Insect Ramen: the New Food Trend

Usually, insects and bugs are not our favorite companions. Not anymore in Japan. Tokyo restaurants are turning their attention to edible insects. Fancy some insect-laden ramen?

As the world population expands, the food problem will become increasingly severe, so we need to develop a different approach to what we eat. Japanese people are already one step forward in the choice of their dishes. A well-know restaurant called Ramen Nagi put bugs on its menu on April 9th, combining them with the traditional recipe of ramen. The result: a huge queue in front of the venue and 100 bowls of insect tsukemen sold out in just four hours.

While insects are eaten and known for their good protein source in different countries such as China, Thailand and in some Australian indigenous tribes, the Japanese trend dish hasn’t yet fully arrived in western nations. A customer at Ramen Nagi described the taste of the insect dish similar to "deep fried shrimp", which doesn’t sound bad at all. Considering the limited space that the little creatures need to grow, the small environmental footprint they cause and the amount of proteins they provide, we might soon fill our Instagram feed with pictures of this Japanese insect delicacy.

Source: Tree Hugger. Image: The Straits Times