Termites - A Good Source of Protein

When Mama Ji (my adopted mom) told me she wanted to go catch termites, I had to ask her 3 times to make sure I was listening correctly.  "What? Did you say termites? What do you want to do with them??!"  And she said, "To eat them! They are a good source of protein." - Of course, why didn't I think of that.  

When she asked if I liked termites, my response was, "I don't eat insects."  But I ended up trying one anyways.  Thankfully it was dark, I stuck one in my mouth and chewed and swallowed.  It tasted like those small Chinese dried shrimps - crunchy and salty.  Later I had a better look at it and they were about 1.5cm with legs and everything.  Ewwwwww.  She was going to send me home with a bowl of them.  O_o 

It was fun helping them catch the termites.  Termites are attracted to light, so they were standing under the light, and swatting them with a piece of cloth and then throwing them into this bowl of water.  Once their wings touched water, they couldn't fly anymore.  I didn't even know termites had wings, but google confirmed it.  "Yes, termites do fly at certain stages of their life. They can be seen "swarming" usually in the spring. You can see their wings before they are shed in a later stage ..." (Wiki.answers.com). 

In the village, they don't have fluorescent lights, so they would go to the termite hill, create a hole close to it, and hold a fire over it.  Then they would sing songs to invite the termites out of the hill.  Well, the singing was more of a tradition, it was more the rain that would cause the termites to come out.   

Anyhow, Mama Ji would keep the termites in the water overnight, then dry them out on a pan, and later dry cook them over a fire with some salt.   

There you have it...a good source of protein in case you're ever in need!   

Pictures:

• Cooked termites (dry cooked with salt)
• Catching termites
• Termites can't fly when wings are wet