Many tourists when come to Cambodia often joke that the current insect cuisines in the country are “revival food of Pon Pot regime”. However, because of their curiosity, they have been fascinated by the weird Cambodian cuisines, some even “heavily addicted” the fried spider dish in some hotels and restaurants.
For a very long time, insect cuisines are considered as nutritious foods by the poor in Cambodia, as a result, markets in rural areas and even in big cities have a lot of insects for sale such as bugs, spiders, cockroaches or silkworms. Tourists to Cambodia can easily see those different types of insects every corner throughout the country. They can be sold in markets, pushed through the streets on carts or even offered in hotel and restaurants as specialty dishes of Cambodia. While Cambodians chomp away very happily, the foreign visitors, especial those who have never see people eating insects before, usually disgust combined with a fair amount of squealing, but when they are brave enough to try, many tourists had found that insect cuisines are so stunning.
Deep-fried insect snack is a very famous dish in Cambodia and it is favored thanks to the unique taste as well as the high-protein nutrition. A lot of insect types namely spiders, crickets, ant eggs, water bugs, and scorpions are all able to be used as ingredients of this dish. These insects are meticulously mixed with some special spices and then deep fried. The most famous dish among those insect cuisines may be the jumping spiders, also known as large hairy spiders or a-ping (called by Cambodians) can be up to 7 cm long and very tasty, especially when they are fried with garlic, pepper and other spices. By cooking, the chefs add flavor and make these spiders be very attractive as well as highly nutritious for women during pregnancy and those who work hard. Visit Cambodia with Indochina travel
Although its appearance may be a litle bit thrilling, the delicious taste definitely will not make you feel regret for trying it. Enjoying insect foods is really an incredible and exciting experience you should try in Cambodia.
The Indochina Voyages team.
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