This is the kind of news from Japan I suspect is the norm. Am I right or wrong? I’ll admit that it’s a fact, as reported a few days ago by the Asahi Shimbun, that that a town called Omachi in Nagano Prefecture is selling rice crackers with wholesome waspy goodness baked right in.
But if you come away with only one new bit of knowledge after reading my blog, I hope it’s the realization that this kind of stuff makes the news because it’s not normal.
All the weird, zany, wacky news from Japan like this you read on blogs? Most of it is considered weird here too. I’ve seen and eaten all kinds of sembei throughout my 18 years of living here, but you could live out your whole life in this country and never come across any kind of food with bugs in it on purpose. The thing is, I bet if I started posting news like this more often, my readership and Google ranking (currently 4, which is pretty darn good) would increase. I refuse to do that. In fact, I try my best to do the opposite: show you what daily life is really like (i.e. kinda boring, really).
But I have to admit, I’d love to try jibachi sembei. If it passes for “food” somewhere in the world, I’ll eat it. Whenever there’s something on a menu that’s outrageous or I don’t know what exactly it is, that’s what I order.
And please, call them “sembei,” not “rice crackers.” It irks me it when people call food by its description instead of its real name.
just what I’ve always wanted, wasps in my mouth
I’m not sure if I could do that. Ants…sure. Wasps…eh…
If I would call those crackers “sembei” I would be looked at blankly in 99 out of 100 stores and restaurants. Same with “ocha”, “shouyu”, etc.
In Japan, we had a difficult time getting ANYONE to recognize our pronunciation of “Mc Donalds.” We needed a translator!
BTW – if you “talk” to Cami again, you should suck in your gut, since there is a high “babe factor” there!
And – changing the subject again – Chinese herb I take contains earthworms. Pleasant thought. I recognized the Latin name on the list of ingredients (from my biology major days at college,) and, reluctantly, the acupuncturist reassured me that they are indeed in the mix but that they are very nutritious. No wasps, though – but then I don’t remember their Latin name.
(mspav is my mom)
Hi Mom.
Rich, what kind of a son are you? She’s using IE.
Um, do they take the stings out first?
Love o sembei! wasps or no wasps!