Live Raw Ants Eggs: A Yummy Delicacy of Ilocos Norte
I remember my in laws saying ants eggs were a delicacy, lip smacking good from Ilocos Norte. We just came from Pagudpud beach on the way down and found myself stopping by at the wet market at Bangui. I first got myself some of the famous traditional Ilocos garlic at only 120 pesos per kilo, then I asked for ants eggs and yes they did have it! Actually, 2 vendors had it!
Ants eggs were a delicacy all right, expensive stuff. 300 pesos per kilo in this far provincial town. At those prices only the rich in these parts can afford that. Good thing I come from Manila, I can afford it. I bought almost 2 kilos of raw live ants eggs, with live ants in them too.
Why wait to cook it? What for? I started eating small hand fulls in the car. Creamy yummy. The ones familiar with it said they wanted it with the live ants because that added a different wonderful dimension to it.
Most people I asked cooked the stuff. I think they resort to cooking it to stop the ants from hatching as that keeps better… maybe… or they are just squeamish at eating live ants.
Well later in the day we did cook a good amount of ants eggs ginisa style, some salt, some onions, some garlic in some virgin coconut oil. Taste? It didn’t taste any different from the raw ants eggs. It’s just that the live ants are dead and they are easier to eat without biting you.
We arrived in Vigan and met my sister in law for dinner. Gave her some cooked ants eggs. She and her friend loved it and ate it all for dinner. I asked if she liked these ants eggs better than the ants eggs she had a few days ago. She said the ants eggs she and her friend ate a few days ago tasted so much better. They were the ones who gathered the ants eggs and they got bitten so many times when they finally were able to sit down for a meal, those ants eggs tasted really great given the effort and the bites they had to endure.
The next time you are in Ilocos Norte, look in the wet markets and get yourselves some nutritious, delicious, exotic ants eggs!
Ants eggs spoil easily. You must let the ants eggs breath. Sealing it in plastic and they die and they don’t taste good anymore even if you cook them, the 2nd batch came out that way the following day.
Just like any meat again, raw and alive just tastes better and is probably far more nutritious. Let go of your squeamishness and just be human. Eat those ants eggs raw and alive. I must plan for a return to this place and establish a contact who will send me some on a regular basis.