by: John Rodriguez
Pinocchio’s dear friend Jiminy Cricket may not be too happy about this but,
in a small Mexican eatery called El Globo Restaurant in Corona, Queens has a
special quesadilla where the special ingredient is, Crickets. And you would
probably be surprised to find out that the Cricket Quesadilla will cost you
around 30 bucks to dine on. Precooked, dried, and kept within a container before
being dropped onto a grilled melted cheese layered tortilla and rolled over to
be served.
While many would find the sight horrific and the thought of the bugs being
served as a meal appalling, crickets are quite the delicacy back in Mexico.
Considered a delicacy within Mexican cuisine, the cricket or Chapulin
(Chapulines plural) are produced and consumed within many Mexican households for
their source of protein. Aside from being a major part of their diet, the
Chapulines are even important within southern region of Mexico and plays a big
part in its businesses since they are sold in local markets and exported
throughout the country and the US itself.
Wanna know how to cook them? Well, after harvested from Milpa, Alfalfa, and
Maiz fields during the early morning hours, cleaning is essential. Once cleaned,
you drop the crickets into boiling water with garlic and herbs, remove them from
their hot bubble bath and flavor them with some Limón y sal de gusano (worm
salt) and roasted garlic. And after the nice coating of flavor they are ready to
be popped onto a tortilla.
Wanna know how they taste? Well to some first time eaters, the Chapulines
have an earthy and salty cheese which goes well with the melted bed of cheese
they are spread upon. Oh, and they make the tortilla extra crunchy. To get a
bite for yourself, head to El Globo Restaurant located at 42-13 102nd St in
Corona. Have yourself a buggy bite, it honestly doesn’t sound so bad. Extra
protein can’t hurt.
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