The creepy, crawly bugs in Thailand

If you had asked me years ago if I would ever eat an insect, I would respond immediately with a mild shriek and a stern "no way!!"  Fast forward a couple years and well, what do you know?  This past Sunday I found myself on the streets of Khao San Road with a couple of new friends and we were hungry.......for some fried insects:

It might be a combination of slowly getting used to the idea of crunching on those crispy critters and seeing brave friends eat them (including while they are still alive, mind you) just like Andrew Zimmern, Anthony Bourdain, and Bear Grylls.  I knew I was going to do it this trip, I had worked up the courage because it really is, mind over matter.  When ants or fruit flies get into my food, no big deal, it's really just a little notch above that in the sense of it being the main snack rather than a "garnish."  So here you have it, the raw footage of it, the first taste of it were the FRIED GRASSHOPPERS sprinkled with salt and sprayed with soy sauce:



If you find yourself with a grasshopper, be sure to take off the legs before eating, as recommended by the bug cart vendor.  If your appetite calls for something else, different options are available depending on what the vendor has in stock/sells: beetles, free range cockroaches, baby frogs, bamboo worms, cicadas, crickets, scorpions, silkworms, and water bugs.  My advice: have a chaser ready to go.

But it doesn't stop here, I also opted to try the worms.  Honestly, they didn't look too bad and kind of looked like little fries.  And the taste?  A lot better than the grasshopper that's for sure! One shape, one texture.  They were small, they were crispy, and a lot more doable for me.  Total count: grasshoppers 2, worms 5ish.