Why Do Thai People like to Eat Insects?

For many people in Thailand the most tasty snack they could wish for would be insects. Unlike my own country, where eating insects would be a sure sign of severe mental illness, eating insects in Thailand is perfectly acceptable. In villages all over Thailand, especially northern Thailand, insects are given as treats to children and adults see them as the ideal snack to be eaten along with a few beers. This is one part of Thai cuisine that I have always struggled with. My wife loves these type of flying edibles, but I find it hard to even watch her eating them; for me it is a real romance killer when my wife has half a caterpillar hanging out of her mouth.

Nutritionally speaking, eating insects in Thailand makes sense. They are a good source of protein, and apparently have lots of other goodies like vitamins and minerals. They are a cheap form of food which has served rural Thailand for years; the locals have developed ways of cooking these snacks which apparently makes them really crispy and tasty. My wife prefers her insects deep fried and mixed with different spices. Her favourites include not only caterpillars, but also grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, and her number one choice would be ant eggs. I have been with my wife now over six years, and I still can't get over her love of this type of food.

Intellectually, I can understand that there is nothing so wrong with eating this type of meal; after all, food is food. In my country one of the most popular items is made from blood (black pudding), and most Thai people would view anyone eating Marmite as being a bit unbalanced mentally. I have even tried to eat insects in the past in the name of adventure, but backed out at the last minute; I began to retch even before the food reached my mouth. I am now vegetarian, and so should never have to prove myself with insects again. Mind you, I have probably already eaten hundreds of insects without even realising it; we likely all have. How many flies and other nasites have been hidden in our food, and how many times have flies flown into my mouth when I'm out on my motorbike?

I have come to accept that my wife is an insect-eater, and that eating insects in Thailand is part of life here. I do still object when I find a big bag of juicy beetles in my fridge, but my wife is good enough to now usually hide them at the back. I don't know how I will handle my son developing a love of this type of food, but I suppose that I'll cross that bridge when it comes.

Sources

http://www.thaibugs.com/edible%20insects.htm

http://www.thailand-art-photography.com/thailand-art-photography/eating-insects-weird-food/