Deep-fried Bay Nui leafhopper – a very strange specialty in An Giang

If you travel to An Giang in the rainy season (May – November), you will enjoy a specialty dish of deep-fried Bay Nui leafhoppers in pubs.

Aphids is a type of beetle, most commonly found in Bay Nui, in two districts of Tinh Bien, Tri Ton (An Giang) and the southwestern border region. Aphids reproduce in large numbers at the beginning of the rainy season and last for about a month. This time is usually from April to May of the lunar calendar, depending on whether the year rains sooner or later. In the past, leafhoppers were considered harmful insects for farmers because they often bite young shoots, especially in mango, mulberry, and cashew trees… But recently, people in the border areas have discovered it. how to fry aphids, turn this insect a delicious and nutritious dish. Since then, many people have sought to hunt to process aphids into a unique delicacy, notably the deep-fried mealybugs. The beetle has a beetle-like shape, the size of a thumb, brown cockroach wings, short body, wings, very hard head and legs, but soft and round body. The sage beetle is dry, does not bite like some other insects. The people of this country consider this a “unique” dish, only eating for 1-2 months a year. Therefore, new beetles become a specialty. The way to catch leafhoppers during the day is to pick up cow dung, dry buffalo dung and burn it for smoke to rise to the sky. After a while, the beetles smelled the smell and just flew away, dancing in the smoke. People kept holding brooms to beat the bugs to the ground and then put them in baskets. Hunting beetles at night is simpler and more gentle. The catcher just needs to hang a bright lantern right under the mango tree, where there are beetles gathering on the tree. Just a few minutes later, the light-loving beetles were flying and falling on the ground. The Bay Nui leafhopper is larger than a thumb with a characteristic shape of the beetle, so it looks “difficult to swallow”. However, when they have passed through the hands of the housewives in the mountains, they seem to have completely molted. In the past, beetles were considered the food of the poor. But today, this insect has become a specialty, becoming a favorite dish not to be missed in restaurants and pubs. Just like how to process rice crickets, nymphs or scorpions, hoppers only need to be cleaned by removing wings, legs and gutting, then rinsing with warm water mixed with salt. Then, the cook marinated the beetles with sugar, MSG, pepper, and garlic for about 20 minutes, then caught the pan to fry until crispy. The food stalls and restaurants will have a beautiful presentation, while the dishes of the people in the countryside are simple and rudimentary, but the taste is also crispy, fragrant, fatty, and not inferior. People who know how to make aphids when removing their intestines will not squeeze all their eggs, because the eggs are very delicious and fatty, once eaten, they will remember forever. Crispy fried beetle can be served with raw vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers and salt and pepper with lemon. Just like eating fried scorpions, people who eat aphids for the first time often feel scared because the animal is ugly and the color is not fresh and attractive. The eater just needs to put it in his mouth to bite, the taste will immediately spread, the fat of the meat penetrates into each tooth root, not mixed with any other flavor. Photo: IT. Invite readers to watch the video “Smoked land – Strange dishes of Vinh Phuc people”. Source: VTV3.