How to accidentally eat a bug in Thailand

It has long been clear that caution should be exercised in Thai supermarkets. Personally, I never buy food there without first studying the packaging - though, usually I just look at how much sugar is in the composition. Thais put it in very unexpected amounts almost everywhere. Ordinary yogurt contains so much sugar that it is easier to buy Coca-Cola, and instead of bread you can safely buy cakes - it is still unknown what will turn out to be sweeter. They spoil even dried fruits, although it would seem, where, they are so sweet. In general, I’m usually busy looking for sugar on the packaging (in Thai it’s still fun), but this habit will not save you from accidentally eating a bug - keep in mind!

The house completely ran out of chili paste, without which it is impossible to really cook Thai dishes, and I decided to try this time another product of the long-beloved Maepranom brand - this paste turns out to be an excellent tom-yum, moreover not sharp enough to sob, but fragrant and fragrant. Usually I take a paste in a jar with a blue lid, classic, but this time I decided to try some other, with the taste of Maengda. And what kind of maengda is this?

As shown in the image above (Wikipedia photo), maengda is a giant water bug. Thais are highly respected in culinary terms: they are fried in oil and eaten, noting a delicate taste resembling scallop. In addition to deep fat, the bug is also suitable as a seasoning due to its stinky secret created by nature to attract the opposite sex. Well, chili paste contains only flavor with the taste of a bug.

Of course, we didn’t eat all this at all by chance and not because I did not find the information on the packaging. I bought the notorious pasta consciously, for the purpose of experiment and to write about it here. The taste turned out to be quite nasty, but whether this is due to the flavor of the bug or the fact that the composition is full of smelly shrimp paste in itself - who knows. Be vigilant in Thai supermarkets and do not accidentally eat a bug or worse. I attach the photo of the paste.