Colin Flahive, you're a brave man. I spent a few years in Simao (Pu'er) so had plenty of opportunity to try the odd plate of insects (zhu chong, mainly) at banquets. Dragonfly nymphs were another one we tentatively savoured. I never actually considered shopping for them and cooking them myself though! Hunting cicadas is fun though. A friend who lived in Jiangcheng (E of Simao) once spent a happy evening out in the jungle with torches and nets catching them for his dinner. Great post, loved it.

Bye the way, what's happened to Guo Duomi and the Yunnan Recipes? After a tantalising dozen, the run stopped on 2009-07-07 with Stirfried Baihe. I'm sure I'm not the only reader who's missing them...
Alastair Matthewson

I can't seem to find spring roll rounds in the markets down here in Simao. Do you have a more specific recipe for spring roll pastry (Yunnan-style)? Most recipes I've seen for spring rolls stipulate filo pastry, but that sounds very hard work to produce...