Korean Restaurants Are Starting To Put Insects Into Their Food

Using insects as an ingredient in dishes is starting to gain popularity in Korea with some restaurants incorporating it in such a way that you’d never know if they didn’t tell you.

While delicious barbecued meats or spicy kimchi are usually the first things that come to mind when people think about Korean food, a new ingredient seems to be gaining popularity in the country: insects!

Eating insects and incorporating insects into food is, of course, no new invention, but the trend seems to be taking hold in a way no one anticipated. This is perhaps due in part to shows, such as the Korean reality show Law of the Jungle, featuring celebrities eating insects.

Dongwoo wasn’t sure about eating bugs on Law of the Jungle.

A number of Korean restaurants have jumped on the insect train and have begun including insects on their menu. Global Food, for instance, has become popular recently for its sausage sundae that is made with mealworms ground into a powder.

Park Nam Gyu, the brains behind the sausage sundae, said that he begin incorporating insects in his restaurant’s items as a way to provide greater nourishment to his customers. Mealworm powder, for example, provides a higher content of unsaturated fats and protein. While it might sound scary, the mealworm simply gives the sausage a nutty flavor, and is really healthy!

This soup made with mealworm powder actually tastes amazing.

Another company, Chorok Maru, has also followed the trend and will be releasing its own gosoae honey butter cookie, which also contains mealworm powder.

These may not be mealworm cookies, but they maybe the closest many get to having bugs in their cookies.

According to Jeong Jong Wha, a researcher at the company, the company wanted to provide a cookie that was both delicious and healthy.   Eating insects may be an unfamiliar practice to many and these cookies will help to provide customers with the health benefits of eating insects while tasting great at the same time.

Source: Koreatimes