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Recipes

How to Host a Cricket Fried Rice Party

This article is written by a student writer from the Spoon University at Maryland chapter.

Ever thought about eating bugs? Well, it’s slowly being embraced by the foodie world: cricket barsbug candy and even restaurants are popping up that feature edible critters. Bugs are also considered to be a nutritious, sustainable alternative to traditional sources of meat. Even the United Nations promotes bug-eating as a way to end world hunger.

But let’s be honest, bug candy and energy bars can be expensive, especially if you’re planning on cooking for a crowd. So I took to the internet to obtain crickets directly from the source. We bought 500 five-week-old crickets from Fluker Farms, and they shipped the crickets live, straight to my doorstep. It was easy to pop the box straight into my freezer as soon as it arrived. Before roasting the crickets, we just took them out and spread them on the baking sheet. Super easy.

Cricket Fried Rice

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 10 minutesCook time:1 hour Total time:1 hour 10 minutesServings:20 servings

Ingredients

Instructions

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    Preheat oven to 200˚F. Assemble ingredients for fried rice.

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    Place crickets on a baking tray. Season with salt to taste. Bake at 200˚F for 60 minutes or until dry.

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    While the crickets are roasting, cook the fried rice. Saute onions and garlic in oil.

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    Add rice and mixed vegetables.

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    Form a well in the middle of the pan. Cook eggs until scrambled.

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    Season with soy sauce and/or spices to taste.

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    When crickets are done, remove from the oven. Let cool. Allow people to Snapchat and Instagram this delicious component of their food before eating.

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    Sample crickets to test for doneness.

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    When crickets are cooled, assemble fried rice and roasted crickets.

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    Allow people to sprinkle crickets on rice to taste.

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    Enjoy with friends in a classy get-together.

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    Bon appétit! The crickets add a nice savory crunch to a classic dish.

Alice Zhou

Maryland '18