Shinge: A Nigerian Delicacy.

In the rainy season, a unique event occurs some days after it rains. Shinge (pronounced shin-gay) flies appear, much like cicadas appear for only a short time every few years in the US. These seasonal Nigerian delicacies (yes, you heard me right), are quickly snatched up as a treat or die shortly after their wings fall off. Well, guess what we did the other night…? That’s right, folks! We interns got to experience a true Nigerian delicacy.

Ok, so I know you want to hear all about it, right? Ok, good. Well let me tell you how it works.

First, you have to catch a shinge. These bugs look similar to dragon flies, having maybe an inch long body and 2 ½ to 3in long wings. If that’s not a feat in and of itself, once you catch it, you have to pluck the wings off. Eww! Right? Yeah. Ok, so now you have this creepy, squirmy, wormlike bug wiggling in your hand, and you’re thinking, “Oh my gosh! What am I thinking!?”

At this point, you have 2 options: (1) Catch more shinge flies, throw them in a sauté pan with a little bit of butter, and eat them as a sweet, crunchy snack, or (2) Pop the shinge in your mouth and eat it as is (yes, while it is still alive and wiggling all over the place).

While option #1 may seem like much more of a culinary adventure, we interns were looking for a true experience…. And was it! I think I downed a liter of Gatorade and a bottle of Sprite afterward. Bleh! Er, um, I mean, it was so great … let me know if you want me to bring some back for you. Mmm….

As a side note, for those of you worried about my new diet, fear not. I am actually eating quite well here – so well in fact, that I may have actually gained weight. Ok, maybe not, but whatever. They really try to keep things “Americanized” for us (Well, most nights). For example, for our first morning in Jos, the staff made pancakes for breakfast. Yum! Other menu items include spaghetti, pb&j’s, banana bread, and mango cobbler (we actually have a mango tree in our backyard, so the mangos were straight off of the tree!!).