Spot Tries: Tokyo's Famous Cricket Ramen Makes a Case for Eating Insects

(SPOT.ph) Cricket ramen. Two words we never thought to see in the same sentence, but the sum of which in fact exists in reality. Hell, it was now in front of our table, aromatic from its deep brown broth said to be infused with Japanese domestic crickets. Its liquid glistened against the light, probably from the pool of cricket oil that had settled on top before the bowl is garnished with onions, calamansi slivers, mitsuba leaves, and an actual fried cricket as its crowning glory.

ICYMI, Ramen Nagi brought Chef Yuta Shinohara of Tokyo's ANTCICADA restaurant to our shores to cook his insect-infused signature for just two days (today, October 21, being the last day) at Nagi's Gateway 2 branch. And we found ourselves there with the man himself and his signature ramen just yesterday. Here's what went down.

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You Only Have Two Days to Try Tokyo's Famed Cricket Ramen in Manila

We tried the famous ANTCICADA Cricket Ramen at Ramen Nagi:

ANTCICADA is known to make use of insects in their cooking—and not just as some hidden filler, but as the actual star of the show. Which is to say, their famed Cricket Ramen—said to be made with over 160 crickets (of two domestic species from Japan) in every bowl—is actually meant to taste like cricket. Who knew?

Cricket, of course, is a delicacy in certain parts of the world. We're all for respecting other food cultures—so take this more as a personal account of trying something foreign to me for the first time, than an end-all, be-all definitive (or prescriptive) account of whether you should eat cricket for yourself, too.

Onto the matter at hand. I knew what I was getting into, going into this task—and decided to take one for the team, y'know, for science. Food being a personal passion of mine, I'm generally the type to try more things than the average person (and defend things like raisins in cookies and pineapple on pizza)—but eating insects is a realm I haven't quite entered in my 29 years of living. Neither did I (think I'd) ever want to.

But there we were, along with other members of the media, snapping some five bajillion photos of the ramen bowl in front of us (side note, don't do this—ramen really ought to be consumed within seconds of it arriving on your table). Oohs, ahhs, and gasps were elicited, with everyone daring everyone else to eat the fried cricket piece (from Pampanga, though the crickets in the actual oil and broth are from Japan) topping the ramen. 

Admittedly, I didn't consume this the most ideal way, having waited for too long, as mentioned, to actually dig into my ramen. Which is to say the noodles—relatively flatter noodles than Nagi's usual that I'd compare to Italian linguini in shape, but with the Asian MSG tinge—had definitely softened by the time I actually took my first slurp.

But I digress. I pushed the fried cricket to the side of my bowl for the meantime and thought I'd concentrate on the soup, which is where the majority of the cricket flavor would be found anyway. And oh, what wonderful soup it was. With a tare (seasoning base) made with shiitake mushrooms, seaweed, and powdered Futahoshi crickets, it delivered earthy, deeply savory spoonfuls that soothed my sleep-deprived spirits. A tinge of citrus—from yuzu as well as the Philippines-exclusive calamansi slivers that perfume the broth ever so subtly—brightens the mix just a tad without it going full-on sour. And mitsuba—both its chopped stems and the leaves used in the garnish—lends zing, keeping the otherwise-rich and heady ramen from overwhelming the senses.

On one hand, it was more familiar than expected, with the taste of the mushroom being the predominant flavor and the cricket contributing more of a savory depth and toasty, subtly smoky note toward the end. An echo rather than a shriek, if you will. On the other hand, if you'd been anticipating something truly bizarre and exotic that would be the subject of food horror stories to come, you might just be disappointed. I'd almost say if you didn't know it had cricket (and just happened to miss the fried cricket topping somehow?), you might not even think it had it. But that's also to say it's a wonderful ramen in its own right—not just by virtue of its offbeat nature.

Now for the elephant in the room. Much as I wanted to skip the fried cricket in its entirety (are those its eyes?) (are they crying?), well, I knew I couldn't do a full rundown without at least having a nibble. Thankfully it was... not unpleasant, somehow evoking chicken crossed with ox brains, with a crisp exterior that makes way to a squishy interior that's earthy and a tad mineral in taste. It doesn't necessarily add much to the ramen as a whole, apart from the novelty and striking visual of a whole fried insect topping your ramen—but no matter. Try it, even if just to enrich your palate.

The ramen itself is plenty delish in our book. Do I find myself craving crickets regularly from this point forward? I'm not quite there yet, but I'm at least more open to trying a piece when offered. More folks probably should. Crickets are eaten in other parts of the world—in particular, Pampanga, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia—where hunting them provides extra income for some farmers in need. They're a source of protein (hashtag #gains)—one that's actually more climate-friendly versus the usual chicken, pork, or beef. If you can get past the socially constructed ick of downing a bug typically considered a pest, you might just find yourself in enjoyment.

Dare to try the Cricket Ramen yourself? Chef Yuta is taking over the kitchen at Ramen Nagi's Gateway 2 branch only until today, October 21. Only 150 bowls of the dish are available; you know what to do.

This takeover at Ramen Nagi is held in light of their 10th year in the Philippines. The brand was founded in 2004 by Chef Satoshi Ikuta, and landed in our shores in 2013.

Ramen Nagi's Gateway branch is at Upper Ground B, Gateway Mall 2, Araneta City, Cubao, Quezon City. For more information, check out Ramen Nagi Manila's Facebook page.

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