It's Not Just A Bug, It's A Fine-Dining Feature At This Thailand Restaurant

It's Not Just A Bug, It's A Fine-Dining Feature At This Thailand Restaurant : The Salt : NPR:

"In his tiny kitchen, chef Thitiwat Tantragarn throws a handful of raw bamboo caterpillars into a hot skillet and sautés them with olive oil, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Seconds later, the cream-colored larvae are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Tantragarn adds white wine, then spoons the bugs, brown beady eyes and all, over grilled scallops and Jerusalem artichokes before sending the plate out to the dining room.

This is Insects in the Backyard, a restaurant in Bangkok that is turning bugs into haute cuisine. It opened in the city's trendy Chang Chui market in July.

In Thailand, it's not hard to find ant eggs, crickets and bamboo worms at markets and restaurants if you know where to look. But Insects in the Backyard is the only fine dining establishment in Thailand where the entire menu is devoted to bugs. The worms, crickets, grasshoppers, beetles and caterpillars here are paired with less intimidating grains, seafood and vegetables, "so it's not too scary for people who want to try our food," says Tantragarn."



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Neapolitan-Style Pizza Making Wins UNESCO Heritage Status

Can't Be Topped: Neapolitan-Style Pizza Making Wins UNESCO Heritage Status : The Two-Way : NPR:


"On Wednesday Pizzaiuolo, the art of Neopolitan pizza-making, was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. ...

The practice of pizzaiuolo consists of a few stages: first the dough (water, flour, salt and yeast) must be kneaded by fist for at least 15 minutes, then allowed to rest and rise for 12 hours. Next balls or panetti are formed and left to rest some more. Then the dough is stretched and beaten into a circle. Finally the toppings are added, and the pizza is placed in the oven and rotated with a pizza shovel to ensure uniform baking. Two minutes is all it takes."

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Reinventing The Meaning Of 'Whole Grain' Bread

'The Hardest Bakery Possible': Reinventing The Meaning Of 'Whole Grain' : The Salt : NPR: "Jonathan Bethony admits the breads he'll be churning out at Seylou Bakery & Mill, which just opened this month in Washington, D.C., might not appeal to everyone.

The dark crusts of his pain au levain have a charred appearance and complex flavors to match their hue. Inside the loaves, a toothsome chewiness gives way to the tang of sourdough and a taste that can only be described as distinctly wheat-y.

But those characteristics are not an accident. They're the fruit of a baking process that is pushing the envelope of what's possible — and palatable — when working with locally sourced, freshly milled whole grains.

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