Tianjin fried grasshopper

Fried grasshopper is a unique flavor snack in Tianjin. Grasshopper, scientific name locust, is extremely harmful to crops. When the plague of locusts strikes, in a moment, the grasshoppers that cover the sky will eat all the crops in the field. Once upon a time, the rural areas in the north suffered from it, and Tianjin people hated it to the extent of "skinning its skin and eating its meat". Over time, locusts have not been eradicated, but they have eaten a famous snack. It is a great pity to visit Jincheng without eating fried grasshoppers. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, grasshoppers eat newly cooked grain and become fatter and fatter, which is the most delicious time for grasshoppers. Too early, the grasshopper is not fat and has no children; Too late, the grasshopper is old, and the thick skin is not delicious. The specific production method of fried grasshoppers: the wings of live grasshoppers are pulled off and the thighs are removed; When the oil pan is boiling away, fry the grasshopper until it turns brown and remove the oil. Prepare a earthen pot with soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil in advance, and put some shredded onions and garlic in it. Soak the fried grasshopper in a earthen pot, fish it twice, then take it out and dry it. When selling, add a little onion and shredded garlic to the surface. Fried grasshoppers, fat but not greasy, are crisp, fragrant and crisp. If they are sandwiched in hot cakes that have just been baked, they are really full of different smells and taste great. Therefore, there is a popular two-part allegorical saying in Tianjinwei, "Fried grasshoppers with pancakes-eat them at home!" During the Guangxu period, the fried grasshopper "Yu Shi" in the north of Gulou was very famous, which was well known to all women and children. Later, there was a stall in the Shenjia fence in Ximen, and the grasshopper was blown red and tasted better. Every evening, ordinary lower-class citizens buy a packet of fried rice, then come to zhi gu Laobaigan, sit in the courtyard or on the side of the road, drink and taste, which can quite show the dietary characteristics of Tianjin people. Later, people scalded the live grasshoppers with boiling water, then dried them or dried them, and stored them for frying in winter, which was also very delicious. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, because of the great success of the government leading farmers to eradicate the plague of locusts, fried grasshopper, a flavor snack, was cut off in Tianjin for many years. Recently, in the streets and lanes, you can occasionally meet small shops selling fried grasshoppers.
Reprinted with attribution： https://cnlocality.com/(Chinese Specialty Products)