Eating Bugs in Thailand

I've lived in Thailand for over four years now, and I've never eaten any bugs. Shocking, I know, but I just never seemed to get around to doing it (actually, the concept really grossed me out).

You see bug vendors all around Bangkok, and some guys drive around in little motorcycle-driven vending carts hawking a variety of bugs, worms, and frogs. The frogs are good if they're cooked right (they have to be crispy or it's kinda gross eating them). However, the bugs never appealed to me. But one night I finally decided to give it a try. After all, they really don't look that much different than crabs or lobsters, so they can't be that bad, right?

Well, I wasn't up for trying the giant water bugs (that look like cockroaches) or the mealworms, so I decided to go for something "safe": ants and grasshoppers!

You know what? They're actually not that bad. The grasshoppers were crispy and salty with only a little bit of a weird after taste, but the red ants were actually delicious! Jing jing! No kidding! They had a creamy, lemony taste and when mixed with onions and herbs they tasted really, really good.

Gin mot deang, aroi mahk mahk!

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Thailand
• Thai
• Bangkok
• Pudgimelon
• teach
• learn
• English
• EFL
• eating
• bugs
• ants
• grasshoppers

[HeavenBabe4ever]

That's nice I was born in Thailand and I moved to America when I was five and barley remember myself eating bugs....I might go live there again some day

[pudgimelon]

You should. It's changed a lot in the last 20 years. It's very modern now. Definitely a strong "second-world" nation and in about 10 years it'll be "first-world" like Taiwan or Korea. So there are lots of opportunities here.

[Authorized77]

How do they flavor them over there? The only way I have cooked them is panfried with a little flour/salt/pepper mixture. I was thinking of making a nice peanut sauce for them, I like the peanut chicken at the Chinese restaurant so much.

[pudgimelon]

these are just deep-fried with some soy sauce for seasoning. the ants are uncooked but cured with lemon juice.

[smallplasticman]

I have eaten them... all kinds... nice snacks... goes well with beer... especially Singha. Tear he legs off... and munch... good stuff... protein and calcium...

[KwonJiYongobsessed]

where part of thailand where u born??

[KwonJiYongobsessed]

where part of thailand?? i was born there to

[thecoolconejoman]

Damn thats crazy...Must have been a bad batch or something. Makes ya think whats in other cereals huh.

[jwboll]

nope. It turned me off of that stuff for years. right after breaking the new bag open I found a very high amount of grashopper legs and wings.

[thecoolconejoman]

lol...You might want to makesure you are sealing your foods well. You may have a moth or Insect Nest near your kitchen.

[jwboll]

have you ever looked in your milk after pouring a nice big bowl of quaker harvest crunch cereal? Wings and legs will usually float on top.

[sampsoncain1984]

DATS TRYFLIN!!

[eternalanime]

o_o uncooked?

That's weird.

XD I want to try one now.