日本昆蟲拉麪引食客捧場
Within about four hours, the Ramen Nagi restaurant had sold out of the 100 bowls of “insect tsukemen” noodles it had prepared for Sunday’s single-day event.
上週日，東京“拉麪凪”餐館舉辦爲期一日的昆蟲拉麪品嚐活動，還不到4個小時，100碗“昆蟲沾面”就已銷售一空。The noodles were topped with about a dozen small crickets and mealworms, which customers then dipped into soups flavored with crickets, grasshoppers or silkworm powder.
拉麪上撒了10多隻小蟋蟀與黃粉蟲幼蟲。昆蟲沾面的湯是以蟋蟀、蚱蜢或蠶粉熬煮而成。“It’s deep-fried, so it’s really crispy, and it doesn’t have a bad taste,” said 22-year-old student Anri Nakatani. “It’s almost like a deep-fried shrimp.”
22歲學生中谷安裏說：“（昆蟲）是油炸的，口感酥脆，而且沒有怪味，像是炸蝦。”
The event was organized by the restaurant owner, and Yuta Shinohara, a 22-year-old who has set up insect-eating events in Tokyo, including a Valentine’s Day celebration that served chocolates, cakes and cocktails featuring insects.
此次活動是餐館老闆與22歲的篠原祐太聯手組織。篠原之前已在東京舉辦過吃昆蟲的活動。其中一場情人節慶祝活動的菜單包括昆蟲巧克力、昆蟲蛋糕以及昆蟲雞尾酒等。
Shinohara, who started eating bugs as a child, wants to promote the alternative food culture in Japan and around the world, through ramen, a popular Japanese food.
自小就吃昆蟲的篠原表示，希望通過受歡迎的拉麪，將這種另類的美食文化推廣到全國與世界各地。“Through ramen, I’d like to spread how fun and delicious it is to eat insects,” he said.
他說：“我想通過昆蟲拉麪告訴大家，吃昆蟲有趣又美味。”The full course, costing ￥3,000, consisted of insect ramen, a bowl of rice with crickets, spring rolls with fried worms, and ice cream flavored with insect powder. The ramen alone cost ￥1,500.
昆蟲沾面套餐售價3000日元，包含一份昆蟲拉麪，一碗配以蟋蟀的米飯和炸蟲春捲，以及昆蟲粉口味冰淇淋。單獨一份昆蟲沾面售價爲1500日元。Insects are eaten in many countries, such as China, Ghana, Mexico and Thailand. Australia’s indigenous groups have eaten insects for protein for generations. Bugs are even part of traditional Japanese cuisine in rural areas, but few city dwellers have had the opportunity to try them.
在中國、加納、墨西哥和泰國等許多國家，昆蟲都被當成食物。澳大利亞的土著居民世代都靠食用昆蟲來補充蛋白質。在日本鄉村地區，昆蟲也是傳統美食之一，但鮮有城市居民有機會品嚐昆蟲。California tourist Steve Lee enjoyed the dish, but said it would take time to catch on in the United States.
來自美國加州的遊客史蒂夫?李很喜歡吃昆蟲拉麪，但他說這要在美國流行起來尚需時日。
