A man in Foshan, Guangdong, China recently developed a "water cockroach egg tower". (Picture taken from China Weibo, synthesized by this newspaper)
The history of Chinese people eating insects is as old as the millennium-old Chinese culture that Little Pink boasts about. Until the 21st century, the Chinese will continue to introduce various exotic insect dishes that stun foreigners. Recently, a man living in Foshan, Guangdong came up with the idea of incorporating one of the local delicacies, dragon lice, commonly known as "water cockroaches", into crispy and sweet Western pastries, and named it "water cockroach egg tart". It is expected to be a new item on the restaurant menu in the future.
According to comprehensive Chinese media reports, the dragon louse is a famous local dish in Sanshui, Foshan, Guangdong. Although its appearance and some living habits are similar to cockroaches, it is actually a predatory aquatic insect belonging to the order Coleoptera. It is different from cockroaches belonging to the order Blattella. It is very common in the waters of the Pearl River Delta region. The report pointed out that the Chinese medicine for dragon lice is called "water turtle beetle". Chinese people often use it to treat problems such as "nocturia" and "kidney deficiency". Because of its high medicinal value, it is called "water ginseng".
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It is understood that the traditional way of eating dragon lice, which has both high protein and low fat characteristics, in Guangdong is to blanch it in boiling water first, wait until the odor is removed, and then steam it with oil and salt or directly fry it. Pan Jingshen, who runs a restaurant in Foshan, Guangdong, recently made a lot of medicine and remembered that the older generation had the habit of eating dragon lice to "replenish the body." So he suddenly came up with the idea of combining the unpopular ingredient dragon lice with the popular pastry egg tart to create an unprecedented water cockroach egg tart.
When interviewed, Pan Jingshen laughed and said that although the appearance of the water cockroach egg tart did have a strong visual impact, after he personally tried the dish, he felt that the texture was quite crispy and the overall taste was acceptable. Pan Jingshen said that he has always hoped to combine gourmet food with dietary therapy, and plans to make the water cockroach egg tart a new restaurant product in the future. In addition, after the video of Pan Jingshen tasting the water cockroach egg tart was shared to the Chinese community, it once ranked among the top 3 hot searches on Weibo.
Many Chinese netizens said that they instantly got goosebumps when they saw a huge and complete insect lying directly on top of the egg tower, and even complained that the boss was a "heirloom in the dark cooking world." Regarding this bizarre dish, many Chinese doctors pointed out that although dragon lice are ingredients of the same origin as medicine and food, if insect ingredients are of unknown origin or improperly handled, they are likely to carry parasites and pathogens, and they called on the public not to blindly try or imitate it.
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