TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Not only made into chips, Elok Mekarsari Farmer Group in Surabaya also cook crickets into serundeng and botok. The serundeng, which is made of sauteed grated coconut, and crickets of course, is sold for Rp10,000 to Rp15,000 per package of 0.5 ounce.

Similar to the cricket chips, the protein-rich body part of crickets are mixed with serundeng. But before that, the crickets have to be seasoned first. In addition to the serundeng, the group also make crickets botok. Botok is another kind of Javanese coconut grated dish. But instead of being sauteed, botok is cooked by steaming.

"For botok and serundeng, we usually cook them upon orders," said Rusmini, a member of Elok Mekarsari group who cook the dishes.

The leader of Elok Mekarsari Farmers Group, Ary Widiastuti, said processing crickets into dishes is more profitable than breeding them for bird food. The idea of making crickets into snacks crossed Ary’s mind when her proposal for crickets breeding was approved by the Surabaya Agriculture Agency in 2013.

“I was confused about what to do with the crickets,” Ary recalled.“Fortunately, the crickets can be cooked into affordable alternative snacks.”

AGITA SUKMA LISTYANTI