Click on the image, above to submit to Pinterest.

Inswa (Boiled Termite Snack)

Inswa (Boiled Termite Snack) is a traditional Zambian recipe for a snack made from fried flying termites. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Zambian version of: Boiled Termite Snack (Inswa).

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : Chilli RecipesZambia Recipes

Inswa are termites. During heavy rains in the rainy season the male and female termites fly from the colony to establish new colonies. These are captured and when they lose their wings they are either eaten fresh or are dried. This recipe makes use of the insects, drying them for preservation as a snack. Personally, I’m not squeamish about eating insects, having consumed many different species around the globe. When dried many have a distinctive slightly nutty flavour.

There’s no real recipe here, as the quantities you need depend on how many termites you can catch during the few weeks when they are flying.

Ingredients:

a few generous handfuls of inswa
1 hot chilli, pounded to a paste
4 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Bring a small pan of salted water to a boil. Add the inswa and continue boiling until the water dries up

Add one crushed fresh chilli (depending on how much inswa you have) then add cooking oil just to make sure all inswa is just coated.

Continue frying until the insects are nicely crisp. Despite what you think, this really is a lovely snack, served with cold beer. Any remainder can be frozen to store; just defrost a handful when you want a snack.