Some Thai Food Has Six Legs

Many people enjoy Thai food worldwide: spicy soups and salads, flavorful rice dishes are abundant. But in Thailand, fried or roasted insects and scorpions are also popular, readily available, and inexpensive.

Insects have traditionally been a rich source of protein, calories, vitamins, and minerals in the Northern Thailand diet. They are also prized as delicacies. In fact, it is unusual to find an insect which is not eaten in one form or another by local people. Among the most popular are:

• cicadas, locusts, mantises, crickets, and grasshoppers which are all deep fried and are rather crunchy;

• bamboo worms, which are also deep fried;

• giant water bugs, which are steamed; they are also ground into a paste with chili and eaten with sticky rice;

• weaver ants (red ants with a painful bite) and their eggs; sticky rice is dipped into a mixture of ants, eggs, and chili;

• dung beetles; which add a wholesome flavor to curries; however, many people will not eat them because they live in and on excrement.

In addition, Thai people will eat

• the pupae of silk moths and other moths and butterflies; you must first remove the pupae from their cocoons, then boil them until soft with a pinch of salt, finally sautée them lightly;

• the larvae of wasps and bees; these are deep-fried;

and arachnids:

• poisonous scorpions, which are grilled;

• giant tarantulas, which are also grilled.

I have not seen other spiders eaten, but I suspect if it moves, it is considered food somewhere.

Also, termites (large white ants) are grilled and their eggs are a delicacy used to make a flavorful soup.

Where I lived in Bangkok, Sukhumvit Soi 4, every night starting around 5:00 PM, there was a street vendor with half a dozen kinds of fried and grilled insects and scorpions; her customers were mainly the bar girls in the area. Every night she was quite busy as the girls consider these insects a tasty snack, and munch on them as frequently as Western people munch on potato chips.

The lady vendor does not speak any English, but will pose with her wares for a photograph if you give her a 20 baht (about 60 cents) tip. And if you’re brave, you could always buy a bag of deep fried bamboo worms.

About the Author

Doug Anderson is a retired Canadian programmer. He first visited Thailand in 1988 and has been back many times since. More information about Thailand at Thai Culture Publishing [http://www.thai-culture-publishing.com].
Also see Photography Help! [http://www.photography-help.biz] for tips and techniques to help you learn digital photography.

Australian Garden Spider

What is the biggest mistake (any kind) in the world?

No matter what type it is. Was it a spider?

To cut long www.wisegeek.com same can not beat a female foot giant bat (serratipes Phobaeticus). Found in Malaysia and Singapore, which looks like a set of branches is perfectly camouflaged among the branches in which they live. The largest show in the record was an astonishing 21.8 "(55.5cm). Some people even keep these huge insects and pets. The giant cane can be long, but not much dough. To do this, you have to turn the giant beetles. Among them, entomologists have settled in the five contenders: South America Longhorn Beetle (Titanus giganteus) of French Guiana makes perhaps the most impressive showing, with a body length of more than 6.5 "(16.7cms). A competitor shorter but much thicker is the Acteon Beetle (Actaeon Megasoma) South America. Males can reach 5.3 "(13.5 cm) long by 1.6 "(4cms) thick. The elephant beetle (Elephas Megasoma) found in Mexico and Venezuela. a short body as acetone, but a muzzle, so total recorded length 5.4 "(13.7cm) in the rear are two species of Goliathus: regius and goliatus, both measured at least 4.3" (11cm). In 1874, the Rev. JG Wood published abroad insects, in which he claimed to have in his possession a 9 "(22.8 cm) of South America beetle (Titanus). A sample of this size has never been documented since then, and nobody really knows what method you use to measure the error. Therefore, the accepted term records are kept in 6.5 "(16.7cms) that continues to lead in the top five contenders. While the staff and the winner of giant beetles length and weight, the simple, you have to turn wetas Giant (Deinacrida heteracantha) in New Zealand. A pregnant woman can overcome the scales at over 2 ounces (71gms)! There are over 1 million species of insects known even with 10 million illegal immigrants. However, the title of largest insects in the world remains a matter of what constitutes "the greatest" for you: length, mass or weight!

Orrion Carn Paints: Arachnid Warrior Bug