Thailand is very well known for its wide variety of food. What many don’t know about the Thai diet, however, is the variety of insect-based food. Many people regard eating insects as something disgusting but to the Thais, insects are often a highly-prized delicacy. Traditionally, insects have been a rich source of protein, calories, vitamins and minerals, especially in the Northern Thai diet. Among the most famous insect snacks are scorpions, bamboo worms, grasshoppers, river bugs, beetles and other species. They are served deep-fried or grilled and are usually available in stalls in the streets. The stalls can be found almost everywhere in Bangkok, especially in Khao San Road. The stalls attract tourists who stop in shock when they realize that what is being displayed so invitingly is a variety of insects. Tourists sometimes bet with one another on eating the insect. One British tourist who received 100 baht (about $2) from his friends for biting into a beetle, said “It looks horrible, but actually the taste is not that bad.”
Most people who have tasted the bugs say that they don’t taste as bad as they look. One said, “The closest thing to the taste of locusts is shrimp.” The stall owner usually makes a good deal of money from tourists who will pay just to take pictures or to take a single bite.
In a report by a Thai newspaper, Sanga Damapong, a public health officer in the Health Ministry’s Nutrition Division, says he is convinced that commercial insect farms may one day prove to be a valuable source of food.
“In terms of nutritional content and simple cost-effectiveness, raising insects would be much more sensible than raising cattle,’’ he says. “It takes a lot of fodder, a large field and great effort to raise a single cow. Since insects eat little, don’t require much space and breed so rapidly, it would cost a lot less to produce the same amount of protein.’’
Sanga has been able to prove that the nutritional value of insects compares favorably with more conventional foodstuffs. For instance, 100 grams of dried insects contains 37 to 60 grams of protein, and four to 33 grams of fat. This, he says, is more than the amount of protein found in 100 grams of lean ground beef, which contains 27.4 grams. Furthermore, some insects contain the same amount of calcium and phosphorus as a duck egg.
Forty-four kinds of insects are considered edible by the National Institute of Thai Traditional Medicine. To be absolutely sure that they are safe to eat, Sanga advises that they be cooked first. Grilling over an open fire is the method favored in the countryside but you can also stir-fry or deep-fry them or add some to a gaeng (curry) or other hot dish. Country people usually remove the wings, the hard exoskeletons and sometimes the intestines before cooking. When tender, some species are devoured with a chili dip or added to a yam (spicy salad).
“Some insects pick up parasites from eating buffalo dung so avoid eating them raw. They must be rinsed well first and then thoroughly cooked. Some species also contain very small quantities of poisonous hydrocyanic acid. If a person were to eat a great number of these insects raw, the acid levels would build up in the body causing illness, fainting, vomiting, unconsciousness and possibly, death. The substance is, however, easily destroyed by heat.
Some insects, particularly the takatan pa tang ka (Bombay locust), destroy crops so farmers spray their fields with insecticide which is harmful to humans, whether or not the insects are cooked.’’ Sanga says that a locust which has been exposed to toxic substances will often have drops of saliva at the corners of its mouth and he advises against eating insects which are found dead.
Of today’s extant insects, one of the most ancient is the cockroach. It dates from more than 360 million years ago. Some Thais believe that eating cockroaches can cure certain illnesses but the insect, according to international research, is a real health hazard, even if cooked before being eaten. The cockroach spreads disease because it is host to a number of dangerous viruses and bacteria and a carrier of parasites which can cause stomachache, diarrhea, tiredness and hallucinations.
