GREAT NEWS!!!! You can now comfortably eat the weevils in your black-eyed beans!
Verily, verily, I say unto you, do not be scared of eating thy beans that has been visited terribly by weevils. As it is said, ignorance is a deadly disease that can see you heading to your grave at the wrong time, so let me school you on something very important. I recently stumbled upon a man who delights in travelling around the globe, not for site seeing or as a result of other tourist attractions, but because he delights in the weird delicacies eaten by tribes of people all over the world. The other day, I caught him eating some really creepy things that I would love to share with you.
The first thing I saw him eat was (you wouldn’t believe this) …the embryo of a duck! Now, how do I explain this? Ok, lemme try. Somewhere in South Asia, there is a local food that is like the normal boiled egg, and let me warn you now, if you’re visiting a new town, do not buy boiled egg. Instead, buy the raw egg and cook it yourself. So, as I was saying, this egg is that of a duck (don’t know if it’s eaten in any part of Nigeria, as I do know the popular ogazi is the egg of the guinea fowl). These eggs are collected and artificially incubated till they develop into embryos, then they are steamed. After steaming, voila! , your meal is ready – half-cooked duck embryo! I watched this man relish this delicacy and I felt like puking. He was a little hesitant at first, since he had never tried out such before, then he ate on, savouring his egg. He said it tasted like normal chicken egg, gently removed the remnant of the shell which held some liquid content that he referred to as the ‘juice’, poured it on the poor duck’s head which was already forming (as I could vividly see), then poured some vinegar which normally goes with it on it, and threw it into his mouth. Hmmm, now, because I wouldn’t want to disrespect anyone’s culture, I would withhold myself from saying eeeeewwwww!
Our dear friend also had fried little chickens! Now, I hope I can paint the right picture in your head, friends. Just imagine a little chicken, neither a chick nor a mature hen or cock; let’s say a ‘teenage fowl’, ‘defeathered’ (naked, that is), probably disemboweled, and then fried whole! I could not but feel some level of sympathy for these animals that had been so violated (I’m neither a vegetarian nor an animal activist o). Well, there was our friend, munching away and telling me that the best part of the whole chicken is the little crunchy legs. Kai!
Then, he moved to another place where he watched a restaurateur prepare live fat white maggots for him. They were fried alive, with spices, green and red peppers, carrots, and onions, which gave the dish a colourful look. I know many persons can identify with this one cause we do have people who patronize the maggot or edibles (as they are called) sellers here in Nigeria. Finally, another lady who hosted him had some crickets and stuffed frogs on her menu, and trust my guy, his guts embraced these special treats and I think I remember him saying the crickets tasted like cucumbers or something like that. Hm!
Hmmmm! So, my people, if you’ve ever thrown or thought of throwing away your bucket of raw beans because of those black things that sit in them and fly around sometimes, I have good news for you. People have had ‘worse’ things. By the way, there’s no need because after all, na protein bo!
PS: My roomie doesn’t eat periwinkles even after spending close to ten years in Rivers. Are there things you dread eating? Would loooove to know what they are :D .
The first thing I saw him eat was (you wouldn’t believe this) …the embryo of a duck! Now, how do I explain this? Ok, lemme try. Somewhere in South Asia, there is a local food that is like the normal boiled egg, and let me warn you now, if you’re visiting a new town, do not buy boiled egg. Instead, buy the raw egg and cook it yourself. So, as I was saying, this egg is that of a duck (don’t know if it’s eaten in any part of Nigeria, as I do know the popular ogazi is the egg of the guinea fowl). These eggs are collected and artificially incubated till they develop into embryos, then they are steamed. After steaming, voila! , your meal is ready – half-cooked duck embryo! I watched this man relish this delicacy and I felt like puking. He was a little hesitant at first, since he had never tried out such before, then he ate on, savouring his egg. He said it tasted like normal chicken egg, gently removed the remnant of the shell which held some liquid content that he referred to as the ‘juice’, poured it on the poor duck’s head which was already forming (as I could vividly see), then poured some vinegar which normally goes with it on it, and threw it into his mouth. Hmmm, now, because I wouldn’t want to disrespect anyone’s culture, I would withhold myself from saying eeeeewwwww!
Our dear friend also had fried little chickens! Now, I hope I can paint the right picture in your head, friends. Just imagine a little chicken, neither a chick nor a mature hen or cock; let’s say a ‘teenage fowl’, ‘defeathered’ (naked, that is), probably disemboweled, and then fried whole! I could not but feel some level of sympathy for these animals that had been so violated (I’m neither a vegetarian nor an animal activist o). Well, there was our friend, munching away and telling me that the best part of the whole chicken is the little crunchy legs. Kai!
Then, he moved to another place where he watched a restaurateur prepare live fat white maggots for him. They were fried alive, with spices, green and red peppers, carrots, and onions, which gave the dish a colourful look. I know many persons can identify with this one cause we do have people who patronize the maggot or edibles (as they are called) sellers here in Nigeria. Finally, another lady who hosted him had some crickets and stuffed frogs on her menu, and trust my guy, his guts embraced these special treats and I think I remember him saying the crickets tasted like cucumbers or something like that. Hm!
Hmmmm! So, my people, if you’ve ever thrown or thought of throwing away your bucket of raw beans because of those black things that sit in them and fly around sometimes, I have good news for you. People have had ‘worse’ things. By the way, there’s no need because after all, na protein bo!
Photo credit : Jim Moore ©2013
PS: My roomie doesn’t eat periwinkles even after spending close to ten years in Rivers. Are there things you dread eating? Would loooove to know what they are :D .
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