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Couple of days ago Mrs smiler's eldest hi-so 🙄sister from Bangkok came to stay. As is tradition there was a party, lots of Chang and as you might expect, shed loads of Isan food. Was a great evening. 

Now I swerve the local delicacies, don't do Som Tam, laab, nam pa la etc etc. As a party piece though I will take a bite of a rat or frog on a stick and actually don't dislike the bugs - they just taste of whatever they are fried in. 

Every day is a school day. 

eating-insects_04.jpg.e9ea86e8426306dd99

I won't be eating these again. 

Woke up yesterday morning feeling like shit squared, balance shot to bits, my right hand and forearm were swollen and I felt like I had been run over by a baht bus. This was not a hangover. 

Turns out I have an allergy to the silkworm bugs. 

So I took an antihistamine pill and slept for most of the day, another one last night and today is first day of the rest of my life. 

 

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1 hour ago, Smiler said:

Now I swerve the local delicacies, don't do Som Tam, laab, nam PA la etc etc. As a party piece though I will take a bite of a rat or frog on a stick and actually don't dislike the bugs - they just taste of whatever they are fried in. 

I actually enjoy all of those things in their own right rather than putting on a "farang performing monkey show" for the locals. Would I eat them on Soi Buakhao ? No! definitely not!

Where I live I will eat things that I fancy at the time of eating as long as a Thai friend has bought them.

Occasionally we get frozen, skinned rats sent down by family members in Isaan which I quite enjoy as it has a much more "gamey" taste to it.

Things I won't do are Lao Khao and cockroaches..

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I love those bugs and have eaten most things off the street.

The issue to me (and what can upset the stomach) is the quality of the oil the bugs are cooked in.

I remember years ago when I lived in Hua Hin a media story was about authorities having checked hundreds of oil samples from street side carts and above 75 percent were highly toxic and not fit for cooking anything. Had been used over and over.

The bugs are great protein, the oil can harm you.

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42 minutes ago, Horizondave said:

I love those bugs and have eaten most things off the street.

The issue to me (and what can upset the stomach) is the quality of the oil the bugs are cooked in.

I remember years ago when I lived in Hua Hin a media story was about authorities having checked hundreds of oil samples from street side carts and above 75 percent were highly toxic and not fit for cooking anything. Had been used over and over.

The bugs are great protein, the oil can harm you.

I have never had any issues before Dave and yeah I agree they are a good source of protein. Indeed some say certain types are akin to nature's viagra. Remember eating some black ones once and I was hanging wet bath towels off my knob for hours later...... 

Anyway the silkworm and some types of grasshopper larvae can be rich in histemeen (7-12%) and this is what messed me up. 

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Just now, Smiler said:

I have never had any issues before Dave and yeah I agree they are a good source of protein. Indeed some say certain types are akin to nature's viagra. Remember eating some black ones once and I was hanging wet bath towels off my knob for hours later...... 

Anyway the silkworm and some types of grasshopper larvae can be rich in histemeen (7-12%) and this is what messed me up. 

Sorry to hear mate, not a nice experience. Not sure I would want to eat them uncooked as some do but luckily I have only had the runs a few times and not the symptoms you had. Always thought my issues were due to the oil but your reaction and information will make me more cautious.

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7 hours ago, Smiler said:

Couple of days ago Mrs smiler's eldest hi-so 🙄sister from Bangkok came to stay. As is tradition there was a party, lots of Chang and as you might expect, shed loads of Isan food. Was a great evening. 

Now I swerve the local delicacies, don't do Som Tam, laab, nam PA la etc etc. As a party piece though I will take a bite of a rat or frog on a stick and actually don't dislike the bugs - they just taste of whatever they are fried in. 

Every day is a school day. 

eating-insects_04.jpg.e9ea86e8426306dd99

I won't be eating these again. 

Woke up yesterday morning feeling like shit squared, balance shot to bits, my right hand and forearm were swollen and I felt like I had been run over by a baht bus. This was not a hangover. 

Turns out I have an allergy to the silkworm bugs. 

So I took an antihistamine pill and slept for most of the day, another one last night and today is first day of the rest of my life. 

 

I can't bring myself to stick anything like that into my mouth, no matter how good people tell me they are!

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4 minutes ago, boydeste said:

I can't bring myself to stick anything like that into my mouth, no matter how good people tell me they are!

Me neither!

f**k eating bugs! 

I can vividly recall being in the FLB bar on my very first trip when somebody brought in a full monty of assorted bugs. I had never seen the like before and was horrified but needless to say all the girls got stuck into them including my b/fine for the night.

On the way back to the hotel I called into a pharmacist and bought Listerine which I duly presented to "Sweetie". She was  not at all offended even when I suggested she use it the moment we entered the room. 🤣  

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I have at least sampled many bug varieties, I guess out of curiosity and none appealed to me, once I got past the psychological barrier of their appearance. It's not in our culture to eat insects, but I understand that they are full of protein and in abundance in Thailand. 

If I were starving, I would probably survive on them but they are not my first choice of sustenance on a 3 week holiday. 

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3 hours ago, Horizondave said:

I love those bugs and have eaten most things off the street.

The issue to me (and what can upset the stomach) is the quality of the oil the bugs are cooked in.

I remember years ago when I lived in Hua Hin a media story was about authorities having checked hundreds of oil samples from street side carts and above 75 percent were highly toxic and not fit for cooking anything. Had been used over and over.

The bugs are great protein, the oil can harm you.

There are loads of cheap horrible oils for sale in the supermarket.....Soy oil is public enemy #1 for me.....It causes me all kinds of heath problems because I very allergic to it....

I use to cook exclusively with olive oil.....But then I tried Rice Bran oil and loved it....It hardly smokes at all like olive oil and I feel like it improves my health better than olive oil...

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3 hours ago, fforest said:

I use to cook exclusively with olive oil.....But then I tried Rice Bran oil and loved it....It hardly smokes at all like olive oil and I feel like it improves my health better than olive oil...

Olive oil isn't very good for cooking, can't withstand the heat very well. For cooking I prefer sunflower oil and if I can't get that, either rice oil or arachide (peanut) oil.

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6 hours ago, fforest said:

There are loads of cheap horrible oils for sale in the supermarket.....Soy oil is public enemy #1 for me.....It causes me all kinds of heath problems because I very allergic to it....

I use to cook exclusively with olive oil.....But then I tried Rice Bran oil and loved it....It hardly smokes at all like olive oil and I feel like it improves my health better than olive oil...

Olive Oil I use nearly all the time, rapeseed oil is also pretty good. I try to wean myself off of most oils and grilling, baking are my favourite ways to cook. However bugs probably need to be deep fried to be bearable.

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On 6/30/2022 at 10:31 AM, Smiler said:

I have never had any issues before Dave and yeah I agree they are a good source of protein. Indeed some say certain types are akin to nature's viagra. Remember eating some black ones once and I was hanging wet bath towels off my knob for hours later...... 

Anyway the silkworm and some types of grasshopper larvae can be rich in histemeen (7-12%) and this is what messed me up. 

you're very lucky you didn't end up with full on anaphylaxis and go into shock. It can mean curtains unless you get medical treatment, usually it's a shot of epinephrine and then something else to deal with the tachycardia if needed.

As everyone says, it's the bloody oil that can do a lot of harm as well.

I'm not one for eating bugs, I've also heard rumours that the ones they sell in Thailand are killed with DDT.

 

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