兩週一聚 (三十三期), 旅遊南非洲 (二): 完美的一餐「油泡白蟻」 / 2weeks1gather (#33), Travel to South Africa (2):「A Perfect Meal - Deep Fried Termites」

「山珍海錯」系列之「油泡白蟻」 / My List of Exotic Foods - Deep Fried Termites

在南非森林旅遊露營,有問Safari探險導遊,如在荒野迷失路途,手無寸鉄,怎能獵食生存?答曰:『非洲叢林,白蟻種類繁多,肥大美味,營養豐富,油泡後如吃爆穀,粒粒鬆脆。』言後導遊指示營厨,在附近白蟻山巢左翻右挑,精選百隻生猛蟻兒,放入油鑊鮮炸,未幾灶君禮成,山珍上碟,導遊食指大動,与營厨佳餚美酒,大快朵頤,微豆亦不甘後人,力為唐人面子爭光,嚼咬一口子油泡白蟻,其他/她歐美遊客見狀面面相覤,不知如何是好,有拒而不受,面露尷尬者,有小心翼翼,畧試少嚐者。其實南非白蟻,類似香港龍虱,觀之皆屬天然食品,昆蟲疍白質豐,迷途旅客於非常時期,可用以充飢偷生,故予在此將「油泡白蟻」標籤歸錄,存入「山珍海錯」網誌系列,行善救人,奇文共賞,一石二鳥,亦無不可。

During my trip to South Africa, I asked my Safari guide what a lost, unarmed tourist could do to sustain life in the bush. He replied without thinking: "You can eat deep-fried termites. There are lots of them big and juicy ants in the bush and they taste crunchy like popcorn." He then asked the camp cook to find a termite mound near by and dig up about a hundred of the fattest and most juicy ones he could find. The creepy crawlers were deep-fried live and upon their demise, were served up like popcorn on a plate. The bush guide and camp cook then whipped out a bottle of cheap wine and proceeded to dine eagerly on the exotic dish of insects. Being the lone representative of the Tang people in the tour group, I grabbed a handful of the crunchy termites and stuffed them in my mouth. However, my fellow American and European travellers were less enthusiastic. Some politely declined the offer while a few picked at the plate and gingerly tasted one or two of the critters. The yuck factor aside, there is no difference btwn eating termites from South Africa and water beetles from Hong Kong, both being wild insects high with naturally occurring protein. By posting this article on my blog under the tag "exotic foods", I am hoping that the indigenous knowledge might some day save the life of a hopelessly lost tourist in the African bush.

Related Articles:
* 旅遊南非洲: (一) 首章 / Travel to South Africa: (1) Introduction http://lotusandcedar.blogspot.com/2009/12/travel-to-south-africa-1-introduction.html
* 出題者 "Just Little Something": "... 很喜歡吃，而且覺得和誰吃好東西很重要，所以此這一題主要是「吃什麼」，和「跟誰吃」。吃什麼可以寫詳細的三至五道菜，可以mix and match中西日法越印(甚至快餐、街頭小吃)而成，也可獨沽一味，總之是愛吃的。跟誰吃也很重要，人物古今中外、虛構(動漫人物)的也可。可以談內容也可不講。..."
* 兩週一聚第三十三期: 完美的一餐(食物/人物) ，開餐了 !!!