Nutritious Snacks (bugs)

With the beginning of the rainy season, I am now fully aware of the nutritious variety of insects available to my staff as snacks. I usually ignore this reality. This morning, however, I found two large dung beetles in the fryer-basket and, after a little inquiry, found out that some of my staff is regularly preparing bugs they catch for their own consumption in the main kitchen. When bewildered, I asked how many times insects had been deep-fried in “my” fry oil bin; they shrugged their shoulders and seemed strangely amused about my disgust. Side note:
No worries, I changed the oil and the cooking rules in the same liquid as I bake desserts and French fries…
My culinary curiosity finally helped me overcome the fear of crawling insects, and I ate a cricket. Let me explain:
In the South, I’m offered everyday snacks from my staff and feel really bad when rejecting the generously offered Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Locusts. As much as I would be insulted if anyone in America brings me a Water-beetle to show appreciation, here it is a sign of their respect for me. After requesting my Thai chef to prepare his favorite dish, I received fried silkworm pupae with red ant eggs. Tom Yam style. (Green papaya, roasted peanuts, chili, spring onion, and the larva of butterflies – I guess wishfully… which they collected for me around the pawn behind the kitchen, mixed with large ants living in bamboo…)
When with Goosebumps and wide-open eyes, I carry the plate away from the stove, afraid the smashed and roasted insects could still crawl from the hot plate over my hand and up my sleeves; my staff looked after me concerned, realizing I forgot to ‘kon kun krab’ (say ‘thank you’) and it dawned on some of them that I probably couldn’t eat it. “Arroy, arroy,” they encouraged me, but it looked unappealing. The idea of biting through a whole body and the critter’s insides would burst onto my tongue while the crunching sounds of chitin echoed through my skull gags me. I’d rather lick the bottom of my shoes before scooping a spoon of roasted meaty maggots in my mouth. Down at the “local beach restaurant,” one can order ‘tod Malang da na’ (water bugs roasted with chili and straw mushroom), a delicacy for most Thais. I can’t even sit at the same table when anyone eats their delicacy. Disturbed, I’m thinking about awkward things, like, who are they kissing tonight or “Am I seriously drinking from the same cup in the kitchen…?”
I know that bugs and larvae’ protein content is double that of any good meat. Even the vitamin and nutrition value is unmatchable compared to eating cattle. For instance, 110 grams of dried insects contains 40g to 80g of protein and 10g to 40g of fat. This is the same amount of protein and fat found in 220g (about ½ lbs of beef). Besides, insects contain high amounts of calcium and phosphorus. You can produce more insects with the same energy and money invested on a fraction of land needed to raise cows (and help the environment about global warming). Thai people eat insects everywhere. Even in Bangkok, on the streets, you find vendors praising these snacks in little paper bags while explaining that the locusts and walnut-sized maggots had been grown in jars filled with honey and hence, taste very sweet. Yuk! Two nights ago, a little girl sitting on the beach front “snacked” away on mang kudgi (wait for the explanation of this one). Happily distracted by her crunchy lunch of the day – when I ask, Arroy? She responded: arroy mak mak! (very, very delicious) sliding a huge moth with wings and all in her little mouth…
Today, I helped collect malaeng grachon (mole crickets). We deep-fried them quickly -(before I change the oil). Yes, I ate a few… They were crispy and had a nice “earthy” taste. I expected it to be sweeter and hoped they’d be ‘Chocolate’ flavored since I once heard that description, but no – it was like eating unwashed potato skin. Nothing gross or awful. I now know I could survive eating hoppers… They hide in damp soil. To catch them, we made a hole in the ground and, by pouring water in it, chased the snack onto the surface. When the crickets came to the above ground to avoid drowning, we caught them.
This brings us back to the little girl eating dung beetles, locally known as mang kudgi. Before you think about who she kisses, keep in mind these beetles feed on cattle waste as well as other wild animal excrement such as elephants and chicken shit, and wild monkey poop… Not sure that is the right ‘treat’ for little girls… but heck, I ain’t going to try it! ‘Man pen rai’ – (all is okay), they say here in Thailand.