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I haven’t heard any sound from cicada in Edison, but it is said in the Princeton township 30 miles to the west, cicada is taking over the neighborhood. They climb on every branch and sing all day long and shed their skins everywhere. There’s a very interesting article about New Jersey cicada on nj.com news here.
It reminds me of the days when I grew up. There are no cicada to speak of when we lived right next to the Mongolian steppe. My father is a Mongolian and he and I would have preferred to stay in the north, but my mother preferred the south.
So we moved south where cicada comes out every summer and sing their never ending songs. The Asian version of cicada comes out every year. Each year, we had this loud summer–as loud as having firecrackers to ward off the spirits during the lunar new year festival. After a while, one gets used to their presence.
And I have to say fried cicada is one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. Usually only the big ones are fried and the little ones are spared. The ones as big as a thumb were fried and salted, sold by farmers’ children in the market. It seemed that the local farmers were not interested in this and it was a little business left to farmers’ teenager children. They would not only sell cicada, but also other insects too, but cicada is the most delicious of all since it has a firmer and more substantial body.
Nowadays, I feel a little creepy about eating insects and would not venture to taste a cicada even if it is thrust upon me. I guess people change through the years.
I’ve never seen one before. There are a lot of ‘weird’ dishes around the world. We eat termines in Kenya.
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Wow, is termite tasty? Cultures are so much fun.
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They are, but only if insects don’t creep you out.😂
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Wow, thank you. I am sure they are delicious. And nutritious too.
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I remembered seeing fried cicada in China. Back then I was a vegetarian. so I never touched it. Now? I don’t know. Maybe I will try it once. I did eat a cockroach in Thailand, although I would never do it again.
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I heard that in Thailand there are all kinds of insects to eat. LOL. I would mind when I grew up, but now I’ve become more cautious. LOL. Humans have this pathological fear of insects. LOL. I don’t know why?
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They look disgusting, for one thing. They also do tend to hang out in areas of great filth (manure piles, dead bodies). But a lot of this also has to do with how one grows up. People in Thailand eat bugs because they are used to it like people in Europe and American eating cheese.
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LOL. You make me laugh. That’s so funny. Yes, be very careful about what you eat when you are abroad. After staying in America for so long, your body’s natural immune system is reduced since the general environment here is more hygiene conscious.
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Eating cicada can only happen on Survivor TV Show! Thanks for sharing you make cicada look like caviar!😊
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LOL. I’ve never watched survivor shows, but I can just imagine. LOL.
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Check an episode out (https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/) to see what it’s about. I don’t think I’ll do any of such for a million dollar! 😊
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LOL. That’s wild. I don’t know how much self harm I am willing to tolerate for certain amount of money. LOL.
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Right?
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I would have to be really hungry to eat one although it might be healthier than much of my diet!
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LOL. Sometimes I wonder how people could develop such an insect eating habit. I just imagined that it is because of locust. When the locusts came and ate all the crops–famines arrived and people had nothing to eat and locust was the only thing available.
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It sounds interesting. I would try it, maybe. Thanks for sharing this story.
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LOL. You are such a food adventurer. Love your pioneer spirit. Now I have reversed to a non-insect eating state of mind. LOL. I used to love those stuff.
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🤢
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LOL.
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I don’t like insects, let alone eating them
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Me neither. Now I think of them, I feel a little creepy. LOL. I guess I have changed over the years.
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