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Strange Things As Food & Drink

maximus otter

Recovering policeman
Joined
Aug 9, 2001
Messages
12,235

How Eating Fried Tarantulas Saved Lives in Cambodia


Alive, tarantulas are vicious, hairy and poisonous. But deep-fried, many consider them an excellent snack. In Cambodia, fried tarantulas are a delicacy. Often rolled in sugar or garlic, the spiders are eaten by the handful out of street vendors’ carts by local residents and adventurous tourists alike.

how-to-eat-fried-tarantulas-fwx-2000-527a8e939c3c45869717a40bcba08d5b.jpg

While this unusual food item may strike westerners as simply gross (Gordon Ramsay included), the custom has tragic, historic roots going back to the murderous reign of Pol Pot and his communist Khmer Rouge movement.

After taking control, the Khmer Rouge forced Phnom Penh’s 2.5 million residents from their homes and into the surrounding hillsides and fields. Their hope was to turn the country, which they called Democratic Kampuchea, into [an] agrarian society cut off from the rest of the modern world. They killed most who disobeyed or sent them off to the notorious S-21 prison. For survivors, life was full of violence, back-breaking work and starvation. People had to find ways to survive and, for many, that meant finding food sources that were readily available in the countryside. Enter the tarantula.

It is not exactly clear who discovered that Thai Zebra tarantulas, or “apin” in Khmer, were edible. While the practice may date back to the late 19th century, it was during the time of the Khmer Rouge that tarantulas became part of the regular menu. Found in dens in heavily forested areas, the spiders were and are safe to eat and easy to prepare—the entire process from catching a spider to serving it can take only ten minutes. Known for high protein, folic acid and zinc contents, the spiders sustained Cambodians who badly needed nourishment.

Today, you can find fried tarantulas on street corners throughout Cambodia, priced at only ten to twenty cents apiece.

https://www.foodandwine.com/news/how-eating-fried-tarantulas-saved-lives

maximus otter
 

escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
40,334
Location
HM The Tower of London
Dunno if we've had this before -


Charles Gray plays the gourmet in search of the most unusual tastes.

The Gourmet has a tip-off about the ultimate treat: a fried ghost.
 
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escargot

Disciple of Marduk
Joined
Aug 24, 2001
Messages
40,334
Location
HM The Tower of London
Oh remember this one from the 80s. He got the ultimate meal. I think he also got a cameo in a Pet Shop Boys music video after that.
Yup, Gray played lots of juicy roles including Mycroft Holmes in both a film and the Jeremy Brett TV series. :cool:
 

Vardoger

Make mine a 99
Joined
Jun 3, 2004
Messages
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Location
Valaskjalf (Ex. pat.)
Yup, Gray played lots of juicy roles including Mycroft Holmes in both a film and the Jeremy Brett TV series. :cool:
I mistook Charles Gray for another "classic" actor regarding the Pet Shop Boys music video. It was Joss Ackland who was in the music video.
 

kamalktk

Antediluvian
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
6,811
Suddenly not feeling very hungry

https://www.odditycentral.com/foods...sh-topped-with-a-scary-deep-sea-creature.html

A Taipei-based restaurant has been getting a lot of attention for its newest addition to the menu- a ramen dish topped with a steamed 14-legged isopod that looks like something out of an Alien movie.

The Ramen Boy restaurant recently took to Facebook to announce its latest dish, a bowl of ramen featuring a generous helping of giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus), which it describes as a “dream ingredient”. Called “Giant isopod with creamy chicken broth ramen”, the dish consists of a large bowl of ramen and a large isopod steamed in its own shell. To prepare the deep-sea crustacean, the cooks remove the stomach viscera, keeping the creamy glands for consumption, and steam it. The white meat is said to taste like lobster and crab, while the yellow glands are “unexpectedly sweet”.

2023_05_25_21_12_35_Taiwanese_Restaurant_Serves_Ramen_Dish_Topped_With_a_Scary_Deep_Sea_Creature.jpg
 

Mythopoeika

I am a meat popsicle
Joined
Sep 18, 2001
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Inside a starship, watching puny humans from afar
Suddenly not feeling very hungry

https://www.odditycentral.com/foods...sh-topped-with-a-scary-deep-sea-creature.html

A Taipei-based restaurant has been getting a lot of attention for its newest addition to the menu- a ramen dish topped with a steamed 14-legged isopod that looks like something out of an Alien movie.

The Ramen Boy restaurant recently took to Facebook to announce its latest dish, a bowl of ramen featuring a generous helping of giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus), which it describes as a “dream ingredient”. Called “Giant isopod with creamy chicken broth ramen”, the dish consists of a large bowl of ramen and a large isopod steamed in its own shell. To prepare the deep-sea crustacean, the cooks remove the stomach viscera, keeping the creamy glands for consumption, and steam it. The white meat is said to taste like lobster and crab, while the yellow glands are “unexpectedly sweet”.

View attachment 66458
Mmmmm... giant woodlouse...
 

pandacracker

Justified & Ancient
Joined
Jan 16, 2004
Messages
1,613
Suddenly not feeling very hungry

https://www.odditycentral.com/foods...sh-topped-with-a-scary-deep-sea-creature.html

A Taipei-based restaurant has been getting a lot of attention for its newest addition to the menu- a ramen dish topped with a steamed 14-legged isopod that looks like something out of an Alien movie.

The Ramen Boy restaurant recently took to Facebook to announce its latest dish, a bowl of ramen featuring a generous helping of giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus), which it describes as a “dream ingredient”. Called “Giant isopod with creamy chicken broth ramen”, the dish consists of a large bowl of ramen and a large isopod steamed in its own shell. To prepare the deep-sea crustacean, the cooks remove the stomach viscera, keeping the creamy glands for consumption, and steam it. The white meat is said to taste like lobster and crab, while the yellow glands are “unexpectedly sweet”.

View attachment 66458

Mmmm... creamy glands...
 
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