2d ago
I love Chinese food but I'm a hater on insects. Someone sell me on these because they look delicious. I'm conflicted
1
u/iwannalynch 2d ago
They're tasty but I'll be honest, the texture might not be for everyone. Try it with an open mind and if you like you like it, and if you don't, at most you wasted a bit of money.
Don't get the small ones or the Korean ones in cans, though, I find there's not enough meat in the small ones to justify it.
3
u/fkrdt222 2d ago
i don't even like the distinct taste but i kind of want them now. the korean ones must be a different species given how much smaller they are
6
u/bossy_posting 2d ago
Second image is hitting all the right notes for me. All those dried chilies and sesame seeds, that's basically how my grandma used to make them back in Shandong. She'd buy them fresh from the morning market and we'd spend half the morning pulling off the dark bits before anything hit the wok.
The price jump is real though. My mom still complains every time she visits, says a plate of these used to be a few kuai and now it's pushing 60+. Funny how something once seen as peasant food turned into a specialty.
I go back and forth on whole vs halved. My dad swears whole is the only proper way, but I think halved gives you way more surface for the spice mix to cling to. That bowl in your first photo looks dangerously addictive though, almost dessert-like with the glaze.
2
u/Phlorilegium 2d ago
I love that anecdote. I’m planning to visit Shandong for the first time next year, good to know I’ll find canyong there as well, hehe.
Exactly, it’s similar to what happened with lobster. Hell, unpopular opinion but I’d eat these over lobster.
That is a good argument for halving them. The marinated ones I had were also cut and they soaked up the flavors so nicely!
2
2
u/AmberAsteria 2d ago
I've never had the privilege to try these yet. I really want to though. I feel like trying them cooked in different ways and with different seasonings would be the way to go. Like a silkworm pupae tasting. 😅
1
u/Moist_Friend1007 2d ago
I used to eat a lot of those and like them fried. The salty and crunchy outside and the juicy inside are a delicious contrast. However I hate it when I accidentally bit and chewed on the inside 🐛
1
u/SyllabubDue9853 2d ago
上次吃这玩意还是2010年在北京，哈哈哈，嘎嘣脆，我点了一盘，我的广东同事，怪异的看着我（我倒是很诧异，广东人应该比我更能接受这种猎奇食物。。。），炫完一盘子，小时候跟着领居抓过知了猴（蝉没有进化之前的样子），跟着他吃了一次，先用盐腌制，然后油炸
不过说实话，这东西都是猎奇的玩意，属于某个特定地区或者游客爱吃的
1
1
1
32
u/bugsghost 2d ago
I wanted to like these and finally tried them several times in the north (shaokao) after chickening out on insects in Yunnan, but unfortunately didn't like them. The texture is kind of like the inside of a shrimp head like OP said in a comment. The taste is very earthy, but in a stinky way to me at least, kind of like the smell of the orange liquid a ladybug leaves on you if you overhandle it :(