Thursday, March 27, 2008

There was this aroma coming from the kitchen

So I went to check what the staff at the training center was cooking. It smelled really good. But it didn't look so good. It was termites. Lots and lots of them.




Turns out that the dorm kids had been working hard to catch and fry 'em. Bitok (our training center manager) showed me how scrumptious they are.

Nope. I didn't try some. I've had termites before. Fresh. When I was a kid. And yes, I even had fried grubs when I lived in Taiwan. Just to say I've had 'em. I don't need to eat them again.

Even if my neighbors promise me that they're very, very tasty.

7 comments:

  1. mmm... looks even better than cho tofu! :)

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  2. OK I was trying to work with you yesterday, but this might be to much for me!

    Those are pictures that I looked at very quickly!

    Have a great day!
    Jen

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  3. Jenny, Yip, this is nothing like iced tea vs hot tea... :) I could always catch some and FedEx them to the US. OK, I won't.

    Angela, I still think I'd rather eat fried termites than steamed, fermented tofu. If I think hard enough about it, I'll start gagging right here!

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  4. OK, there are some things the Lord has not called us to eat. I never did get the value of those "locusts and wild honey" either. I'd add a plateful of fried chicken feet to this list!

    BTW--there's a Chinese dish they call "Buddhist Delight" with sauteed tofu and chinese veggies in garlic sauce that is awesome! So tofu has some merit. It's also in hot & sour soup.

    And finally, Japanese preference for soy products vs meat in their diets have been linked in research to significantly lower levels of breast cancer and the absence of menopausal symptoms in Japanese women who eat a Japanese-style diet. All bets are off when they go Western-style though.

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  5. Annamaria,
    I'm actually a huge fan of tofu. In Taiwan and in the US, I cook with it all the time. But "cho tofu"/fermented tofu is tofu that is literally put in rotten vegetable water and "matured" for weeks. (Or they add chemicals to speed up the process, then it takes just days.)

    The stuff smells like a rotten drain. For real. But it's a delicacy in Taiwan. I was forced to eat it once, on stage, as part of a contest. I almost threw up in front of an audience of 5,000. And have gagged ever since whenever I smell the stuff.

    Give me regular tofu anytime!

    :)

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  6. Adele,
    I left you a reply in my comments but wasn't for sure if you went back to read comments. Then I was going to email you but I didn't see an email address. Anyway here is what I wrote you...

    Adele,
    That is funny I didn't even think of that this morning! The name of the blog comes from the book of Joshua. The Priest having to stick their feet in the water before they would part. They didn't know it would happen they just had to have the faith to do it. I sometimes feel like I am standing at the edge, dipping my toe in it, saying ok now part the water!

    Have a great weekend too!
    Jen

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