locusts
Inago no Tsukudani (Locusts Simmered in Soy Sauce and Mirin)
By Chef Kuniaki “Kuni” Yoshizawa from Wokuni, Tokyo
Chef Yoshizawa doesn’t serve any insects at Wokuni, the Japanese seafood chain from the powerhouse restaurant operator Tokyo Ichiban Foods, which also has a location in New York. But one of his formative cooking experiences is bug-centric: learning how to make inago no tsukudani, or locusts in tsukudani, a mixture of soy sauce and mirin. “It’s my childhood memory dish,” he says. When Yoshizawa was growing up in Tokyo, one of his neighbors invited him to visit his hometown, in a rural area of northeastern Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture. It was there that Yoshizawa learned to make this traditional dish. “We had to catch [the locusts] alive; while we were cooking, they would run away from the kitchen,” he recalls. “As a kid, it was a very sensational, memorable and shocking experience.” The sweet and salty locusts are typically served as a snack, with a “crunchy and crispy” texture and flavor that recall a chewier version of shrimp heads.
Serves 4
1 pound locusts
7 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cups sake
2 cups sugar
1 cup mirin
1. Boil the insects for 1 minute and drain in cold water.
2. Tear off the legs, which are tough and hard to chew.
3. Put locusts in a deep pan or wok and stir-fry them, around 10 minutes, or until all moisture is gone.
4. Pour in soy sauce, sake and sugar, mix well, and simmer for 2 hours, or until all moisture is gone and the locusts are candied.
5. Reduce until insects are dry, then add mirin and stir well to keep it from burning.
6. Turn off heat and serve in a bowl.
Edible Insect Gift Bag
Insect gift bag includes samples of:
- BBQ Crickets
- Honey Mustard Crickets
- Curry Crickets
- Hot Mealworms
- BBQ Mealworms
- Sea Salt & Pepper Mealworms
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