Grasshoppers, 'land prawns' of Gunungkidul

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

It's 12:30 p.m. and the scorching sun is directly overhead, and the heat, unbearable. A middle-aged woman lounged under a teakwood tree along Jl. Raya Pantai Baron. Now and then, she waves a wooden stick stringed with lively brown grasshoppers, known locally as belalang kayu), tied together with blarak, or the ribs of coconut leaves.

She is Mukinem, 40, a mother of four from Mentel village in Hargosari subdistrict, Tunjungsari district, Gunungkidul.

She has been selling grasshoppers for more than 10 years. The grasshoppers she catches in the fields are tasty, crispy and nutritious. Some call them the "land prawns of Gunungkidul".

"They are tasty and crispy. Have you eaten deep-fried chicken? Well, if you fry (grasshoppers), they are even tastier and crispier. Some even say they taste like prawns," Mukinem said.

Grasshoppers can be cooked in different ways, depending on your taste and how you like them, said Mukinem. Smiling, she explained that grasshoppers can be marinated first in garlic and salt, or can be deep-fried directly.

"Either way, they taste good. If you deep-fry them, they are really yummy and crunchy."

But, she said, before cooking the grasshoppers, their stomachs must be cleaned out. To remove dirt, they should be soaked in warm water.

"The problem is, if they are not clean, people who eat them could develop an allergic reaction or develop an itch," she said.

Mukinem sells the live grasshoppers on strings. One string can have 50, 80, 100 or 130 grasshoppers on it.

"It depends on the size of the grasshoppers and we adjust to the preference of the customers," she said.

A string of 80 grasshoppers costs Rp 12,500 (U.S. 15 cents), while the one with 100 grasshoppers is sold for Rp 15,000.

"In a day, with the help of my children, I can catch between 200 and 250 grasshoppers. From selling grasshoppers, I can earn between Rp 30,000 and Rp 50,000 a day. But this isn't always the case. If it rains, I can't catch many grasshoppers," she said.

Another grasshopper seller, Sarijo, explained that he does not use any sophisticated tools to catch grasshoppers. He uses only a three- to five-meter bamboo stick with a dollop of rat glue at one end.

Grasshoppers are commonly found near teakwood trees. Whenever he spots one, Sarijo catches it with the bamboo stick.

"I just move the stick toward the grasshopper so that it will get stuck on the glue. It sounds easy, but in reality it can be different," he said.

Every day, Sarijo said, he spent about three packages of rat glue, which he buys for Rp 1,000 each. Working from 7 a.m. until 1 p.m., he usually catches between 40 to 80 grasshoppers, depending on conditions and the weather.

"On average, I can make between Rp 25,000 and Rp 50,000 (a day) from grasshoppers."

Agus, 25, from Semanu village, goes around on his old bike selling grasshoppers on Jl. Mijahan in Semanu, Wonosari. Every morning, he catches the grasshoppers among the teakwood trees near his house.

"Each string has 60 grasshoppers, which I sell for Rp 10,000."

Jumono is also a grasshopper seller. The 48-year-old man from Ngasem Ayu, Patuk, Gunungkidul, touts his hopping wares on Jl. Yogyakarta, Wonosari. He puts the grasshoppers in fist-sized containers made of plaited young coconut leaves, which are usually used to wrap ketupat rice cakes. He sells strings of 10 ketupat containers each at Rp 2,000 to Rp 2,500. He said the price just covers the cost of making the containers. As for the grasshoppers, he does not have a fixed price.

"...There was a buyer who gave me Rp 10,000 for two strings (of grasshoppers," he said.

Sarijo, Mukinem, Agus and Jumono do not know exactly when the grasshopper business started. But Mukinem said that for Gunungkidul residents, eating grasshoppers was not something new. The insects are not considered disgusting, and are a popular delicacy in the area.

Mukinem said she is sometimes unable to meet the market demand. "I hardly ever suffer from slow business. Most of the time, they sell out," she said.

During Idul Fitri, there was a sharp increase in the number of customers. Many residents who work outside the area returned home and bought grasshoppers for a taste of the indigenous delicacy of Gunungkidul. Customers had to come early to buy the grasshoppers, otherwise they would go away empty-handed.

Due to the great number of buyers, the price of grasshoppers during Idul Fitri also increased. A string of grasshoppers could double, from Rp 15,000 to Rp 30,000, or even Rp 40,000.

"On average, we doubled the price during Lebaran. But it also depended on the customers, as they could bargain," Mukinem said.

Yoyon, 27, a Wonosari resident, said he bought grasshoppers at least twice a week. He always buys them along Jl. Raya Baron, where there are at least five grasshopper sellers.

"Mmm... They're delicious. If you imagine how the living insect looks, maybe you won't want to eat them. But after you taste them cooked, you might become addicted to them," he said.