THAILAND: Scorpions & Insects

The main part of my trip in Thailand, I was part of a tour called ThaIntro. This was a great way to see a lot of Thailand with very little stress and little organisation needed. It was also great fun, as you automatically have a large group of like-minded people to experience and enjoy new things with. My friend Rhiannon and I met with the group a few days after arriving in Bangkok.

The first night was a bit of a "get to know you' kind of evening, however the next day was crammed full of visits to temples, a river boat trip, an "introduction" to street food (not such an introduction for me as I had already sampled a few street food delights!) and a scour of the street markets. There was also an option to accompany our tour guides to a little restaurant offering typical Thai food, and a few magic tricks on the side.

Apart from my first authentic Thai-made Pad Thai, which was much better than any of the versions I have tried in the UK, I had the opportunity to try one of my first truly unusual foods: CRISPY SCORPION!

As you can see from the photo, it wasn't a small scorpion, by any means, and if I am honest, it didn't look the most appetizing snack I've ever seen. It was in fact a rather scary looking little creature! However it did have a certain lure about it, perhaps for the bravado I could claim after polishing it off!

For the first bite I decided to go all guns blazing and bit off a full pincer, I braced myself not really knowing what to expect from the flavour or in fact texture... yes I knew it would be crispy on the outside, but would the inside be chewy or would a squirt of liquid escape as I bit down, or would the inside be something different all together?

Let me put you out of your misery and tell you. The whole pincer was crunchy and actually had very little discernible flavour. Apart from a sllight bitterness, it was mainly just a salty flavour. All of the extremities: pincers, legs, tail were very much similar: crunchy and salty. The middle section was slightly chewy in the centre but had the same flavour. Not exactly a pleasurable taste/texture but definitely palatable.

Later that day whilst enjoying a few cocktails on Khao San Road, I was again presented with the opportunity to try some unusual delicacies: dried crispy grasshoppers, frogs, crickets... a plate of assorted dried insects. This time I opted for a cricket and went for the all in one method and put the whole cricket straight into my mouth. Again it was not a particularly pleasant flavour, but nothing too offensive to the senses, it was mainly just salty and crunchy. Actually, not that much different to the scorpion.

Now Im sure a few of you are wondering is this truly a Thai cuisine or is this just something to give the tourists a good story when they go home? And I would have to agree with you, there did seem to be an element of the "shock factor" that enticed me.

However I can confirm that crispy or fried insects are very commonplace as a snack in Thailand, such as crispy caterpillars, which is one of my friend Namwaans favourite snacks!

As you can probably tell from the tone of this post, although I had a great time and felt a sense of accomplishment having tried scorpion and cricket, I didn't particularly enjoy the taste or texture of either, and I can't see either becoming a popular snack in Europe in the near future! However I can definitely see this as the new "I dare you to..." and already is, just that, for the tourists in Thailand. So maybe it will become popular in Europe as an entertainment feature rather than a delicacy in restaurants or bars.

In conclusion, great fun, great experience and I feel a bit like I have "bragging rights", but not really a taste sensation I would want to bring home!