TGL – Dipping sauces are a prerequisite for spring rolls. There are a myriad of tasty delights on offer, but none so curious as that derived from the ca cuong water beetle.

Beetle juice! Beetle juice! Beetle juice!

Animal, Mineral or Vegetable: 

Our friend the ca cuong is an insect. You probably wouldn’t think twice about squishing him on your table if you didn’t know his extract was worth its weight in gold.

Position on the periodic table of foodstuffs:            

Creepy crawlies appear somewhere in the crunchimium section of the table. With ca cuong, it’s the musk you want, so it’s a derived extract.

Atomic weight:

Only a little bit of the magic juice comes from each beetle, so it won’t fill you up on its own. The traditional accompaniment of spring rolls and pork bits are a lunch time feast though.

Description:

Take one ca cuong beetle. Extract his musk (males being better source than females apparently) according to age old methods. Sadly these age old methods are not shared by ca cuong proprietors who vow to take the secret to the grave with them rather than lose their unique skills to the masses.

The musk is prepared as a kind of paste, which is then mixed into a dipping sauce containing fish sauce, vinegar and some pork sausage cutlets. When a pork spring roll is dipped into the sauce, it acquires a certain floral aroma and taste. The taste has a range of descriptions, from nail polish to apple blossom. Definitely a herby floral taste to it, reminiscent of potpourri.

The beetles are now running into short supply, commercial farming having not worked out, and encroachment in the name of progress is filling in most of the paddy pools the little beasties live in. This has driven the price up on the individual beetle, but a good ca cuong lunch can still be found for around three bucks.

Then there is the curious incident of the Belostomatid. This charming word is used in eateries in reference to the ca cuong beetle, like we all know what it means. None of the TGL researchers could find a meaning for it, nor could they decipher the meaning of the words “pure body” on an in-store sign.

Inert with:          

Goes well with assorted spring rolls and sausage bits. Could also work well stirred into a variety of noodle dishes, but it has a strong flavour that is drawn into meat during a good soak. The strong flavour means it is best used sparingly.

Reacts with:

After munching the delicacy for lunch, it was noticed that there was some small amount of queasiness experienced mid-afternoon. Be wary of any allergies you may have, although chances are you’ve never had water bugs before.

The Good Life