Siem Reap, Cambodia is not the first place we have seen critters for sale as food. Though it is certainly the place that I built up the courage to try them. Not only do the stands sell fried grasshoppers, bamboo worms, and cicadas. They also sell fried snakes, tarantulas, and scorpions. I was very hesitant about trying these unusual snacks, but I had this very ambitious goal of trying every critter they sell. I thought that it would be cool to go home and tell my friends, I ate all these interesting things. I also thought that if locals didn’t buy these creatures, then the stands would run out of business, so I might as well give it a try.
Around Pub Street in Siem Reap there are many food stands. It was there I started to try these things. I stared at the wide variety of creatures, and spotted the snake. I decided that it was the closest to our everyday snacks. The snake was crunchy, and salty, but there wasn’t much meat, there was mostly the skin and dry bones.
A few days later, I was eager to try more, and settled on something more adventurous, the grasshopper, and the scorpion. I chose the grasshopper to eat first.
My mom told me that the best part of a grasshopper was the legs. She said that they are very crunchy and flavorful. After how good the snake was, I told my mom I had decided to try the grasshopper. As soon as I got it, I immediately went for the legs, but was disappointed with a result of a hollow, flavorless object. I then went for the body. I was not expecting it to be so good, since the legs weren’t. I was surprised by the heavenly mixture of crunch, juice, and flavor. The grasshopper tasted salty, and a bit spicy.
After finishing the grasshopper, I had the scorpion. I was very glad to see that the tail was cut off. At some other stands, the tail was still on. I am not sure if the venom is still there. I cautiously bit into the claw, not knowing what to expect. Then the intense, yet good flavor hit me like a wall of bricks. It had a BBQ taste, and was very crunchy. This was the best one I had yet. I also learned that you need to be aware of fully chewing the shrimp-like skin. For if not, you could possibly choke.
A few days later, on our way home from Angkor Wat, we saw a night market setting up, and coming alive. We stopped and looked at a new sight. Here, they not only sold the bugs, they also sold snails, small crabs, and fried frog. My mom tried the crab, I tried the tarantula and fried frog.
I touched the tarantula, and it felt very sticky and disgusting. So this time, unlike other times, I armed myself with a water bottle. I started eating the arachnid with the legs. Surprisingly they were crunchy, and had a nice light salty flavor. I then tried the fangs. I first tried to pull them off. But finding it hard to, I had to bite them off. Although hollow, and used to contain venom, the fangs were probably the best part. When I tried the abdomen (Butt) of the spider, I didn’t really like it. Although it contains the most protein because of the semi-produced silk, the abdomen has a texture of very chewy ground beef, with a very. . . interesting. . . flavor. I still recommend that you try the abdomen, because who knows, you may like it.
I was not planning on trying the frog, but our driver had already gotten out of the car, and gave me a frog sample. There wasn’t much really, just a crunchy, salty little snack. I only got one, but I think if you buy a lot and bring them on long walks or something, it would be a nice little treat.
As for the crab my mom said,
“Not much meat. . . very flavorful.”
She also tried the sea snail,
“That was really tasty. I wish I could have more.”
If you go looking for these treats at Pub Street (Street No8) and you want more flavor, I recommend that you look for stands selling the bugs with spices. It adds a very nice touch to the food. Sadly, I didn’t have the opportunity to try the cicadas, and bamboo worms, another thing for you to explore in Siem Reap!!
