Fried white chafer grubs.

When the monsoon passes, residents will harvest corn, potatoes, sugarcane, peanuts. This is the time to catch white chafer grubs. White chafer grubs can be found on big sand dunes. As it is quite easy to uproot trees on sand dunes, sometimes it only takes around 30 minutes to catch over one hundred white chafer grubs.

The difficult part is to locate the cavity of white chafer grubs. “Normally, they live under tree roots, bushes, damp places or where there are many rotten leaves. However, the most delicious kind of white chafer grub lives under potato beds, corn beds or sugarcane. As a result, people will catch white chafer grubs while harvesting potatoes, corn, sugarcane. A bucket of water should be brought along to soak white chafer grubs. After cleaning them, they must soak white chafer grubs in cold water to keep them fresh and crispy,” Mr. Kim Sa Met, who lives in Ngu Lac Village, Duyen Hai Town, said.

It is not difficult to process white chafer grub. People just have to get rid of its intestine, which is full of sand and tree roots, wash it and then let it dry. White chafer grubs can be processed into delicious dishes, depending on personal preference, such as crispy fried white chafer grubs, fried in melted fat; filled peanuts, and then covered them with tapioca starch; and salted fried white chafer grubs.

White chafer grubs used to be cheap. But, as there are more and more people who love them, a white chafer grub now sells for one thousand VND. Ms. Thach Thi Ngoc, who lives in Nhi Truong Village, Cau Ngang Town, said: “I have been selling white chafer grubs for over 10 years. People are willing to drive a long way to my store so that they can buy white chafer grubs. Each time they come, I do not have enough white chafer grubs for them.”

She always guides new customers through food processing. They must not use chopsticks to fry white chafer grubs because those grubs will be tough, their body will be stretched out, and the taste will be unpleasant. Instead, people should stir white chafer grubs with the handle of the pan.

On a cold day, sipping a glass of Xuan Thanh wine while enjoying tasty white chafer grubs will be an unforgettable memory for visitors.

Bui Duc

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