### Beondegi
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South Korea — After spinning beautiful silk, these little pupae become a warm, juicy street food packed with umami flavor.
Beondegi are silkworm pupae that look like tiny, ridged footballs or roasted coffee beans. When you bite into one, the outer shell gives a slight pop, revealing a soft, juicy inside that tastes exactly like sweet canned corn mixed with the briny, savory flavor of small shrimp.
How It's Made
First, the pupae are carefully cleaned and then slow-boiled or steamed. Korean street vendors often simmer them in large metal vats filled with a savory-sweet broth made of soy sauce, salt, and sugar until they are perfectly hot and tender.
The Story
Beondegi highlights a brilliant, zero-waste culinary tradition born from South Korea's long history of making silk. To create silk thread, farmers process silkworm cocoons, which leaves the highly nutritious pupae behind. Following the Korean War in the 1950s, traditional meats were incredibly scarce. As the government promoted the silk industry to help the economy, citizens smartly realized that the leftover silkworms were an affordable, abundant, and vital source of protein. Today, this clever survival food has evolved into a beloved national snack that you can buy steaming hot on the street or even grab in cans from the local grocery store.