Here's the article, with photo and more: http://migrationology.com/2012/12/how-to-eat-scary-insects-worms-and-bugs-in-thailand/'>http://migrationology.com/2012/12/how-to-eat-scary-insects-worms-and-bugs-in-thailand/
Thailand is an absolutely amazing country to visit and it happens to be very famous for it's cuisine. There is Pad Thai, soup noodles, coconut milk curries, stir fries, and then there's the notorious bug carts! That's right, makeshift motorcycles prowl around and vend a bunch of edible insects that are fried up and ready to be served as your next snack!
So in this episode of Migrationology Food TV, I decided to head over to a little stall selling insects, worms, and bugs and give nearly everything a try. This is not my first time to sample these bugs, I've had them a number of times before.
This particular cart had a selection of bugs and insects that included grasshoppers, giant water bugs, crickets both huge ones and small ones, silk worms, and bamboo worms. A small bag of the Tha bugs costs just 20 Thai Baht but I chose a huge bag for 100 Thai Baht, and let me tell you, it was way more than actually necessary. Anyway, after I chose the bugs I wanted in my bag, the vendor sprayed them all with a mist of soy sauce and added a dash of pepper to the entire mixture. She then handed my big snack of insects in Thailand! Yumm!
What to edible bugs, worms, and insects taste like? Well since they are all fried until pure crispiness and then heavily salted, they honestly taste kind of just like crunchy salty snacks - with a bit of a bug flavor to them. The grasshopper was fried to a complete crunch and when I bit into it, it just complete crunched down like a Cheeto would. The giant water bug is a bit of a funny creature, and you do not eat the wings which are simply too hard to eat. You pull apart the body and then kind of work to suck out the juices from the body first, which taste quite similar to scrambled eggs with a flavor of anise or black licorice, and then you dig out the head meat which tastes remarkably similar to mush crab that's gone bad. Next up, there were two different kinds of crickets. The big cricket which appeared to have gone wild, was extremely sharp. When I bit into it, it nearly cut the side of my cheep with its razor sharp claws. It wasn't my favorite. The smaller crickets are alright but give one's mouth a little dryness. As for the worms, the silk worm was not entirely crunchy and I could almost detect a hint of peanut in the body. It was soft consistency wise and was actually quite flavorful. The bamboo worms on the other hand literally almost tasted like popcorn. If your eyes were closed, you would not even know you're eating a bug or worm, but you'd honestly think you were at the movies munching on a bag of salted popcorn!
What is the best edible bug or insect on the Thai insect cart? Well, they all don't have a lot of flavor, but I'd have to say that my favorite of everything is grasshoppers. They are funny to look at and they are also really good to eat. After the bamboo worms, grasshoppers are probably the most crispy of all the creatures consumed in this video (if you heard the crunch!).
So there you have a guide on how to eat scary looking insects, worms, and bugs in Thailand, and just to reassure you, they are all safe and edible to consume!
Thank you for watching!
Follow my food adventures at http://migrationology.com/ & http://www.eatingthaifood.com/ Also check out my Bangkok travel guide http://migrationology.com/ebook-101-things-to-do-in-bangkok/ and my Thai food guide http://www.eatingthaifood.com/eating-thai-food-guide/
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