A woman on TikTok learned the hard way that you should always wash your rice before cooking it.
TikTok user Sal (@sodos.guitar.pick) posted a video that by Tuesday had over 6 million views. It shows her shock and disgust upon discovering bugs in her sticky rice.
@sodos.guitar.pick theres a party in my tummy! so yummy! #fyp #foryoupage #bugs #rice #fart ♬ so yummy – бог нагетсов
“Made sticky rice and after eating most of it thought it looked off and I checked the container,” Sal (@sodos.guitar.pick) writes in the text overlay. The Daily Dot reached out to her via TikTok comment.
A close-up shot of her cooked rice shows the aftermath of her meal. There are tiny black specks that look like black pepper. But the uncooked rice proves that the truth is much more unappetizing; there are tons of tiny little black bugs crawling around.
These are most likely weevils, a type of beetle that is known for infesting pantry items such as flour, cornmeal, and rice.
According to the Spruce, female weevils chew a hole through the rice or seed and leave their egg behind before sealing the hole shut. When the egg hatches from inside the rice, the larva feeds on the food item and then eats its way out once it’s fully grown.
The best way to prevent weevils is by storing grains in tightly-sealed containers, such as glass or plastic. Before cooking any type of rice, it’s recommended that you wash it thoroughly until the water runs clear. According to Martha Stewart, rinsing rice removes impurities such as dirt, chemicals, and even bugs.
In the comments of Sal’s video, people shared her dismay.
“The way I’d drop down and cry,” a user expressed. Another shared that they would be too traumatized to eat rice again. “Id never eat rice again thats terrifying,” they wrote.
Some tried to lighten up the situation by pointing out that things could’ve been much worse.
”Thats better than fly eggs,” one wrote. “Extra protein,” another added.
One user shared their own horrifying bug discovery. “Same thing happened to me except I found a worm!” they wrote.
“This once happened to me w pasta and i threw up and didnt eat for a week,” another noted.
Many more were shocked for other reasons, particularly that some people don’t wash their rice.
“That’s why you wash your rice kids,” this user shared. Another wrote that it was their grandparent who taught them the cooking step.
“This is why my grandma always said to wash my rice,” the user noted.
