16 June 2009

The Beetles


Where are we? What are we doing here?

I was walking down Asuncion and, beside the jackfruit vendors, spotted moving nuggets, which turned out to be salagubang or scarab beetles.


Two plastic baskets filled with crunchy crawlies.


They eat leaves.

The lady selling seemed almost like a circus trainer, making the insects crawl up her arm and replacing them on the surface of her container, putting a few back into the bed of banana leaves. She said they were harvested in Batangas, where they are abundant in agricultural areas.


Bling bling.

"Adobo, with vinegar, soy sauce and garlic, or just gisa (sauteed)", the lady answered in Tagalog, when asked how they are prepared. Personally, I'd like to see meat-eaters begin to consume more of these non-industrial, harvested sort of things.

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