Beondegi

The other day, I ate dinner at Truya Sushi where I had my usual assortment of sushi. At the end of dinner, we were chatting with the proprietor, Scott, and somehow the subject of edible bugs came up. Scott presented me with a small bowl of boiled silkworms seasoned with sauce chili oil - a Korean dish called beondegi or bun dae gi.

It turned out to be pretty good. There was a moment during the first bite where I got a little dizzy from thinking about it too much and later I had to pause a bit before finishing off the bowl when I examined one pupae closely enough to recognize the body parts. Besides those moments, it was tasty, fun, and interesting.

The exterior texture of the silkworms feels like a thin shrimp shell that you can easily chew through. Inside was a little mushy with an extra fine grainy texture similar to to graininess of cooked liver. The taste was slightly meaty (but mild). It reminded me a little of plain protein taste - like that of very mild chicken breast or lean pork loin. Mostly the flavor was from the chili oil that it was mixed with.

Truya Sushi (Google Maps)
3431 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95051
(408) 244-4534
Website: Truya Sushi