This post is part of the A to Z Challenge. Each post this month will be associated with a letter of the alphabet with the theme ‘Food Memories‘.
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This is ulat sago, or sago worm. Though I prefer the term, sago grub because it makes those wriggling, fleshy, white larvae, seem cuter than they actually are.
When my brother was quite young, he kept a sago grub as a pet. My mum had bought a bag of live sago grubs from the market, and let him have the fattest one. We had an old, small fish tank which became its temporary home. He furnished the tank with a variety of leaves and bits of fibre from the sago palm that came in the bag with the grubs.
As for the rest of the sago grubs – my brother’s pet sago grub’s pseudo-siblings – well, my mum gave them a rinse and threw them into the wok with hot oil. After a quick stir fry, with a little chili and lemongrass, we had those grubs for dinner. I took the smallest one, used my spoon to cut a little piece, gave it a quick chew, swallowed quickly and I was done. The rest of my family popped them into their mouths like the grubs were popcorn.
My brother’s sago grub pet, well, it lasted a day in the tank.
Have you ever tried to eat a worm/ grub?
WORDS from SONOBE 