Meal with Mealworms, Hong Kong Introduces Its First Meal with Worms

Now you can have Pasta or noodles prepared with mealworms, which can be cultivated at your own home. It seems unusual, but the idea is soon going to be a reality if Hong Kong based entrepreneur Katharina Unger is successful in her mission.

The 28-year-old Katharina Unger is the founder of Livin Farms, a start-up that has been exploring the possibilities of insects as eating habit. Livin Farms are also making insect incubators since 2016. Now it is working on a compact model to cultivate mealworms, which according to Livin Farms are suitable as a delicacy in most of the kitchens in Hong Kong.

Katharina says, “In 2050, we're going to be nine billion people on the planet, so we have to find new solutions to feed ourselves, and to feed the next generations. Insects offer a really great alternative to current meat production because they can be grown on food waste, with very little space, with very little water, and they taste great”.

Though across the world, people will not encourage the idea of eating insects, which are commonly known as mealworms, but are most common delicacy in countries like Thailand and China.

Li Ching, the owner of the People of Yunnan restaurant in Hong Kong, says, “They are high in protein and low in cholesterol”. He also considers deep-fried grasshoppers, stick-bugs and silkworms are good for human health.

Livin Farms claims that their self-contained hive system also provides for a 'do it yourself' solution, as the mealworms can be fed with food remains and can be harvested weekly, can be frozen and then cooked in various ways you like. There is also a large variety of the inch-long larvae, which forms the mealworm beetle and are easily found in other parts of the world, which is also an added advantage.

Livin Farms' head of operations Clayton Wong, says, “Unlike meats, I can prepare this in two different ways, savory and sweet, I think it's really dynamic, I can play around with this”. While he demonstrates cooking mealworms with peppers, tomatoes and onions in tomato mascarpone pasta sauce.

Some year’s back, a Swiss supermarket chain has started selling burgers and balls, which are made of insects. The initiative was the first legal in Europe. Known as Seven of Coop’s, the supermarket chain now has nearly 2500 stores in Switzerland. A broader launch of the brand is planned by the end of the year. Here the bug burgers are made with rice, chopped vegetables, spices and mealworm larvae.