Lovely Grub!

The world of edible insects.

You are unlikely to see people in the western world sitting down in their local pub with a beer and a bag of crispy bugs (or at least that used to be the case, but more on that later). The crisply-fried skin from a flayed pig, yes; these so-called ‘pork scratchings’ are everywhere and go by various names. But not insects.

Over the last couple of decades, many experts have been advocating a move towards insect-based protein. Our global resources have been shrinking for a long time now. Meat is far from being the most cost effective source of protein, and fish are beginning to disappear from the seas, and thus both of these sources of nourishment keep increasing in price.

Thailand has over 15,000 cricket farms alone, where the little critters are bred purely for human consumption. And other countries are just as enthusiastic about chomping down on a big fistful of bugs, with the global edible insect market is set to exceed $522 million by 2023. Gram for gram, dried crickets contain more protein than beef, chicken and pork – with 100g containing 68g of protein, in comparison to just 31g of protein in beef.

Bugs also top the list when it comes to sustainable food sources. They emit considerably lower levels of greenhouse gases than most livestock, and are much more efficient in terms of the resources needed to farm them – crickets, for example, need 12 times less feed than cattle.

But this brings us to the major problem most people in the western world face – just getting our heads around munching on cooked bugs. And right away I’ll give you a tip - just do it! They vary in taste from mildly pleasant to really delicious. There is nothing at all slimy or squelchy about them at all. Even today, I personally can’t bring myself to allow a slimy oyster to slide down my throat, but the western world sees this as a luxury. Compared to this, a portion of lightly-sautéed silkworm grubs is the food of the gods.

Samui is now so tightly geared to tourists that it’s not always easy to track down the hot-spots of local Thai food that once were so widespread. But the best place by far to get to grips with this whole new foodie fad is to find the local temple fair. (There’s one which moves around the island staying for a week in one place then moving on.) Apart from the mass-produced junk of T-shirts and bags from China, these places are a smorgasbord of strange and wonderful things to eat. Insects included.

And thus some points on what to look out for when you’re finally on the brink of the abyss. First, get a mixed bag of everything. It’ll cost about 100 baht and then you can bow-out gracefully without anyone giggling at the faces you’ll instinctively want to make . . . until the first few mouthfuls, that is!

Grasshoppers: really tasty – the best! They’re like deep fried pork skin yet much lighter, more airy and as crunchy as potato crisps. Crickets: much the same but with sharp spiny legs that can cut your mouth – pull these off first. Taste? Less flavour and less crunch, but more to chew on. Then cicadas, but only at certain times of the year. These are quite big. They look a bit like cockroaches (which is majorly off-putting) but are really light and pleasant and well worth a chew or two.

Then to my particular favourites, the grubs. They aren’t at all crunchy, but are full of flavour. Silk worm grubs are like mashed potato or gnocchi pasta but with a nutty flavour, almost like peanuts. And the bamboo worms (smaller, longer and thinner) come second best – not really tasting of anything much, but reminding me of popcorn which has been allowed to go a bit too old and soft. This is perhaps the one to start with if you’re standing there with your eyes screwed shut! Easy, isn’t it! Going over into the abyss is the easy part; it’s getting to the edge that makes us squirm.

And this brings us back to the thing I mentioned earlier. It was previously unheard of to be able to buy bugs to snack on in the west. But at the end of last year, Sainsbury’s became the first UK supermarket to sell edible bugs in the form of Eat Grub’s Smoky BBQ Crunchy Roasted Crickets. The house crickets, also known as acheta domesticus, are farmed in Europe, come in packets of about 50 and sell for £1.50 per bag. London-based Eat Grub suggests eating the bugs as a snack or using them as a garnish on dishes such as tacos, noodles or salads.

And research by Sainsbury’s and Eat Grub revealed nearly 10 per cent of people in the UK have tried edible insects, of which more than half (57 per cent) say they enjoyed them. Two in five (42 per cent) would be willing to try insects in the future, and seven per cent say they would be willing to add them to their weekly shop if they were easily available. So there you have it – now what are you waiting for?

Dimitri Waring