I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have the strongest
stomach. I can barely look at the fat, gristle or bone of meat, let alone eat
it. I have, on occasional, cried at the dinner table in reaction to biting into
gristle…either tears come out…or something altogether worse that nobody else
wants to see. I don’t like chewing weird textures between my teeth.
But I knew that this year would hold some challenges for me
in this area. I actually have people back home (thanks ya’ll!!) praying that I
can stomach all of the food that is put in front of me. I’ve tried some fairly
strange things so far…unknown pieces of chicken, pork, AND beef…anchovies…fried
fish eggs…octopus…and now I can add crickets and grasshoppers to the list! I’d
heard that Thailand offered fried bugs of many kinds and I made a promise to
myself at the beginning that, if presented with the opportunity, I would try a
bug…preferably a cricket or a grasshopper. I knew right off the bat that I
wouldn’t be able to make myself eat a worm or a maggot.
So our translators, Mon and Nom, took us to an amazing Thai
Floating Market one day. We walked around for hours looking at the authentic
Thai silk, purses and Aladdin pants. Nom kept buying us new snacks that we’d
never tried before and showing us all of the different cultural foods that
Thailand had to offer. As we walked past one market stall, the bugs suddenly
came into my view and I knew that my opportunity had suddenly made its
appearance. This particular vendor offered grasshoppers, 2 sizes of crickets, and
2 sizes of fat caterpillar-worm type bugs.
I went straight for
the grasshoppers and crickets. Nom told the vender to fry up some bugs for us
and she went about throwing a bunch of bugs in a deep fryer. After a minute or
two, with some onion added for flavor, she passed us a banana leaf bag full of
freshly fried bugs. It took me a minute to gain my composure and think of
something pleasant that I focus on while the bug would be in my mouth. But,
just as quickly as I grabbed the medium cricket out of the bag, I threw it in
my mouth…and chewed.
And I, surprisingly, found that it tasted quite flavorful.
It was like popcorn on crack! Crunchy and super tasty…if I focused too much, I
thought about the fact that I had just bitten down on a cricket head…but that’s
where my mind over matter capabilities strongly came into play.
Then I decided to have a second…
And a third…
And a fourth…
And a fifth…
Each time, trying a different size or type of bug. So, I
would call the day pretty positive. I ate 5 bugs…and ENJOYED every bite!
But, here’s my disclaimer: Be aware of dangerous legs! If
you ever have the opportunity to eat a crunchy bug, such as a grasshopper or a
cricket, CHEW WELL BEFORE SWALLOWING! The legs are pretty sharp and pointy…if
you decide to eat them, make sure they are thoroughly chewed before moving on
to swallowing. This helps to avoid getting cricket legs stuck in your throat.
Also, it is possible to get a leg stuck in between your lip and gum…like
me…beware of this…you don’t want to greet a new person, shake their hand and
realize you have a leg stuck in your month…not to mention, it’s slightly
uncomfortable and does chaff your lip. J
