Well, here's the food I wanted to worldbuild!
I've been thinking of having daphnia, a small aquatic arthropod, be a stand-in for fish for Hollow Knight worldbuilding since an actual fish would be similar to the size of a whale. Daphnia would be pretty wide spread and can be found anywhere with a large enough body of freshwater. Because of their large range, different ways of preparing them are found in different areas or civilizations, even differing between species in the same area to meet their nutritional and digestive needs.
For example, in my paper-wasp kingdom Hymecria, most daphnia-based dished have the meat cooked, as adult wasps have a difficult time breaking down protein compared to when they were still larvae. They also often include a sweeter, fruity element to the dish as adult wasps are mainly nectivorous. Meanwhile, in the lakeside town where Kayzen grew up, many daphnia dishes include serving them raw as dragonflies like himself are carnivorous at all stages of life, and can easily digest raw meat. They do have dished that call for cooking the daphnia as well, as cooking something is a great way to introduce new flavours or textures, with daphnia leg tempura being a favourite crunchy snack. Finally, insects that are omnivores often incorporate pieces of daphnia into dishes alongside other ingredients, creating a balanced set of nutrients for them in their meals. The ratio of daphnia or other meat products to more herbivorous ingredients varies between recipe, species, and even just personal preference.
