Waiter, there's an ant in my soup!

November 16, 2009 06:17:44

Posted By Gecko

Ant egss Thai food and Isaan dance Thailand

If you order eggs for breakfast in Isan, you might like to be a little more specific. The eggs of the red ant (or "Khai mot daeng") are a local delicacy and can be eaten in a number of ways - raw in salads, cooked in a soup, or added as a flavouring to a Thai style omelette.

Ants may often seem to appear when you least wish to encounter them, but sourcing their larvae is an entirely different challenge (unless you cheat and pick them up at the local market.) Being sociable creatures with a mind for safety, they like to build their nests on the branches of trees, masterfully exploiting pliable leaves and gluing and weaving these together with a silken secretion to make a protective and camouflaged home.

Much akin to foraging for honey, when you go ant egg hunting with the Thai villagers at Gecko Villa, you must first identify a suitable nest, use a knife to clip the branch or a bamboo pole to dislodge the nest, and then shake away the understandably angry ants. Unfolding the leaves, you will discover what appears to be a miniature honeycomb filled with the white larvae. If you then place this in a bucket of water, the natural reaction of the ants to clump together will separate most of the ants from the eggs (although the ants have not died but are simply playing possum) and leave you with what could pass for a miniature cassoulet.

Ant eggs are nutrionally valuable and have a gentle flavour. The sourness sometimes associated with the ingredient is often attributed to the occasional ant that many cooks like to leave in the dish, imparting crunch and depth, with the acidity of the formic acid tasting like a mild lime.

Flavouring an oil with garlic, chilies and lemongrass before adding the eggs and green onions, kaffir lime leaves and a dash of fish sauce makes a great accompaniment to a cold beer. For the more squeamish, the contents may be wrapped in a Good King Henry leaf to make a more alluring package.

The tradition of hunting for ants eggs has even given birth to the exotic Isan dance, "Serng Yae Kai Mot Daeng" or Ant Egg Gathering Dance, choreographed around hunters searching for, and harvesting, this Isaan delicacy.

Permalink Comments (2) Email to Friend

Categories: thai food, gecko villa, ant egg, Lao food

2 Comment(s):

Thai Food said...

Thank you very much. This forum very useful information. If you want to learn more about exotic Thai fruits, check out the website www.thai-food.in.th. They have a nice section describing the various fruits as well as other topics on Thai food. No one can argue about the popularity of Thai food today. From Tokyo to Toronto and all places in between you will find, at the very least, one restaurant serving the increasingly popular fare. Simply peruse your local bookstore’s cooking section and you’ll find multiple titles dedicated to Thai food. Why such great interest in the dishes of this small country located at the center of Southeast Asia? Inside the website www.thai-food.in.th we will try to explain the phenomenon by bringing you the depth of Thai cuisine. This includes the regional differences among similar as well as varying dishes. We hope you will learn the amazing variety that exists from the spicy grilled Laps in the North to the smooth and fiery Gaengs in the South. In addition to exploring the basics of Thai food, www.thai-food.in.th will provide helpful explanations of Thai ingredients including the various herbs, fruits and vegetables that are common to the tropical country. We’ll teach you about naturally sweet Thai desserts and the common Thai beverages that accompany Thai food. As the website grows, we’ll be adding recipes so you can try your hand at creating exotic Thai dishes as well as bringing you on a face-to-face journey to stalls, stands and restaurants around Bangkok and the country so you can see, first hand, how the Thais enjoy their unique and complex cuisine. We’ll include some of the most popular places to find particular Thai dishes and, hopefully, get a couple of secret recipes along the way. I hope you can take the time to visit our website, www.thai-food.in.th. We are only just beginning but our hope is that, as time goes by, you’ll find it to be a great resource. We hope that whether you are just beginning your exploration of Thai food or you are looking to expand your understanding, you will find what you need at www.thai-food.in.th.

January 9, 2010 08:20:07

nengah said...

this is very strange one

December 7, 2009 05:32:01