Edible insects are a part of Mexican cuisine. Though many people are not really used to seeing these animals on a plate of food, for others, this is completely normal and even enjoy eating them on their daily diet or as snacks. In Downtown Tijuana, for example, you may find people selling chapulines in the street.

On this occasion, Baja Window to the South cohost, Scott Koenig went back to Cien Años restaurant with Chef José Sparza to try once again delicious insect-based dishes. This time, they cooked chicatana ants, a species of ant that is quite big whose lower part is the only part that is cooked and eaten.

Before cooking started, Scott decided to taste one ant and described its flavor like a good and strong French cheese. Chef José Sparza put in the molcajete a little bit of tomato, bird beak’s chili and the oil in which they were cooked, onion, garlic (with all these vegetables being grilled), and the chicatana ants at the end.

Sparza stated that, just like with any other meal preparation, the intensity of the insect flavor will depend on the amount that is added to each recipe. This is why if one wishes to have more insect flavor, they just have to add more ants. Once the sauce was finished, they tasted it on a corn tortilla. It should be noted that the chicatana ant is the most expensive edible insect since it is gathered only once a year.

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