On the shores of Lake Victoria in the East African highlands, there is a famous cuisine:
At first glance, it looks like a fried black meatloaf, sandwiched in a slice of bread to make a burger, and the meatloaf is rich in high protein,
Not only is it regarded as a delicacy by the locals, but it also attracts many curious foreign tourists and becomes a major local specialty...
It is the "mosquito burger" that is popular in the area around Victoria,
As the name suggests, the main ingredient of this burger is to use...
mosquito...............
There are about 300,000 to 500,000 mosquitoes in a hamburger, and when they bite down, their mouths are full of insect protein, and they are said to have more than seven times the nutritional value of ordinary beef.
It is often said that "all things are animistic, except mosquitoes",
Why do mosquitoes, which are the public enemies of all mankind, enter the eyes of the African people and become an important source of food?
Everything has to start with Lake Victoria, which is pregnant with trillions of mosquitoes...
Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa, and its huge water content combined with a humid and hot climate has made this large lake an important habitat for countless insects, and has also attracted trillions of mosquitoes of all kinds.
Every year when the rainy season comes, countless mosquitoes rise up in groups on the lake after mating, like a large black tornado, covering the sky, the scene is quite frightening...
Although mosquitoes are frighteningly numerous, it's fair to say that the vast majority of them don't suck blood.
Because in these huge mosquito swarms, a large part of the step is the shaking mosquito, and the blood-sucking mosquito is only similar in appearance.
Although it does not suck blood, once humans and animals get close, they will still be attacked collectively, and the bite is no less tragic than that of blood-sucking mosquitoes.
Therefore, mosquito swarms have long made people near Lake Victoria miserable.
After years of biting and harassment, the local people took the case and decided to strike back:
Since you can't get rid of them, then simply eat them, how much you can eat, and also contribute to the human belly...
In this way, making mosquitoes into food has become a major local tradition.
In the early years, some primitive tribes in the vicinity even used this as a main source of protein.
During the famine years, the locals survived the most difficult times with these mosquitoes...
Today, when mosquitoes are everywhere during the rainy season, nearby villages are filled with men, women and children.
They took the basin with water, came to the place where the "mosquito storm" swept through, picked up the basin and slammed it into the air, and immediately thousands of mosquitoes were in the basin.
People kneaded the caught mosquitoes together, and soon a large piece of "mosquito meat ball" was formed...
Once the ingredients are gathered, it's time to cook.
First thin the "mosquito meat ball", and then carefully pat it evenly until the surface can not see the shape of the mosquito, just a large piece of black mosquito meat sauce ball...
After that, the uncle cut the meat sauce dough into small pieces in a circle, don't look at only small pieces of dumplings, which contain at least 300,000 mosquitoes...
Next, start to set up the pot to burn the oil, after the oil is hot, put the mosquito meat balls into the pot and turn it over and fry evenly.
Finally, sprinkle with various spices and you can eat.
According to a netizen who has eaten mosquito meat in Mozambique, this piece of meat does not have any peculiar smell and tastes very good.
Some of the more exquisite restaurants nearby will sandwich mosquito meat pieces in bread slices to make "mosquito burgers".
The "Mosquito Burger" is not only a source of high protein for the locals, but has also been improved by generations of locals to become a special traditional cuisine.
Today, near lake Shore Victoria, almost every village has its own "mosquito burger" recipe, which has also become a major tourist selling point for foreign tourists.
Of course, no matter how well the locals cook this dish, for people outside of Lake Victoria, it will always take a lot of courage to taste this dish...