Friday, July 8, 2011

Vegan Huhu Grubs



Sometimes I am really happy to be a vegetarian: it means that I don't have to try wild specialties like huhu grubs. Not that many New Zealaders would either, you can't buy them in shops (I think) and you have to forage for them in the bush (they eat rotten wood) or go to special wild food festivals like the Hokitika Wild Food Festival. But I found a better, and vegetable alternative, with New Zealand yams.




Yam are much bigger than huhu grubs, and I got the red and the apricot colour varieties, I thought that they looked really pretty. After boiling them the colours had faded, a lot, and the look was... well, like in the photo above. I left them on the kitchen bench and went to get the kids from school. As soon as they arrived home the went" "Huhu grubs????". No, they have never eaten them, but they saw them and know what they look like. They giggled a lot, they said that yams really looked like gigantic huhu grubs.




Just boiled they didn't appeal to me, so I roasted them with olive oil, smoked garlic, smoked salt, coriander seeds and a few chili flakes. Then I served them with some wasabi mayonnaise (just mayo mixed with a dash of wasabi) and they went down a treat. In this household my husband is the only one that has ever eaten huhu grubs, I asked him if the flavour was similar to these yams, he said: "No, these taste much better!"

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©


22 comments:

  1. pure io a volte sono davvero contenta di essere vegetariana....anzi sempre :)

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  2. sulle larve non dico nulla, le patate, invece, sono molto simili a quelle peruviane, anche nei colori, io le ho mangiate, c'è un banco al mercato rionale che le vende e le ho trovate molto buone, ma a me basta che sia verdura piace tutto...ti sto commentando dal nuovo blog, ho postato il lievito in coltura liquida, se sei interessata...baci

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  3. whoa !!! I have never even heard about that and thank god I am vegetarian for that. Love your vegan version :)

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  4. I've never had huhu grubs but I want to try them! I think I miss my kitcehn because I don't have my own one yet - can't wait, moving this weekend/next week.

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  5. I am sure you could try them Sasa, probably even have the courage of having the photo taken with a juicy one! I admire meat eaters who don't differentiate, and I admire mostly those who eat insects as this is more ecological than eating stake.

    When you do try them let me know if they really taste like buttered chicken.

    Good luck with the move, let me know if you need anything :-)

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  6. Beh io non sono vegetariana, ma dovrebbero uccidermi per mettermi in bocca una larva......non c'è festival che tenga!!...le patate sono carine, ma il problema adesso è che, anche ammesso di trovarle, le assocerei sempre alle loro sorelle più......vive, diciamo!!.....franci

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  7. I just saw these in m y Digger's catalogue. I think I'm inspired to grow them now, thanks.

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  8. that is so funny and clever!

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  9. Haha we went to the Hokitika wild foods festival the other year and had the real ones! These ones look like a much safer idea :P

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  10. Ossignore...credevo fossero davvero bruchetti, che orrore!!!!credo siano moooooooolto meglio le alternative veggie!bacione

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  11. Ci sono cascata anch'io! Sigh!
    Per fortuna sono patate!
    Curiose, però, per la forma e per il colore.
    Grazie, ho scoperto una cosa nuova!
    Invidio il vostro fresco, quasi quasi domenica faccio una capatina! :)
    Ti abbraccio!

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  12. ho imparato qualcosa di nuovo e che non conoscevo, ho letto della vicenda del plagio oramai è dappertutto

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  13. Caspita, per un attimo ho avuto timore di aver capito male :)

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  14. I've never tried these (looks like ginger too!), but roasting them sounds very delicious! And wasabi mayo!!! Very good choice. ;-) (p.s. but I'm a Japanese who don't eat wasabi... I know it's strange!).

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  15. @ Lorraine, you are very brave :-)!

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  16. They DO look like huhu grubs Alessandra! And I agree with you - they don't taste like much boiled/steamed. Much better roasted. Gives them a slightly nutty taste.

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  17. Yes, Sugar, although I do like to boil them first as I never manage to wash them as well as I would like to, and boiling them takes away that 'earthy' flavour...

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  18. These yams are wonderful, I had never seen the, before! By the way, how much wasabi do you put in mayo? Do you use fresh wasabi, dried ground wasabi or wasabi paste? Thanks ;-)

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  19. Yari, I used Japanese wasabi in a tube, the type that you find usually overseas. but powder would be good too. Add to taste, like you would do adding mustard, the mayo should not turn green, of course! :-)

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  20. I've never eaten huhu grubs either but I've heard they have a peanut flavour. You could roast the yams in a little peanut oil mixed with peanut butter and brown sugar. I bet they would make delightful vegetarian grub :)

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