1.1 Reading and comprehension

English home language

Grade 5

Jeepers creepers

Module 2

Reading and comprehension

What’s on the menu?

Read the following extracts before answering the questions.

Cambodia and Venezuela: Tarantulas

A tourist who was brave enough to eat a tarantula in Cambodia described the spiders as being “greasy but good”. According to him, the legs are crispy, and the big hairy body is a mouthful. Describing the taste, he said: “If day-old deep-fried chicken had no bones, hair instead of feathers and was the size of a newborn sparrow, it might taste like tarantula.” Traditionally they’re grilled and served as a snack.

Indonesia: Dragonflies

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populated country, is known for its great beauty. It’s also famous for exotic insect dishes, the most popular being dragonfly. Dragonflies hover over rice paddy fields, and enthusiastic hunters chase them with thin poles with nails attached at one end. The aim is to hook the nail through one of the dragonfly’s wings. They’re then threaded onto thin strips of palm, fried in coconut oil and eaten like sweets. For a more substantial meal they’re de-winged, salted and fried in coconut oil with sweet pepper and served with rice.

Irian Jaya: Sago Grubs and Stinkbugs

Irian Jaya is part of Indonesia, but residents share the island with Papua New Guinea. Sago grubs live in rotting sago palm trees. The trees are chopped down and locals reach into the hollow of the trunk to grab handfuls of the grubs, which are immediately roasted. They have a dry outer skin but are fatty on the inside, with a distinct flavour of bacon.

Another favourite in the area is stinkbugs. Children are fond of hunting them for a mid-morning snack and they’re considered a special protein treat. Older boys climb the trees where they live while children below softly call “mo, mo, mo, mo”. They say this chanting keeps the bugs still. Although they live up to their name and have a very unpleasant smell, the children happily pop them into their mouths.

China: Water Beetles and Scorpions

In southern China most restaurants prepare food in the Cantonese style, using only the freshest ingredients. The shiny black hard-shelled water beetle is a favourite and restaurants can hardly keep up with the demand for this crunchy little treat. The beetles are served marinated in ginger and soy sauce.

First the legs are broken off, then the hard outer skeleton is cracked open and the white insides are sucked out. They’re quite messy to eat but apparently are so delicious it’s worth the effort. Their white flesh has the consistency of crayfish. Scorpion, served in a variety of ways, is another Chinese delicacy. They’re even eaten live! Live scorpions are put in a bowl of water, then removed and dropped into rice wine for a few minutes. The scorpions stop struggling and go into a coma. The tail stingers and poison sacs are removed and the scorpions are eaten.

Mexico: Grasshoppers and Red Agave Worms

Grasshoppers are plentiful in all regions of Mexico. They’re easy to collect and preserve and are eaten all over the country, but are especially popular in the southern state of Oaxaca. They’re caught by dragging plastic bags along the ground, trapping them as they jump in. The insects are tossed in lemon, salt and garlic and pan-fried for a snack. One of the most popular dishes is grasshopper tacos, served with lemon, salt and avocados on a corn pancake known as a tortilla. It’s said no trip to Mexico is complete without a bottle of tequila, especially the bottles containing a caterpillar. The worms prove the tequila is genuine, because real tequila is produced only from the agave plant, the only place the caterpillars exist. What tourists don’t often experience is these red caterpillars served as dinner. Typically, they’re fried and served with small corn tortillas, fried beans, grated cheese, sour cream and avocado.