The future’s food- deep fried insects

Call it a ‘cultural divide’ but strange as it may seem, a favourite snack in Thailand, originally from the northeast of the country but now found everywhere, is a yummy plate of fried insects. The theory is that the northeast is the poorest part of Thailand and that for some time now crops have been hard to grow there. Raising cattle was out of the question so some locals had to be creative when it came to food. So, easy-to-catch insects and bugs became one of their favourite snacks and protein supplements

 Later on, when they were forced to go looking for jobs in big cities like Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket, they brought with them their very own special cuisine; deep-fried insects. The secret is in the fresh oil. Never use old oil to fry the insects. The insects sold include silk worms, grasshoppers, bamboo worms, water beetles, and crickets. But the potential range of the insect menu is huge. If you explore a bit, don’t be surprised if you come across cockroaches, spiders or scorpions being sold by other vendors.                                                                                          Some insects, such as crickets, are caught in the wild while others, including silk worms and grasshoppers, are raised on insect farms in the north and northeast of Thailand. When the insects are fried to perfection thy are drained out with a draining scoop. One scoopful – between five and ten insects depending on their size – sells for 20-50 baht.

The taste of these deep-fried snacks can be expressed in a few words; crispy and crunchy for most of the insects but milky and creamy for worms such as the silk worm and bamboo worm. A bug eater commented to Phuket.com that the best way to eat them is to put some white pepper and soy sauce on them – it makes them that much tastier! Beside the ‘interesting’ taste and textures, many people claim that insects are full of calcium and protein. Eaten with vegetables, it is said, they make the perfectly balanced meal.

A bag of deep-fried insects used to be known as a popular snack among bar girls and lower-paid workers such as factory workers, but it is not the case any more. Many students, children and office workers also eat it. The popularity of insects, it seems, is universal and classless.