Bun Dae Ki: Silkworm Snacks

I was in a Korean Market last night and came across a shelf with cans of boiled silkworm pupae. This made me curious, so I bought a can and brought it home. I opened the can and was at first repulsed by what I saw. It is not really a cultural norm in the United States to eat insects...and I guess my initial reaction confirmed my thorough indoctrination into my country's culture.

The scientist in me had to examine them more closely, so I cut one in half, and noticed the developing insect inside the crunchy shell. They were packed in brine, which I discarded...then after taking the picture on the left...I knew it was time to try one. They have a nutty smell with undertones of something I can't find a word to describe.

The nutritional information label indicates that one serving is almost one entire can and has 168 calories. This same serving has 20 grams of protein, so they are nutritious!

I knew I had to be fast, so I popped one in my mouth and bit down on it. A squirt of briny fluid was released in my mouth. The outer covering was crunchy, but the insides were kind of mealy. It almost tasted like some corn tortilla chips I have tasted, but a bit stronger.

I wondered whether these pupae were left over from silk production, so I did some investigating on the Web. I found this photograph demonstrating the relationship

between the cocoon and the pupa. It reminds me of a time when I took a spinning workshop and we were working with silk. During the workshop, we began working with the fibers at different stages in the processing. Our last project was to take the cocoons and process them to get our own fibers for spinning. We soaked the cocoons, and hastily discarded the pupae.

I admire Asian cultures for their efficiency in using all parts of this resources. It makes a lot of sense to me to utilize the pupae, an important protein source that they get in abundance when producing silk for cloth.