In this picture taken on May 13, 2020 dried grasshoppers are seen in a pot before being cooked as a dessert side dish as part of cricket ramen home-cooking kits, at a kitchen in Tokyo. In a steamy Tokyo kitchen, a roasted scent wafts through the air as Yuto Shinohara prepares soup stock for ramen, derived not from pork or chicken, but crickets. Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP
TOKYO 鈥� In a steamy Tokyo kitchen, a roasted scent wafts through the air as Yuto Shinohara prepares soup stock for ramen, derived not from pork or chicken, but crickets.
鈥淚n this pan, we have 10,000 crickets, making stock for 100 bowls,鈥� Shinohara explained, as he stirred a large silver pot.
The bowls of ramen produced by Shinohara and his team look and smell like those at restaurants across Japan: fine white noodles sit in a savory soup, topped with a juicy slice of pork and fat pieces of pickled bamboo shoots.
There鈥檚 little to give away the fact that 26-year-old Shinohara uses crickets in the broth, oil, soy sauce and even noodles. Except, that is, for the deep-fried insect perched next to a mitsuba leaf garnish on the soup鈥檚 surface.
Shinohara isn鈥檛 a professional chef, in fact his preferred description of himself is 鈥渆arth boy.鈥� And it鈥檚 his love of all things nature-related that led to him insect-based food.
鈥淚 want to introduce the joy of insect eating, so that insects will be respected equally to animals and plants,鈥� he told AFP.
Shinohara鈥檚 love affair with insects began as a child, when he spent most of his time in fields and bushes, catching grasshoppers and cicadas.
He was so fascinated by creepy-crawlies that he eventually even tasted them 鈥� but only secretly.
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 tell anyone that I love insects or I eat insects until I was about 20 years old,鈥� he says shyly. 鈥淚 was afraid of becoming the odd one out or being bullied for it.鈥�
鈥楲ike a delicate sweet鈥�
Humans have been eating insects for thousands of years and they remain a common food in many countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania.
But for many in the West and elsewhere, a cultural bias against insects as food remains strong.
Environmental and agriculture experts have been trying to break down those barriers, promoting insects as an environmentally friendly rich source of minerals and protein.
But while Shinohara is a strong proponent of eating insects, he dislikes the idea of bugs as a 鈥渓ast resort鈥� food.
He sees them instead as a delicacy that should be savored.
Take phalera flavescens, for example. The moth鈥檚 white-tufted caterpillar is regarded as a nuisance in Japan because of its penchant for cherry blossom trees.
Shinohara however views the caterpillars as a treat.
鈥淭hey are really delicious. They taste like a delicate Japanese sweet,鈥� he said.
鈥淭he caterpillar only eats the leaves of cherry trees, so they carry the scent.鈥�
He is similarly fond of other caterpillars, including some that he says have a citrus flavor from their preferred trees.
鈥淏ehind the flavor, you can imagine how the caterpillar savored its life. That is so amazing.鈥�
Cricket beer, silkworm tea
Shinohara and his team had planned to open an insect cuisine restaurant named Antcicada in downtown Tokyo in April, but were forced to put it on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, they have designed a pack of cricket ramen that can be cooked at home, and have sold 600 sets online as of mid-May.
This picture taken on May 13, 2020 shows a sample bowl of cricket ramen at a kitchen in Tokyo. In a steamy Tokyo kitchen, a roasted scent wafts through the air as Yuto Shinohara prepares soup stock for ramen, derived not from pork or chicken, but crickets. Photo by Behrouz MEHRI / AFP
鈥淭hankfully, the latest batch sold out in three hours or so,鈥� Shinohara said.
His team is also experimenting with a variety of other dishes including an insect-based version of a popular Japanese side dish called tsukudani, usually made from seafood, meat or seaweed simmered in soy sauce.
Ayumu Yamaguchi, the team鈥檚 fermentation specialist, is overseeing the dish鈥檚 development.
鈥淲e have tried different combinations of flavors to cook with these insects,鈥� the 24-year-old said.
鈥淲e found pistachio and cardamom go very well with聽silkworm cocoons.鈥�
Kazuhiko Horiguchi, who ordered a ramen pack complete with whole fried cricket, told AFP he was pleasantly surprised by the experience.
鈥淚t was a very unique flavor, the kind I like. I was very impressed,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 think many people can eat insects as food once they are cooked and served in dishes, even though they don鈥檛 want to see the insects in their original forms,鈥� he said.
鈥淐ricket ramen could be a starter for insect cuisine for many people.鈥�
Shinohara has high hopes for a range of additional insect-based products, including beer made from crickets and a tea made from silkworm excrement.
鈥淚 see so much potential.鈥�