Today I tried making a traditional Malay dish: Belalang kunyit celup tepung. This species is Valanga nigricornis, it grows quite large and is common in local gardens.

I'm following a recipe from a friend from Kedah. First you remove the legs and wings. Then pull off the head to remove the internal organs.

Then coat in egg and flour, and deep fry.

The end result looks quite nice. The grasshopper was mostly tasteless.

The scientific name, Valanga nigricornis, is actually derived from the Javanese word for grasshopper: "Walang". In Latin V is pronounced as W in English or Malay. Locusts and grasshoppers are one of the few examples of Malay entomophagy due to religious food restrictions.

Some of you want to try this out too. But honestly it's better for the environment if you leave the grasshoppers for the birds. There are better things to eat.