This Spicy Insect Crunch Roll is Sushi Made from Crickets and Worms

To many palates, raw fish is a big ol’ nasty no-no. But buried in sriracha, cream cheese, teriyaki sauce, and panko flakes? Even the pickiest eaters can be persuaded.

Maybe it’s time we applied the same logic to bugs. That’s what Texas sushi chef Peter Yung is thinking, anyway. At Austin’s How Do You Roll, the co-founder and executive chef partnered with edible insect company World Ento to create a new kind of sushi filled and topped with two kinds of crunchy creepy crawlies. A “Spicy Insectopia Roll,” he calls it, and it’s made by dressing a whole bunch of crickets in sesame oil and teriyaki, setting them atop a bed of rice, seaweed, cucumber, and jalapeño, rolling them into sushi form, topping the rice with marinated mealworms, and then drizzling the whole mess in enough sauce so that the insects are nearly unrecognizable. You know, until they wriggle. (Totally kidding.)

According to Prevention Magazine, mealworms in particular carry significant health and eco-benefits, such as containing 50% protein and omega-3 fatty acids, and only requiring 1/1000th of the amount of water needed to raise cows.

If that isn’t enough to sway you to the buggy side, Prevention writer Mandy Oaklander claims the roll was not at all slimy and actually retained a nice, sweet crunch.

We believe it. We did grow up with Timon and Pumbaa after all.

H/T Daily Mail + Picthx Prevention