Finally, the overwhelming desert locusts arrived as scheduled, which also provided a platform for locust catchers to show their talents. Finally, as night falls, eager locust catchers flock to farmland and compete to show their unique skills. These people threw themselves on the ground with a big porcelain jar in one hand and a headscarf wrapped around their heads in the other, and as a result, dozens of locusts were collected. Put the prey into the jar in a hurry and continue the next round of killing. It is quick and convenient for women to pull open their robes and put the captured locusts directly in their robes with tools made of wooden sticks. In the middle of the night, the game of catching fish came to an end, and everyone's face was filled with the joy of harvest. They came home with big jars and big robes.
The locust-catching competition is not only the patent of farmers, but also the people in the city are unwilling to lag behind. Even if there is no ready-made farmland for the citizens to display their fists and feet, we must create conditions to show their talents. In the "Seventy" Square near the Presidential Palace in Sana 'a, the capital of Yemen, whenever locusts fly, citizens happily gather here from all directions with tools and jars to hold locust catching competitions. Although there are not as many locusts in the city as in the countryside, the number of locusts caught in one night's work is also considerable.
No matter in the city or in the countryside, at dawn, every household smokes and smells of fried locusts everywhere.
Why do Yemenis like fried locusts so much? Murisi, an official of Yemen Food Committee, said: "In Yemeni proverbs, locusts are delicious food given to us by God. Locust is a pure natural green food, which not only tastes delicious, but also has high medicinal value-chronic diseases such as hypotension, gastrointestinal diseases, stunted growth of children, and decreased vision. These can be dealt with by locusts. The best evidence of locust's high nutritional value is its pest status, because it feeds on nutritious crops, such as Carter and poppy, and even if it tastes good, it will never touch it. "
Yemenis like to fry locusts best-frying the treated locusts directly in the oil pan, with freshly baked pies and chickpea sauce, and taking a bite is really unique. In addition to this way of eating, fried locusts can also be used as snacks, which is very popular with women. During afternoon tea, women prepare snacks and sit around drinking tea and chatting. At this time, whoever can take out a delicious fried locust will surely become the most popular queen.
Not only that, the clever Yemenis also made Arabic-style barbecue locust skewers and dried locusts soaked in wine. Some people even make locusts into herbs and export them to Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.
Such tempting food is not available to anyone in any season. In addition to seasonality, the high price of locusts also discourages ordinary people. At the gate of Yemen, a traditional market in Yemen, vendors sell locusts in strings. The price of one kilogram is 1000 Yemeni rial, which is equivalent to about $5. This is by no means a small sum in Yemen, which is regarded as one of the poorest Arab countries. In the rich Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, it has been fried to sky-high prices, and one kilogram of fried locusts can be sold for 100 or even higher.
In fact, Yemen, as a big agricultural country in Arabia, is also a country with frequent locusts, but Yemenis are optimistic about the reason why they like to eat locusts: it is to prevent them from eating our crops that we have to hunt them harder and eat them all before they eat our food!