The 'cricket studies' master and his dream... of insects!

(Baonghean.vn) - By chance, but also by his passion for learning about insects, especially crickets, Math teacher Nguyen The Thang set up a cricket farm, then became a master of economics with a thesis on cricket farming and is pursuing his dreams with...insects.

After graduating from university and being accepted to teach Math at Nguyen Van To High School (Dien Chau), teacher Nguyen The Thang has a special interest in crickets.

Master Nguyen The Thang instructs a young family in Dien My (Dien Chau) on how to raise crickets.

Success from passion

With an initial capital of only 300,000 VND, he ordered cricket eggs in Hanoi to breed, and researched breeding techniques on the Internet and did his own research. Persistent and meticulous, one day Thang was overwhelmed with joy when the tiny cricket eggs, the size of mustard seeds, hatched into tiny crickets. Thang lost sleep and appetite to raise the baby crickets. He put the crickets in a deep cardboard styrofoam box to make a place for them to live; the food was rice bran and various types of spinach, sweet potato leaves, and cabbage. After only 25 days, he "harvested" the first batch of adult crickets and after about 35 days, this class of crickets continued to reproduce...

After hatching, crickets are raised in foam boxes.

After successfully hatching and raising the first batch of crickets, Mr. Thang went to pubs to sell his products. Looking at the strange bags of crickets in plastic bags that had been pre-processed and frozen, many restaurant owners shook their heads and refused. He immediately convinced them to lend him their kitchen and directly processed the crickets and invited them to try them. Although many people praised the deliciousness, they still did not dare to put the cricket dish on the menu to serve customers.

Not discouraged, Mr. Thang read many books and newspapers about crickets and consolidated the scientific basis that this is a type of insect with many nutrients and is benign; then he decided to rent a space on Phong Dinh Cang Street (Vinh City) to open a cricket restaurant, naming the restaurant after his eldest daughter, 'Lan Huong Cricket Farm', painstakingly preparing the dishes and inviting close friends to try them to introduce them.

Attractive dish made from crickets at Mr. Thang's restaurant.

Young cicadas braised in fish sauce is a very popular dish.

Gradually, more and more curious customers came to the restaurant to enjoy dishes made from Mr. Thang's farmed crickets. The menu also became more and more diverse: crispy fried crickets, grilled crickets, fried crickets with flour, crickets roasted with salt and chili, crickets braised with pepper, crickets fried with butter...

According to Mr. Thang, to make delicious cricket dishes, the preparation method must also be elaborate. Before processing, the crickets must be fasted for 3 days to eliminate harmful substances from the body. After that, the crickets are fed with roasted green bean powder and fasted for another 3 days, then washed with diluted salt water and stored in the freezer, then processed into dishes according to the customer's request.

To expand the market for crickets, Mr. Thang went to Ha Tinh and opened another restaurant called De Men, however, the consumption of crickets was still limited. Continuing to search online, knowing that crickets are a favorite food of pet birds, Mr. Thang went to pet bird shops to market.

To freeze crickets also requires experience to ensure quality.

At first, he 'consigned' crickets for them to sell along with, even giving away "promotional" crickets to meticulous bird owners so they could feed their birds. When the dealers ran out of crickets, he encouraged them to raise crickets by providing breeding stock, technical guidance, recruiting members, and guaranteeing output for the products.

When he had a fairly large consumer market, Mr. Thang set up a website to popularize cricket farming. Up to now, nearly 400 households from Thanh Hoa to Quang Binh have been instructed on cricket farming techniques and have received product contracts from him. Nearly 289 members in the Central provinces are raising crickets to supply him and agents and restaurants. In addition, he also exports crickets to some northern provinces, to Laos, and even to customers in the Czech Republic...

"Kingdom" of insects

When the cricket farming and trading model was basically stable, Nguyen The Thang continued to research the termite farming model and guide members who wanted to raise and purchase the products. Up to now, he has guided and provided breeds for 10 termite farming models.

In addition, he also buys grasshoppers, beetles, and cicadas to process and supply to restaurants, pubs, etc. As for geckos and scorpions, he has to import them from other places. Due to the increasing demand of diners for enjoying insects, Mr. Thang has invested to provide the market with a rich and diverse source of insects.

Nguyen The Thang's De Men restaurant is currently located at 52B, Phung Khac Khoan Street, Hung Dung Ward (Vinh City), selling and introducing 8 types of insects: crickets, termites, grasshoppers, scorpions, beetles, stink bugs, and cicadas to be processed into 35 dishes such as: stir-fried crickets with lemongrass and chili, fried crickets with salt and lemon, grilled termites, stir-fried termites with turmeric, fried grasshoppers with lemon leaves, cicadas simmered in fish sauce...

Dishes made from insects at Mr. Thang's De Men restaurant.

Fried termites with salt and lemon

Every afternoon, De Men restaurant, also known as “Thang De Restaurant”, is the name that friends and diners come to; this is also a regular gathering place for some artists in Vinh city to discuss poetry, music, etc., creating a truly unique and inspiring space.

To satisfy his passion and expand his business knowledge, Nguyen The Thang studied and successfully defended his Master of Economic Management at Vietnam Maritime University on the topic of "Cricket Studies", with the hope that the insects he is researching will develop further in the market.

In the near future, he plans to build a farm to raise insects: crickets, termites, geckos, and scorpions.

Thang De restaurant has become a meeting place for many diners.

Dam Phuong