Crispy on the Outside

We have long heard rumors about the off the wall food of Cambodia. Among these are snake, various insects, worms and even spiders. On our travels we have seen the occasional silk worm or cricket vendor--but these are largely a novelty and the locals won't touch them. However, along the highway in Cambodia (if you call could call it that) we finally witnessed these delicacies first hand. We unloaded our bus for a five minute snack break, scanned the vendors and saw the usual: mangoes, bananas, lychee. Then there were a couple large bowls full of brown things that looked like burnt breading. Bending down for a closer look, the contents revealed themselves. One was full of crickets, another grasshoppers and the last...deep fried tarantula's. Jaw dropped and wide-eyed, we scanned around to some of the locals and yes they were snacking on them like popcorn. Eight-legged, eight-eyed, hairy popcorn. No, we did not try them--an inquisitive mind has its limits. But we did ask a woman what they taste like, crispy on the outside, green and gooey in the middle. Why do they eat them? We were told that its a tradition carried over from the days of the Khmer Rouge when rural families had nothing else to eat. They ate what they could find as a means of survival. Try and zoom in on the image below and ask yourself how hungry you would have to be?