A crunchy Kapampangan pulutan of mole crickets — the rice-field insects locals call camaru — cooked adobo-style. The crickets are first simmered in vinegar and garlic, then sautéed with onion and tomato until they turn brown and crisp. Eaten by the handful with cold beer, they taste savory and nutty, crackling like a pretzel on the outside while staying tender within. The dish is a hallmark of Pampanga's reputation for exotic eating.
Mole crickets are a rice-paddy pest that feeds on the roots of the rice plant; in Pampanga they are gathered, not bred, and are seasonal — they surface in numbers when the fields are plowed and flooded at planting time. Older accounts describe children collecting them into cloth or woven bags and bringing them home alive for the women to cook, a thrift that turned a crop nuisance into a prized table dish. The cooking method is plainly named for adobo, the vinegar-braise that defines much of Philippine cookery; no single inventor is recorded.
Each cricket shatters with a dry, pretzel-like crunch, then turns nutty and faintly meaty, the legs and wings carrying most of the crackle. The adobo simmer leaves a tangy, garlicky savor that clings to the shells, while the sautéed onion and tomato add a sweet-sour edge. It is finger food in the truest sense — you keep reaching for the next one, beer in the other hand.
Cleaning matters first: the wings, hard leg spurs and heads are usually pinched off so only the crunchy bodies remain. A vinegar-and-garlic simmer does the adobo work, tenderizing and seasoning the insects while the acid keeps them from spoiling on the table. The pan is then taken dry and hot so the moisture cooks off and the chitin shells crisp; the onion and tomato are folded in at the end, their sugars browning to coat the now-crackling crickets without steaming them soft again.
Variations
The simplest version skips the simmer and just fries the cleaned crickets crisp with salt and garlic. Some cooks finish with a little soy for a darker adobo color, or toss in sliced chili for heat. Other Pampanga insect dishes treat house crickets or grasshoppers the same way.
On the Palate
Where Camaru sits in the Filipino flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 25 min active + 5 min waiting
- 16 min
Clean the crickets, pinching off the wings, hard leg spurs and heads, then rinse.
- 28 min
Simmer them in vinegar with smashed garlic until the liquid is nearly gone.
Watch outSimmer the crickets in vinegar and garlic until the liquid is nearly gone — the acid seasons and tenderizes them and keeps them safe on the table.
- 32 min
Drain the crickets from any remaining liquid.
- 42 min
Heat oil in a pan and add garlic, frying until fragrant.
- 56 min
Add the crickets and stir-fry over medium-high heat until browned and crisp.
Watch outStir-fry over medium-high until the shells turn browned and crisp — the moisture must cook off so the chitin crackles instead of staying soft.
- 64 min
Fold in chopped onion and tomato and toss until softened and glossy.
- 72 min
Season with salt to taste and let the moisture cook off fully.
- 81 min
Transfer to a plate and serve hot as pulutan with cold beer.
