Fries with that? How to make a delicious desert locust meal
A plate of desert locusts ready for cooking. You can eat them alone or serve when hot with chips, rice, or ugali with some vegetables. PHOTO| PETER MUSA
What you need to know:
- If the locusts are still alive, put them in hot, salty water.
- Boil for about three to five minutes to soften body muscles and loosen the wings and the legs.
- Remove the locusts from the hot boiling water and pour them in a strainer. Wash them with cold running water.
Ashton Maungu, a chef at International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi shares a recipe for making a delicious desert locust meal.
Ingredients: desert locusts, salt, vinegar/lemon juice, paprika, white pepper, eggs, wheat flour, bread crumbs, garlic paste.
Method of cooking
If the locusts are still alive, put them in hot, salty water.
Boil for about three to five minutes to soften body muscles and loosen the wings and the legs.
Remove the locusts from the hot boiling water and pour them in a strainer. Wash them with cold running water.
One by one, pluck the wings and limbs.
Twist the heads of the insects gently and pull it to remove the internal organs.
Rinse the locusts in clean warm water, then put them on a dry cloth to allow the water to drip off.
In a small bowl, marinate the locusts by adding one tea-spoonful of garlic, salt to taste, add some few drops of white vinegar, few drops of mustard sauce, a tea-spoonful of paprika.
Dust the already marinated locusts with wheat flour.
In a different small bowl, put 1-2 eggs and mix with a folk.
Dip the locusts in the eggs; remove the locusts one by one, and coat them with bread crumbs to make them crunchy.
Deep-fry your crumb-coated locusts until golden brown for about three to five minutes.
Remove the readily cooked locusts and spread them on a grease-proof paper to remove excess oil.
You can serve them hot with chips, rice, or ugali with vegetables.
